--- title: Linux Distros need to stop shipping outdated,... description: Linux Mint ships outdated, unsupported versions of GNOME apps like GNOME Calendar — currently version 46 when the oldest supported is 49 — due to theming... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/linux-distros-need-to-stop-shipping-outdated-unsupported-applications-qjwfdlgdw twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: Linux Distros need to stop shipping outdated, unsupported applications | daily.dev og:description: Linux Mint ships outdated, unsupported versions of GNOME apps like GNOME Calendar — currently version 46 when the oldest supported is 49 — due to theming... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/linux-distros-need-to-stop-shipping-outdated-unsupported-applications-qjwfdlgdw og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/qjwFDLGDW.png og:image:alt: Linux Distros need to stop shipping outdated, unsupported applications og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Linux Distros need to stop shipping outdated, unsupported applications **[The Linux Experiment](https://daily.dev/sources/linuxexp)** · 27 min read · 5 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary Linux Mint ships outdated, unsupported versions of GNOME apps like GNOME Calendar — currently version 46 when the oldest supported is 49 — due to theming constraints with libadapta. This creates three problems: users get inferior, buggy experiences and blame the upstream developers; app developers receive bug reports for issues fixed years ago; and the distro's branding mismatch means users think they're using the official app. The author argues that fixed-release distros must either update apps to at least the oldest supported version or rename and rebrand their modified forks, extending the same care given to kernels and drivers to graphical applications. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Questions this post answers ### Why did Gnome Calendar developers ask Linux Mint to remove links to their issue tracker? Gnome Calendar developers opened a GitLab issue asking Mint to remove support links pointing to the official Gnome Calendar bug tracker because Mint ships outdated, re-themed versions (version 46-48) while the oldest officially supported version is 49-50. Users hitting bugs already fixed upstream were filing reports the Gnome Calendar team could not act on, since the issues stemmed from Mint's own modifications and package versions. _Anyone weighing which distro to trust for app support can follow ecosystem disputes like this one on daily.dev._ ### Why does Linux Mint ship an old, re-themed version of Gnome Calendar instead of the latest version? Mint avoids the latest Gnome Calendar because it now uses libadwaita, Gnome's theming platform, which does not match Mint's own UI guidelines and window controls. Mint applies a compatibility layer called libadapta to make libadwaita apps look consistent with its desktop, but libadapta is outdated and lacks components needed for the current Gnome Calendar, so Mint remains stuck on older releases like version 46. _Developers deciding between distro theming approaches and app compatibility can track these tradeoffs on daily.dev._ ### How long did Linux Mint take to respond to Gnome Calendar developers about outdated app branding? The issue stayed open for six months before Mint responded, and only after another Gnome developer, Jeff Fortin, pushed for a reply. Mint's response was that the shipped versions come directly from Ubuntu LTS and Debian stable repositories with minimal changes, so they saw no need to update, and suggested Gnome Calendar developers raise the version issue with Debian or Ubuntu instead. _Following disputes between distro maintainers and upstream developers helps clarify who owns bug reports; daily.dev surfaces these debates._ ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [A GNOME Calendar developer calls Linux Mint a "hostile downstream" for shipping old versions](https://daily.dev/posts/a-gnome-calendar-developer-calls-linux-mint-a-hostile-downstream-for-shipping-old-versions-xhocskrfy) · XDA Developers · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [FOSS Weekly \#26.12: GNOME 50 Release, Fedora for Apple, New Ageless Linux, Manjaro Drama and More](https://daily.dev/posts/foss-weekly-26-12-gnome-50-release-fedora-for-apple-new-ageless-linux-manjaro-drama-and-more-tftzpz056) · It's Foss · 1 upvotes · 0 comments - [Linux App Release Roundup \(October 2025\)](https://daily.dev/posts/linux-app-release-roundup-october-2025--0rjkh16x3) · omg\! ubuntu\! · 1 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#open-source](https://daily.dev/tags/open-source), [#linux](https://daily.dev/tags/linux) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/linux-distros-need-to-stop-shipping-outdated-unsupported-applications-qjwfdlgdw) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"Linux Distros need to stop shipping outdated, unsupported applications","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/linux-distros-need-to-stop-shipping-outdated-unsupported-applications-qjwfdlgdw","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/linux-distros-need-to-stop-shipping-outdated-unsupported-applications-qjwfdlgdw"},"datePublished":"2026-07-21T12:41:33.233Z","dateModified":"2026-09-13T21:54:57.184Z","description":"Linux Mint ships outdated, unsupported versions of GNOME apps like GNOME Calendar — currently version 46 when the oldest supported is 49 — due to theming...","image":"https://i.ytimg.com/vi/1ebkQq5TcMw/sddefault.jpg","thumbnailUrl":"https://i.ytimg.com/vi/1ebkQq5TcMw/sddefault.jpg","isAccessibleForFree":true,"articleSection":"The Linux Experiment","inLanguage":"en","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180}},"author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"The Linux Experiment","logo":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/s--tvuv-fY0--/f_auto/v1728807168/logos/linuxexp","url":"https://daily.dev/sources/linuxexp"},"commentCount":0,"discussionUrl":"https://daily.dev/posts/linux-distros-need-to-stop-shipping-outdated-unsupported-applications-qjwfdlgdw","interactionStatistic":[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":5},{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"CommentAction"},"userInteractionCount":0}],"keywords":"open-source,linux","timeRequired":"PT27M","video":{"@type":"VideoObject","name":"Linux Distros need to stop shipping outdated, unsupported applications","description":"Linux Mint ships outdated, unsupported versions of GNOME apps like GNOME Calendar — currently version 46 when the oldest supported is 49 — due to theming...","thumbnailUrl":"https://i.ytimg.com/vi/1ebkQq5TcMw/sddefault.jpg","uploadDate":"2026-07-21T12:41:33.233Z","duration":"PT27M","url":"https://api.daily.dev/r/qjwFDLGDW","embedUrl":"https://www.youtube.com/embed/1ebkQq5TcMw"}} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://daily.dev"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Linux Experiment","item":"https://daily.dev/sources/linuxexp"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Linux Distros need to stop shipping outdated, unsupported applications"}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"FAQPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/linux-distros-need-to-stop-shipping-outdated-unsupported-applications-qjwfdlgdw#faq","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"Why did Gnome Calendar developers ask Linux Mint to remove links to their issue tracker?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Gnome Calendar developers opened a GitLab issue asking Mint to remove support links pointing to the official Gnome Calendar bug tracker because Mint ships outdated, re-themed versions (version 46-48) while the oldest officially supported version is 49-50. 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