openSUSE Moves To 8 Month Release Cycle in All Things Unix http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r22031144 en Tue, 09 Feb 2010 18:46:55 EDT Tue, 09 Feb 2010 18:46:55 EDT Re: openSUSE Moves To 8 Month Release Cycle http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22050878 SUMware : 11.2 Roadmap and Fixed Release Cycle for openSUSE

by Joe Brockmeier - Community Manager for openSUSE
March 5th, 2009]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22050878 Wed, 11 Mar 2009 10:31:52 EDT Re: openSUSE Moves To 8 Month Release Cycle http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22047189 nwrickert :
1) The support cycle for any given opensuse version is only two years so after that point you risk exposing an unpatched box to the internet.
That's one of the considerations in whether to upgrade.

I have an older computer with Slackware 7.1 on it. That dates back to 2000. I don't often use it, except as a secondary backup system. But when I do use it on the Internet, I do so without any great fear about it being out of date.
2) The upgrade path from minor version to minor version is relatively painless, but trying to upgrade from like 10.0 to 11.1 will probably fail the sanity check.
That's never been a problem for me. When doing an "upgrade", I just do a complete new install, except that I preserve my separate "/home" partition (where I have saved copies of some files that I will want to copy to the new system). Going from 10.1 to 11.0 was not a problem.
3) Occasionally we all buy new hardware, either by choice or necessity requiring driver support which can only be gained by the latest version.
In my experience, you sometimes need the version after the latest. So you manage as best you can till there is a release where everything works, or you compile some of your own software. I currently compile "madwifi" on my laptop, and the cisco VPN client on both laptop and desktop.
My current setup is a mix of 4 machines, running a mix of 11.0 and 11.1. I had to revert a couple back to 11.0 because of serious bugs in the 11.1 kernel which no longer properly supported my wireless or my webcams.
I'm currently at 11.0 on both laptop and desktop. I will probably stay with 11.0 until support ceases.

It sounds as if you should agree with the "upgrade when you want to" idea, and that you decide this based more on the support cycle than on the release cycle. That about what I do, too.
--
AT&T dsl; Westell 327w modem/router; openSuSE 11.0; firefox 3.0.6]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22047189 Tue, 10 Mar 2009 17:21:30 EDT Re: openSUSE Moves To 8 Month Release Cycle http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22046972 anon : That would be dandy but there's a few flies in that ointment.

1) The support cycle for any given opensuse version is only two years so after that point you risk exposing an unpatched box to the internet.

2) The upgrade path from minor version to minor version is relatively painless, but trying to upgrade from like 10.0 to 11.1 will probably fail the sanity check.

3) Occasionally we all buy new hardware, either by choice or necessity requiring driver support which can only be gained by the latest version.

My current setup is a mix of 4 machines, running a mix of 11.0 and 11.1. I had to revert a couple back to 11.0 because of serious bugs in the 11.1 kernel which no longer properly supported my wireless or my webcams.

The upshot is that I plan to stay with these versions til the end of their life cycles because these are the last versions SuSE plans to release supporting KDE 3.5 and 4.whatever is simply not ready for prime time yet.

In a year and a half from now though, I'll be forced to upgrade again to keep my machines patched and all this nonsense will start over again.

And anyone who thinks a year and a half is long time, simply has not lived long enough :D :D :D]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22046972 Tue, 10 Mar 2009 16:47:58 EDT Re: openSUSE Moves To 8 Month Release Cycle http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22046765 nwrickert :
The short story is if you want to upgrade then do it and if you don't, well then don't.
Exactly right.
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AT&T dsl; Westell 327w modem/router; openSuSE 11.0; firefox 3.0.6]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22046765 Tue, 10 Mar 2009 16:14:20 EDT Re: openSUSE Moves To 8 Month Release Cycle http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22046668 firephoto : To summarize...

People want their hands held so longer release cycles are better than say just not upgrading whenever the possibility exists. ;)

Everyday I use Kubuntu 8.04. It also just happens to be the LTS release version. This wasn't a deciding factor for me. The fact that *buntu 8.10 generally sucks was a deciding factor and it was also released 6 months after 8.04 but that didn't matter.

