[OT] On upgrading to Ubuntu 12.10

[Richard Gaskin]

Peter Alcibiades wrote:

> The second and robust long term solution is go to Debian.
...
> Properly tested two to three year release cycle.  Complete developer
> agnosticism about which desktop is right for me.
...
> Actually, just checked, and its not available in the Debian wheezy
> repositories either.

With Ubuntu being derived from Debian, this isn't surprising.  For all 
the attention Ubuntu gets as the tall poppy, it's rare that the folks on 
the Ubuntu team have the time or interest to go out of their way to 
remove compatibility with upstream packages.   From what I've seen 
hanging out in the Ubuntu forums for the last few years, in most cases 
when a Debian package is no longer available it was an upstream decision.

Like Debian, Ubuntu offers Long-Term Support versions every two years, 
with which the user can expect bug fixes and security enhancements for a 
full five years after initial release while maintaining a consistent 
look-and-feel and core feature set.  I use this version on my servers 
(except for one which is configured to mirror Dreamhost so it uses 
Debian), and on the laptop my gal uses because she prefers a system that 
changes less frequently than I do.

Unlike Debian, Ubuntu also has a new version available every six months 
for those users who prefer more frequent rollouts of new features.  I 
use this version on my workstations so my LiveCode testing reflects the 
current version, and I generally like exploring the new features.

And of course if having twice as many options for release cycles as many 
other distros offer isn't enough, the beauty of Linux is that we have a 
hundred distros to choose from.  Pick the distro whose development cycle 
most closely matches your personal preferences, choose the desktop 
environment you like (I keep three installed with Ubuntu for testing: 
Unity, Gnome Shell, and XCFE), tweak to your heart's content using any 
of the many tools available for all of them, and the result is an OS 
more closely tailored to one's personal preferences than is possible 
with any proprietary system.

Viva le difference! :)

--
  Richard Gaskin
  Fourth World
  LiveCode training and consulting: http://www.fourthworld.com
  Webzine for LiveCode developers: http://www.LiveCodeJournal.com
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