In today's open source roundup: Systemd opponents force the resignation of a Debian maintainer. Plus: Linux Mint 17.1 MATE and Cinnamon release candidates available, and Space Hulk Ascension is out for Linux A systemd maintainer for Debian resigns The systemd inferno continues to rage across the Linux landscape. This time the flames have scorched a long-time Debian developer who had also been a systemd maintainer. After prolonged online attacks, he has decided to throw in the towel and quit maintaining systemd. However, he has not resigned from Debian altogether. The Debian developer, Tollef Fog Heen, explains why he resigned in a blog post: This morning, I resigned as a member of the systemd maintainer team. I then proceeded to leave the relevant IRC channels and announced this on twitter. I feel bad about leaving the rest of the team, they’re a great bunch: competent, caring, funny, wonderful people. On the other hand, at some point I had to draw a line and say “no further”. Now, how did I, standing stout and tall, get forced out of my tribe? I’ve been a DD for almost 14 years, I should be able to weather any storm, shouldn’t I? It turns out that no, the mountain does get worn down by the rain. It’s not a single hurtful comment here and there. There’s a constant drum about this all being some sort of conspiracy and there are sometimes flares where people wish people involved in systemd would be run over by a bus or just accusations of incompetence. More at Tollef Fog Heen’s Blog Triangle Linux Users Group You can also read his resignation message on the Debian systemd package maintainer’s mailing list: I hereby resign from the systemd maintainer team in Debian. Please remove me from Uploaders on the next upload. You’ve been an awesome team to work with, but the load of the continued attacks is just becoming too much. I wish you all good luck and all the best in the future. More at Debian Systemd Maintainer’s Mailing List When the news of the resignation hit Reddit, outraged redditors expressed their angry feelings about systemd opponents attacking the Debian developer: “You are free to dislike systemd all you want, but harrassing a package maintainer makes my blood boil. You know what’s far worse for Linux than systemd problems? Extremist behavior like…what…happened here. This isn’t League of Legends, it’s the Linux community.” “Exactly. What kind of pathetic excuse for a human being does that? “ More at Reddit Linux Mint 17.1 “Rebecca” MATE and Cinnamon release candidates are now available The Linux Mint developers have announced the availability of the first release candidates of Linux Mint 17.1 MATE and Cinnamon. Read the official announcement about Linux Mint 17.1 MATE from the Linux Mint blog: The team is proud to announce the release of Linux Mint 17.1 “Rebecca” MATE RC. Linux Mint 17.1 is a long term support release which will be supported until 2019. It comes with updated software and brings refinements and many new features to make your desktop even more comfortable to use. More at Linux Mint Blog Linux Mint The Linux Mint site also has a much more detailed list of new features in Linux Mint 17.1 MATE: Linux Mint 17.1 MATE Edition comes with two window managers installed and configured by default: Marco (MATE’s very own window manager, simple, fast and very stable). Compiz (an advanced compositing window manager which can do wonders if your hardware supports it). More at Linux Mint You can download Linux Mint 17.1 MATE RC1 with these torrent links: Linux Mint 17.1 MATE RC1 32-bit Linux Mint 17.1 MATE RC1 64-bit The Linux Mint site also has a list of new features in the release candidate of the Cinnamon version of Linux Mint 17.1: The team is proud to announce the release of Linux Mint 17.1 “Rebecca” Cinnamon RC. A lot of care went into attention to details and Cinnamon 2.4 received many little improvements to make your experience smoother and more enjoyable than before. More at Linux Mint You can download Linux Mint 17.1 Cinnamon RC1 with these torrent links: Linux Mint 17.1 Cinnamon RC1 32-bit Linux Mint 17.1 Cinnamon RC1 64-bit Space Hulk Ascension strategy game out for Linux GamingOnLinux reports that Space Hulk Ascension has been released for Linux. Space Hulk Ascension is the standalone sequel to Space Hulk and promises a much better experience. The reviews are great so far, so it looks like it paid off. There’s a lot of content in Ascension with 100+ missions, and all new “Flash missions”. An all new Space Marine chapter, more weapons and other tweaks. It certainly seems like a worthy standalone don’t you think? More at GamingOnLinux Here’s a video preview of Space Hulk Ascension: More at YouTube What’s your take on all this? Tell me in the comments below. Open Source