Today I could switch to *buntu 9.04 which is a pre-release for everyday use and feel good about it but I just haven't yet even though it's desktop is 30 seconds away on a new drive. It's ready to go and can get the job done and will be at a final release state in about one month. If the final release was 3 months from now then I'm almost certain that it would not be in a useable state right now because the developers would be taking the extra time to play with things and leave it generally broken because the release would be so far off. The point is in opensource there's not much love for 'fixing' when one could be tweaking of making something new. Ask any developer if they'd rather be bugfixing or writing new code and almost always they opt for the new code answer.

This opensuse 8 month cycle probably has a lot to do with the hate for the 6 month release cycle guys. When KDE was debating release cycle timings some wanted 6 months, some 8 months and others just a flexible one and the votes fell strong on distro allegiances.

The short story is if you want to upgrade then do it and if you don't, well then don't. Be a free thinker and use your hands creatively and not for getting dragged around like a 3 year old. :)
--
~~This is not The Greatest Sig in the World without annoying urls, no. This is just a tribute.~~]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22046668 Tue, 10 Mar 2009 15:56:03 EDT Re: openSUSE Moves To 8 Month Release Cycle http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22045295 revrus : In all seriousness I think too much emphasis is placed on the "get it out the door on time" mindset.

Personally other then the machine that I'm on the rest are usually one or two releases behind. At that time most of the bugs are beaten and things are fairly stable.

My machine usually is running Factory or, unstable. Hey I like to run the edge, what can I say.
--
DOS: n., A small annoying boot virus that causes random spontaneous system crashes, usually just before saving a massive project. Easily cured by UNIX. See also MS-DOS, IBM-DOS, DR-DOS. (from David Vicker's .plan) ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22045295 Tue, 10 Mar 2009 11:57:52 EDT Re: openSUSE Moves To 8 Month Release Cycle http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22044804 FastEddie :
said by happylurk :

In case you haven't noticed, No_Strings is a mod in this forum.


Damn! who left the door open again?

Hmmmm? maybe I did it when I ran the package manager. Hey! I'm still a newbie.


--
Here's To You]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22044804 Tue, 10 Mar 2009 10:28:50 EDT Re: openSUSE Moves To 8 Month Release Cycle http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22043296 No_Strings : Completely agree. That was tongue-in-cheek. Patches are available as needed and in a timely manner. Releases are logical, coincident with significant changes in the kernel, supporting packages or applications.

The only long dry spell was when Pat was sick. He made up for it.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22043296 Mon, 09 Mar 2009 23:44:35 EDT Re: openSUSE Moves To 8 Month Release Cycle http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22043207 nwrickert :
Pity us poor "When it's ready" Slackware users.
No pity from me. That's the best way of handling new releases.
--
AT&T dsl; Westell 327w modem/router; openSuSE 11.0; firefox 3.0.6]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22043207 Mon, 09 Mar 2009 23:25:17 EDT Re: openSUSE Moves To 8 Month Release Cycle http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22043186 No_Strings : Pity us poor "When it's ready" Slackware users.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22043186 Mon, 09 Mar 2009 23:20:06 EDT Re: openSUSE Moves To 8 Month Release Cycle http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22043185 rexbinary :
said by orion940 See Profile :

said by happylurk :

Personally I like a longer release cycle. I wouldn't even mind a 12 month release cycle.

IMHO that would give us all some much needed breathing room between upgrades.
I like a 12-month cycle as well.
I agree. I have been running Fedora, and just updating on the even number releases. This way I have a 12 month support cycle. This has worked out fairly well for the most part.

I'm not necessarily a 'latest and greatest' guy, but CentOS/RHEL has applications that are just too old even for me on the desktop. I suspect SUSE Enterprise Linux is the same.

