<OT> ubuntu bad press

[Ric Moore]

On Thu, 2011-08-25 at 16:57 -0400, Rashkae wrote:
> On 08/25/2011 04:43 PM, Ric Moore wrote:
> >
> > upgraded to the latest STABLE version of an application, especially when
> > they are as widely popular as Java and Firefox and possibly Libre
> > Office, ...if that is stable yet. I don't think that is too much to
> > expect from an LTS version. Again, just my two cents. Ric
> >
> >
> 
> 
> Well, other than Java upgrades can easily break Java applications, which 
> might be running on servers that are meant to be stable, and hence use 
> LTS for that very reason....

Sorry, older versions of Java 6 lack the security updates that the newer
ones provide. If you're running Java 6, a security update of Java 6
isn't going to break anything. It's still Java 6 with just the flaws
fixed. It's just a short script to determine which version of java a
system is running on the net. Find the one with a known hole and then
attack it. 

> I don't have similar first hand examples of Firefox, but I think the 
> same logic can apply... Stable is stable.. in this case, that means, the 
> damn thing doesn't change until you change it.  That's the way it's 
> supposed to be, in Debian and Ubuntu.

Right, but you have to go to a third party repo to get the upgrade. If I
am worried, I can lock my version of Firefox at the current level. I go
with that notion of backports. 

> I really hate some of the new Ubuntu direction, but this, at least, is 
> something they got right.
> 
> And please, don't bother waving your "Slackware from floppy days."... 
> You're not the only one.

Right, my point is that those of us that hail from that period have had
to switch distros, which is painful enough, when they don't listen to
their user base. Had RedHat heeded their "user" base, as opposed to
"commercial base", Ubuntu wouldn't have had the user base to draw on.
Bob Young, who I know personally, believed that if you have the hearts
and minds of the early users, you will have them when they go
commercial. 

That is the reason we had all of those RedHat Expo's and Red Hat
sponsored install-fests at universities and colleges. Me and my wife's
expenses were paid for a full weekend while working these fests. It was
a culture dedicated towards the user. It was Rock and Roll time. OK, so
they topped a billion in sales last year. That is great. But, they are
not out there soliciting the heart and minds of the younger crowd or the
private small-change developer who might become wildly successful in the
future. Whoever does will win the enterprise market in the future.

Right now, it's just me and myself developing. If it works, I have 3.7
million potential clients right off the bat. I want my platform to be
stable AND up-to-date. Then, I'll pay for support so I'm not grousing on
a user list.  

> However, nothing says we can't have our cake and eat it too.  Perhaps 
> what you should be asking for, and expecting to get, is a backports repo 
> for LTS that keeps popular applications up to date.  That, I think, 
> would be a very very good addition to Ubuntu LTS.  Especially in these 
> dark days ahead of desktop upheaval.

Exactly... I didn't use that term and I should have. I don't expect to
see Java 7 anytime soon, but the latest stable secure version of Java 6
should be a given, without exposing my root user via synaptic to a
private repo. anonymous just loves that. 

-- 
My father, Victor Moore (Vic) used to say:
"There are two Great Sins in the world...
..the Sin of Ignorance, and the Sin of Stupidity.
Only the former may be overcome." R.I.P. Dad.
Linux user# 44256