In a blog post on the Mandriva SA site, CEO Jean-Manuel Croset ceded control of the Mandriva Linux distribution back to the community at large.
“[A]fter reviewing all your messages, suggestions, ideas and comments, Mandriva SA took the decision to transfer the responsibility of the Mandriva Linux distribution to an independent entity. This means that the future of the distribution will not be arbitrary decided by the Mandriva company anymore, but we intend to let the distribution evolve in and under the caring responsibility of the community,” Croset wrote.
Mandriva SA will not be completely out of the picture; Croset emphasized that the company will still maintain an active voice within the Mandriva development community. But, given the well-publicized financial troubles the Paris-based company has been enduring of late, it is not at all clear how the company will be deriving revenue from a Linux distribution over which they have even less control.
Mandriva SA hasn’t had an easy time of it, even after emerging from bankruptcy in 2006. Formerly MandrakeSoft, the company merged with Brazilian Linux vendor and former UnitedLinux partner Connectiva in 2005.