Maybe CentOS/RHEL 6 will be the ticket for me when it releases.
--
Verizon FiOS subscriber since 8/1/05 | Mac owner since 1990 | FreeBSD user since 2005 | Fedora user since 2006 | "Anyone who is unwilling to learn is entitled to absolutely nothing." - graysonf | EDIT: I seldom post without an edit.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22043185 Mon, 09 Mar 2009 23:19:14 EDT Re: openSUSE Moves To 8 Month Release Cycle http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22043114 No_Strings : I'd prefer that everyone act like adults, keep a sense of humor and talk about Linux. In lieu of that, I have my finger on the button. ;)]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22043114 Mon, 09 Mar 2009 23:03:44 EDT Re: openSUSE Moves To 8 Month Release Cycle http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22042739 anon : In case you haven't noticed, No_Strings is a mod in this forum. Much as he asked politely to knock off the Flamethrowing you persist in your passive-aggressive bullshit...

As far as I see it, he's perfectly within his bounds should he decide to start editing or deleting out off topic posts or locking up the whole thread if need be.

Seriously, seek professional help. You have no idea how to let go of an anchor even as it yanks you to the bottom... :)]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22042739 Mon, 09 Mar 2009 21:42:44 EDT Re: openSUSE Moves To 8 Month Release Cycle http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22042604 SUMware :
said by happylurk :

said by SUMware See Profile :

Really, why cause yourself so much continued anguish? Just dump SUSE and use another distro that you do like and that makes you feel better.
You have seriously missed your calling in life. You should be a UAW negotiator. You have no grasp of reality, pig headed stubbornness and a "If you don't like it lump it attitude." :D :D :D
pssst. it was only a suggestion. don't be so upset... you don't have to do anything. really! no need to be nasty.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22042604 Mon, 09 Mar 2009 21:12:16 EDT Re: openSUSE Moves To 8 Month Release Cycle http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22042076 No_Strings : Let's put the flame throwers back in the holsters for now, stick with the SuSE release cycle and why it may or may not be a good idea.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22042076 Mon, 09 Mar 2009 19:35:25 EDT Re: openSUSE Moves To 8 Month Release Cycle http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22042051 anon :
said by SUMware See Profile :

Really, why cause yourself so much continued anguish? Just dump SUSE and use another distro that you do like and that makes you feel better.
You have seriously missed your calling in life. You should be a UAW negotiator. You have no grasp of reality, pig headed stubbornness and a "If you don't like it lump it attitude." :D :D :D]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22042051 Mon, 09 Mar 2009 19:30:59 EDT Re: openSUSE Moves To 8 Month Release Cycle http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22041910 SUMware :
said by revrus See Profile :

I have used SuSe off and on since around 6 or 7. The having to redo the repositories on upgrade has always been a pet peeve of mine.

With that said I think it's just the law suit, sue over everything, world we live in today. All companies are so busy covering their butts they don't care about the customers.
Yes we do live in an extremely litigious world. Use a different distro where redoing repos isn't needed. ;) That SUSE decided that it needs to legally do it that way seems to bother some folks, and not others.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22041910 Mon, 09 Mar 2009 19:01:32 EDT Re: openSUSE Moves To 8 Month Release Cycle http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22041863 revrus : I have used SuSe off and on since around 6 or 7. The having to redo the repositories on upgrade has always been a pet peeve of mine.

With that said I think it's just the law suit, sue over everything, world we live in today. All companies are so busy covering their butts they don't care about the customers.
--
DOS: n., A small annoying boot virus that causes random spontaneous system crashes, usually just before saving a massive project. Easily cured by UNIX. See also MS-DOS, IBM-DOS, DR-DOS. (from David Vicker's .plan) ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22041863 Mon, 09 Mar 2009 18:52:06 EDT Re: openSUSE Moves To 8 Month Release Cycle http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22041811 SUMware :
said by happylurk :

Yah right, like some tier one pakistani speaking CSR drone is going to explain the razor thin legalities of Novell/SuSE's release policies in excruciating detail...
So you called Novell's toll free number and a "tier one pakistani" answered? No kidding?
said by happylurk :

By god you're full of yourself. What do you have against a few disgruntled users enjoying a well justified rant against SuSE once in a while.
Swear and rant away as much as you like. Even when completely unjustified. Nobody's stopping you. You don't need anyone else's permission nor approval. Do you?
said by happylurk :

