Developers Discuss Future Of CD/DVD Optical Images For Fedora

[phoronix]

Phoronix: Developers Discuss Future Of CD/DVD Optical Images For Fedora

With more laptops abandoning DVD drives, USB-based flash drive installers being well supported and widely-used, and CD/DVDs just being far less popular these days, Fedora developers are discussing the future of the official status for optical images in future Fedora releases...

http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=Fedora-Post-25-Optical-Future

[cen1]

I don't remember the last time I used a CD/DVD to install anything (must be years ago). Even if you have the CD/DVD drive, using an USB is still cheaper. Why waste a CD?

Then again, how much Q/A is it really needed to test those ISOs??

[FishPls]

I use DVD's still. Simply because it's ok for long-term storage, and a nice memory for the future to still have them available in the coming years.

[uid313]

None of my computers have optical disc drives.
It's not just laptops that don't have ODD, desktop computers doesn't either.

[Tomin]

Is there some separate USB installation image then? I usually take the (hybrid?) ISO and dd that to a memory stick, so I don't quite understand what the benefit here is.

Edit: Okay, I read the mailing list message. So they just want to drop the burning and testing process and instead test with memory sticks. I'm fine with that.

[ssokolow]

I always install my OSes using DVD+R. As long as the disc isn't burned multi-session, it ensures that I can verify the disc against its hash when I burn it and then be confident it won't get infected with malware later.

[Passso]

I always install my OSes using DVD+R. As long as the disc isn't burned multi-session, it ensures that I can verify the disc against its hash when I burn it and then be confident it won't get infected with malware later.

At the beginning of the USB keys, there was a physical switch to enable the write mode. That was a very good idea but it seems that consumers are not ok to pay 10 cents for that.
In the end you cannot use an USB key on an unknown (maybe infected) system without taking risk...

[DanL]

I think Ubuntu 8.04 was the last CD/DVD I burned. My distro-hopping days are far behind me in general though, and I've been rolling along with Debian sid for years.

[cjcox]

Me thinks the Fedora developers all got new hardware as an early Christmas present? Maybe they forgot that older hardware is clueless about booting from USB? Older hardware still being 64bit that is...

[ldo17]

I still use CDs/DVDs. Every few months I do a backup of my most precious files onto a set of DVDs for offsite storage. I’m not sure I would trust any other kind of media for that function.

For booting up machines with SystemRescueCD or installers, I still use optical discs, more out of habit than anything else. But since my 2008-vintage Asus Eee could boot off USB, I expect everything else I have to deal with nowadays will do so as well.