News Canonical to halve Ubuntu support lifetime

IMHO Canonical is doing a good job with Ubuntu. They've got a plan and they're sticking to it. It may not be the most popular distro amongs your regular linux posse, but it's definitely the most popular distro in total.

This hybrid system is definitely the way to go. It's the best of both worlds, rolling and stable, though the previous system was quite good in itself.

 

With it being "World Happiness Day" I really don't want to sound all negative about Linux as I usually do.
However, with all the Linux brigade trying to get as many WinOS users to switch at every turn or topic, wouldn't this just put people off doing just that?

 

I am disliking more and more the wayt he main Ubuntu distribution is headed.
Since Unity, and then the clustersmudge that was the 12.10 Amazon kerfuffle, I have tended to either use an ubuntu server image with whichever DE takes my fancy, or stick with one of the more lightweight community-spun flavours - Xubuntu and Lubuntu mostly.
I've never been a fan of KDE, but I've not tried it in a while, and with Blue systems now sponsoring, I might take a look to see if I can get on with it.

 

I am following Ubuntu Touch with real interest. If Windows RT does not come off (although I think it will, eventually), then I could always install it on my Surface RT. Seems ideal for such a platform.

 

I can't actually say anything bad about Ubuntu since I've started using it for my HTPC some three to four years back in time. It works like a charm once setup correctly with XBMC ontop and I don't see any reason ahy I actually should use anything else then the LTEs anyways.

Limiting the support for the non-LTE versions to nine month is totally sufficient imho aswell.

 

Outstanding, let's make make even more changes even more frequently and make Linux even less consistent and dependable.

But let's examine the fanboy response:

Except for: some of his hardware will stop working, he won't be able to use practically any of his favourite software, and he'll be required to go through a complex, time-consuming upgrade procedure once every - what is it - nine months, after which he'll spend a happy week adding repositories, recompiling kernels, and typing "sudo" 1.984*10^14 times to get back to almost where he started, give or take all the features that the linux world has decided aren't fashionable this week (regardless of how useful they actually are).

And neither does anyone else, because it will break everything.

P

 

You apparently don't understand how linux, or Ubuntu for that matter, operate. First of all, Canonical doesn't maintain every program of linux, so just because Ubuntu changes their course it doesn't mean they bring down everyone else with them. I personally use Arch, which is a rolling-release (it has no versions or release dates - it just chronically updates). I've found Arch to be pretty dependable and it uses newer software than Ubuntu.

Considering the recent decisions Canonical is making (such as with Unity or Mir), frequent changes on the user end are inevitable, but since they intend to take their own route that doesn't involve anyone else, it should calm down eventually. Besides, Ubuntu has been using half-year releases since it started, and you are able to upgrade from those without having to re-install your entire setup.

BTW, if you don't want to type sudo all the time, just type "su" and keep the window open.

 

Where there's a will, there's a hack.

 

Ulcers now in remission following three of my friends moving away from Linux on netbooks.

 

Hi Phil. I love your Linux opinion. Please regale us with the tale of how you used it once, 10 years ago and think its just exactly the same and regurgitate the same opinion ad infinitum.

Back on topic
I'm happy with this. Most, if not all, people taking their tentative first steps into Linux will most likely try Ubuntu's LTS version which remains untouched. It will help people focus on moving forward rather than patching back.

 

Its all well and good mentioning Unity in this article, but we are past that. What Ubuntu are doing goes beyound Microsoft or Apple or any of the other Linux Distros. A universal cross device OS, with a standard interface and usage model, that makes sense and works with the normal input methods. Forgetting the Linux tekki girls and boys - who will use what they want and flit and change as often as they choose. For normal users, Ubuntu promises a great computing experience across all your gadgets.

I am happy with the arrangement. I think most users that Ubuntu are going after, will be too. I am glad there is Linux Mint and all the other groups and distros. There should be diversity so that those (Phil) who feel that needing to upgrade (shiver) their OS more than once a decade is too much - can find something less..... progressive!?

 

Yeah well, Microsoft is doing the same and is keelhauled for just removing the Start Button. Ubuntu Unity caused spasms of paroxysm for similar reasons. Me thinks that many users don't do "progressive".

 

If you have a look at the IRC log for that meeting, you can see that only 3 people voted for the change to a 9-month "interim" release cycle. That's tiny compared to the number of people eligible to vote.

 

Or

Code:

sudo -s