Ho Ho Ho! Fedora 20 could be called 'Santa Claus' (or 'Cherry Ice Cream')

A month ago my colleague Brian Fagioli complained that childish names were undermining Linux. He singled out Fedora 18 -- "Spherical Cow", and Fedora 19 -- "Schrödinger's Cat", as prime examples of the problem.

Fedora contributors are currently voting on the name for Fedora 20, and Brian will no doubt be lobbying hard for fan favorite "Santa Claus", although "Cherry Ice Cream" and "Superego" both also have a shot of being picked as the next release name.

Voters, who need to be Fedora contributors and be in at least one non-CLA group, can pick their favorites from a shortlist of eight put forward by the Fedora community.

Each suggestion must have some link with the previous name, although this is often incredibly tenuous.

This is the list, and the reason behind the name.

  • "Cherry Ice Cream" -- Schrödinger's Cat is food [for the mind] and so is cherry ice cream [for the soul].
  • "Châteaubriand" -- Like Schrödinger's Cat, this an edible object with thirteen characters.
  • "eigenstate" -- Schrödinger's Cat is a theoretical physics concept, and so is eigenstate.
  • "Félicette" -- Schrödinger's Cat is an animal of science, so is Félicette, the first cat in space.
  • "Heisenbug" -- Schrödinger's Cat is a paradox where the object changes state when studied, and so is a Heisenbug.
  • "Österreich" -- Schrödinger's Cat has an o umlaut, so does Österreich.
  • "Santa Claus" -- Schrödinger's Cat does not exist (or exists, who knows), like Santa Claus.
  • "Superego" -- Schrödinger's Cat is a theoretical concept from a Vienna native, as is the superego.

Some interesting ones there, though nothing to rival "Beefy Miracle" (Fedora 17). Past favorites of mine which were suggested but never even shortlisted include "Glados Cake" (Fedora 20) "Elastic Horses" (Fedora 19) and "Joey Joe Joe Jr. Shabadoo" (Fedora 18).

Which name would get your vote? (Feel free to suggest alternatives).

Image Credit: Aleksangel/Shutterstock

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