[ubuntu-uk] What's In A Name?

[Liam Proven]

On 13 June 2011 11:48, Sean Miller <sean at seanmiller.net> wrote:
> I think the year.month release numbers are very useful... if somebody says
> to me "I have OS-Something Version 1.5" I have absolutely NO idea whatsoever
> whether that release is bleeding edge or deprecated.  If I read "Ubuntu
> 11.04" I know that is up-to-date: on the other hand, if I have somebody
> saying "can you help me with my Ubuntu 7.10 because it won't mount my memory
> stick?" I don't even have to think before saying "That's almost 4 years old,
> I think you might need to upgrade to a more recent release!!".
>
> No, I think the numbering system works well, and I would like to see it
> maintained.
>
> As for development codenames, they exist in most operating systems.  As
> others have said, you can't create a YY.MM release number until you know
> when it is going to go live, though with Ubuntu that's SLIGHTLY less of an
> issue because of the strict six-monthly release cycle.

This. Definitely - WHS.

But also... Considerations nobody's mentioned:

[1] The thing is, with Linux, a single version number isn't very
meaningful. All the different bits are developed by different people.
Do you go by the kernel, or x.org, or GNOME, or what? Ubuntu decided
to sync its releases to the semi-annual GNOME 2 releases but now it
doesn't even use GNOME any more.

[2] International tastes vary widely. Brits prefer numbers, others do
not; e.g. my Kawasaki ZZR1100 is a ZX11 in Japan and a Ninja 1100 in
America. My Sharp CL-5500 was a Zaurus in America, and so on.

[3] Version numbers are a marketing fiction anyway & most people know
that these days. At least the year/month thing contains useful
information, unlike, say, Windows "7", which is either v6.1 or NT v5
or Windows v10 depending on how you count - anything but v7.0.


-- 
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