Ubuntu release names/version numbers (was: Debian or Ubuntu?)

[Ben Novack]

> > > I suggest the Ubuntu team consider relying a little
> > > LESS on code names and more on OS versions.
> > >
> > > Warty, Hoary, Grumpy, Dumpy, Lazy, Larky, Snorey... what's in a name?
> >
> > For me? A little of personal touch, plus
> > I don't like Ubuntu's version numbering scheme.
> 
> It's a personal touch but only of meaning to people who immerse
> themselves in it. I like it, but not for real use. For an external
> user Warty is going to suggest something amateurish. Microsoft doesn't
> market their OSes using code names for good reason -- they add to
> version confusion.
> 
> Watch and see what happens when there's Warty, Hoary, Grumpy and Wimpy
> Ubuntu. Sounds like the beginning of the Snow White story and not an
> OS.

Ah, but what if we look at things from the Mac perspective? The
average user isn't going to be sure whether they have 10.2 or 10.3 or
10.whatever. I work tech support; John Q Public knows there's a 9
somewhere in his Windows, but is it 95 or 98 or 98se? Who knows? In
contrast, Mac users know they have Panther, or Jaguar, or Tiger -
they're *names* that are easy to recall. I'm not sure what the latest
version of Mandrake is - 10.1, I think - but I definitely know that if
I download Debian, I'm getting Sarge, for example.

What we have is a choice between it being easy to remember *what you
have* and being easy to remember *where you are* relative to other
versions.