[K12OSN] Release cycle too fast

[Petre Scheie]

When you consider that "an application" isn't really a single entity but rather  a 
collection of files--the main executables, myriad support libraries, drivers, 
etc.--updating even just one application isn't updating just one thing.  And very often, 
those support libraries and drivers are used by more than one application--that's the 
point of an operating system.  So, a problem is found in one of the libraries, and a new 
version is created that fixes the problem.  But that change may mean that some 
applications have to also be changed to work with the new library.  Most distros come 
with more than 2000 applications, many inter-related. And many/most of those 
applications are being further developed. In some ways, it's amazing they don't release 
new versions more often than they do.

Having said that, you don't need to upgrade the whole OS just to keep, for example, SSH 
current.  You DO have to step outside the automated tools the Distro vendor provides, 
and go to installing the packages manually, but on a 'older' system that is relatively 
static--that is, you're not adding additional functionality--that's not that hard.  I 
have some RH 8 boxes in which we just upgrade the SSH package as necessary.

If you want to buy 'tires' for your more-than-two-year-old system, and 'buy' is the key 
word here, check out progeny.com.  For $60 per year per box, they will provide patches 
for your Red Hat 7.2, 7.3, 8.0, systems, and other custom platforms for a fee.  For a 
business, it's a pretty good deal.  If you want FREE updates you have to go where free 
stuff is available, and that means things like Fedora.  Perhaps linux usage will some 
day reach a critical mass such that there will be enough people involved that there will 
be some interested in continually maintaining older distributions for free.  But I 
suspect that day is a ways off yet.

Petre

Rob Owens wrote:
> --- David Trask <dtrask at vcs.u52.k12.me.us> wrote:
> 
>>Think of it this way....they make new cars every
>>year....does that mean we
>>buy one every year?  Not me.
> 
> 
> Yeah, but what if you couldn't get tires for your car
> after 2 years.  Sure, you could make your own, but do
> you know how?  This is kind of how I feel about linux
> distro release cycles.  Every time there is a new
> release, some older release usually stops getting
> updates and security fixes.  I'm not sure how Fedora
> is, but Mandrake for instance offers security updates
> for a year-and-a-half (I think) after the initial
> release date.  After that, you're on your own to find
> patches to your system.
> 
> On my own desktop, I don't have a problem upgrading
> once in a while.  But I maintain a few systems for
> family members who only need internet and email.  In
> the case of my parents, I'd rather never do an
> upgrade, because anything different only confuses
> them.  But I need to upgrade if I want to
> automatically receive the next bugfix to openssh, for
> instance.
> 
> I know this may not directly apply to K12LTSP, but I'm
> trying to point out that not everybody out there needs
> or even wants the latest and greatest thing.  Some
> people prefer to have the same old thing.  There has
> been such explosive growth in Linux lately that this
> is a tough point to get across to people.  Techies
> always want the latest and greatest, and techies are
> the ones doing all the coding.
> 
> Good job to everybody responsible for this software. 
> It's great and I really do like seeing all the
> improvements.  
> 
> -Rob
> 
> 
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