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diff --git a/zarb-ml/mageia-dev/20101005/000824.html b/zarb-ml/mageia-dev/20101005/000824.html new file mode 100644 index 000000000..3c15157f9 --- /dev/null +++ b/zarb-ml/mageia-dev/20101005/000824.html @@ -0,0 +1,156 @@ +<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 3.2//EN"> +<HTML> + <HEAD> + <TITLE> [Mageia-dev] How will be the realese cycle? + </TITLE> + <LINK REL="Index" HREF="index.html" > + <LINK REL="made" HREF="mailto:mageia-dev%40mageia.org?Subject=Re%3A%20%5BMageia-dev%5D%20How%20will%20be%20the%20realese%20cycle%3F&In-Reply-To=%3C1286246112.29594.39.camel%40akroma.ephaone.org%3E"> + <META NAME="robots" CONTENT="index,nofollow"> + <META http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=us-ascii"> + <LINK REL="Previous" HREF="000846.html"> + <LINK REL="Next" HREF="000821.html"> + </HEAD> + <BODY BGCOLOR="#ffffff"> + <H1>[Mageia-dev] How will be the realese cycle?</H1> + <B>Michael Scherer</B> + <A HREF="mailto:mageia-dev%40mageia.org?Subject=Re%3A%20%5BMageia-dev%5D%20How%20will%20be%20the%20realese%20cycle%3F&In-Reply-To=%3C1286246112.29594.39.camel%40akroma.ephaone.org%3E" + TITLE="[Mageia-dev] How will be the realese cycle?">misc at zarb.org + </A><BR> + <I>Tue Oct 5 04:35:12 CEST 2010</I> + <P><UL> + <LI>Previous message: <A HREF="000846.html">[Mageia-dev] How will be the realese cycle? +</A></li> + <LI>Next message: <A HREF="000821.html">[Mageia-dev] Talk of Browsers +</A></li> + <LI> <B>Messages sorted by:</B> + <a href="date.html#824">[ date ]</a> + <a href="thread.html#824">[ thread ]</a> + <a href="subject.html#824">[ subject ]</a> + <a href="author.html#824">[ author ]</a> + </LI> + </UL> + <HR> +<!--beginarticle--> +<PRE>Le lundi 04 octobre 2010 à 20:35 -0500, Fernando Parra a écrit : + + +><i> One of the regular questions I received when install a linux distro is: "But I really need to upgrade all my OS, if I only want the new version of my Office Suite?" +</I>><i> +</I>><i> Let me remind you, The privative OS don't have this model, +</I>><i> in them the users can install a new version of their favourite +</I>><i> software as they want (or pay it). This is true at least as a +</I>><i> Mayor upgrade at the OS, and in some cases the compatibility are maintained. +</I> +Well, their model is too different, I have made a full 40 minutes +conferences on the subject, except it is in french ( and the video is +still not there ). + +But basically, that's because Microsoft or Apple work in a segmented +fashion. You have clear delimitations on what is the os, and what is +not. Os is controled by a single entitie, and there is only a few APIs +that you can use, and lots of test to ensure that the API is not broken +( even if that mean keeping old code around, see +<A HREF="http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/APIWar.html">http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/APIWar.html</A> ). +This segmentation also mean there is few lines of code put in common, be +it for technical reasons, or legal ones. And the lack of code sharing +mean complexity of the source code, which usually also mean more bugs, +and more time to develop ( thus, less quality, if you invest the same +ressources ). + +Never wondered why windows takes so much memory ? Now, you have the +start of a answer. + +Now, on free software side, there is no artificial barrier between os +and applications, no committee to declare "this is the official API for +X years". There is just a bunch of people who constantly give source +code, with the hope that everything will work fine together. And that's +what we do as distributors, we pick components everywhere and make sure +they are presented in a way that everybody can use. We even make more, +we make sure they integrate cleanly with the others ( menu, code and +library sharing, packages system, integrated installation ), which is +something that usually is not done in proprietary os. + +People could do like windows. Just take a distribution, declare that you +will never upgrade it for 4/5 years. Be sure to have a team ready to +backport security fixes, and you will have the stable plateform you +want. + +But then, people will want the latest kernel, to get support for their +hardware. The latest xorg, for the same reason. But then, after +upgrading xorg, you will need to update udev, and hal. After that you +will see that gnome or kde no longer have a working automount so they +need to be patched, or updated. But updating gnome may requires to +update others components ( like gstreamer ) and so on. + +Even with this problem, this kind of distribution already exist. That's +RHEL, or Centos. ( Or even Opensolaris, when it was still existing, or +maybe others ). + +But : +1) RHEL is not gratis, far from it. Centos is, but I do not think Centos +could exist without RHEL. That's because the whole "let's validate the +API" business is costly for the distribution. Far more costly that what +we can afford as a community distribution, and far from being sexy for +coders. For the coder that use a old API, this usually mean the API +offer less features. For the coder who wrote a library and thus offer a +API, this usually mean that no one test your new and improved code, +which can be simpler, easier to debug, etc. So you cannot count on +"free" coders, ie you have to pay someone to do the job. You also have +to pay someone to do the formal and rigorous QA. + +2) newer distributions are usually offering more features. And people +want features. The start of this discussion is "how can I install the +new office suite", which basically mean "i would like to have new +features of some software". While everybody will tell "but I only need +this feature", nobody will give the same feature. + +But I think people can try to do it. Just install Centos to your +friends, and make a rpm repository of update to firefox, to openoffice +and others, and see how it goes. Or maybe use a BSD, like PcBSD +( <A HREF="http://www.pcbsd.org/">http://www.pcbsd.org/</A> ). + +Maybe you will have success. And maybe not. + +Personally, and as arrogant and elitist it sounds, I value more the +innovation than binary endless compatibility, and so I think free +software ressources are best spent into new features than into keeping +unmaintained binary softwares working ( because yes, a software that no +one recompile since X years is a unmaintained piece of binary to me ). + +So, to me, the current situation is fine. I know it is not for +everybody, but as I said, for people who want a different system, there +is a solution. +But I do not know why people do not use it. +-- +Michael Scherer + +</PRE> + + + + + + + + + +<!--endarticle--> + <HR> + <P><UL> + <!--threads--> + <LI>Previous message: <A HREF="000846.html">[Mageia-dev] How will be the realese cycle? +</A></li> + <LI>Next message: <A HREF="000821.html">[Mageia-dev] Talk of Browsers +</A></li> + <LI> <B>Messages sorted by:</B> + <a href="date.html#824">[ date ]</a> + <a href="thread.html#824">[ thread ]</a> + <a href="subject.html#824">[ subject ]</a> + <a href="author.html#824">[ author ]</a> + </LI> + </UL> + +<hr> +<a href="https://www.mageia.org/mailman/listinfo/mageia-dev">More information about the Mageia-dev +mailing list</a><br> +</body></html> |