You truly seem to think that SuSE is unable to release anything even resembling a flawed product at any time don't you?
Whatever perfect may be, nothing is. That's what patches and updates are for. And SUSE has it's share of issues (and fixes) as do all distros. Now, please tell all the nice people that you really can't read my mind. :)

Really, why cause yourself so much continued anguish? Just dump SUSE and use another distro that you do like and that makes you feel better.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22041811 Mon, 09 Mar 2009 18:40:35 EDT Re: openSUSE Moves To 8 Month Release Cycle http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22041729 anon : Yah right, like some tier one pakistani speaking CSR drone is going to explain the razor thin legalities of Novell/SuSE's release policies in excruciating detail...

By god you're full of yourself. What do you have against a few disgruntled users enjoying a well justified rant against SuSE once in a while.

You truly seem to think that SuSE is unable to release anything even resembling a flawed product at any time don't you?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22041729 Mon, 09 Mar 2009 18:24:31 EDT Re: openSUSE Moves To 8 Month Release Cycle http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22041587 SUMware : Now I feel bad. :(

Here are a few of Novell's toll free phone numbers:

United States
800-529-3400

Canada
800-668-6547

Germany
0800-181-6048

If you need more let me know. Please tell us what you find out.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22041587 Mon, 09 Mar 2009 17:52:09 EDT Re: openSUSE Moves To 8 Month Release Cycle http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22041523 SUMware : Easy way out. :) You don't need me to provide you a link to educate yourself. ;)]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22041523 Mon, 09 Mar 2009 17:39:48 EDT Re: openSUSE Moves To 8 Month Release Cycle http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22041516 No_Strings : I suspect they have better things to do than talk to me (I certainly hope they do), but if you have a link I would be happy to educate myself.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22041516 Mon, 09 Mar 2009 17:38:17 EDT Re: openSUSE Moves To 8 Month Release Cycle http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22041505 SUMware : If you really want to know why not just ask Novell's and SUSE's international IP legal staff? They would know and there would be no further cause for you to speculate.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22041505 Mon, 09 Mar 2009 17:36:15 EDT Re: openSUSE Moves To 8 Month Release Cycle http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22041493 No_Strings : How does that explain the stance of Red Hat on similar things?

I understand SuSE's history, where they have critical mass and how the corporate structure works. My point is that no one is going to go after someone for patent violation when their output is 27 downloads of a derivative of a derivative of a repackage of Debian and whose total net worth is $357 if you count the iPods.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22041493 Mon, 09 Mar 2009 17:34:10 EDT Re: openSUSE Moves To 8 Month Release Cycle http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22041446 SUMware :
said by No_Strings See Profile :

said by SUMware See Profile :

SUSE is based in Germany.
SuSE is owned by Novell.
404 Wyman Street, Waltham, MA 0245

I suspect it's simply a matter of size. The big players who are making money at this have more risk and are bigger targets than someone packaging a distro out of their garage.
No. It's a matter of location:

Novell's European division includes SUSE Linux operations in Nuremberg, Germany

Suse Werbeagentur GmbH
Maxfeldstr. 5
90409 Nürnberg, Germany
+49 911 740530

»news.opensuse.org/2008/12/10/rel···remberg/
Just a reminder, we will have a party on the release day in Nuremberg [for 11.1]. If you are nearby, don’t miss it! We plan to have some demo systems, burn service and of course some food and drinks. It’s on December 18th, 2008 18:00-21:00 CET.
The address is Maxfeldstr. 5, 90409 Nuremberg, Germany

»en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SUSE_Linux···ibutions
Suse Linux is of German origin and mainly developed in Europe. The first version of this distribution appeared in early 1994, making SUSE the oldest existing commercial distribution yet. It is known for its YaST configuration tool. The developer rights are owned by Novell, Inc. since 2003, when the company bought SUSE.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22041446 Mon, 09 Mar 2009 17:27:09 EDT Re: openSUSE Moves To 8 Month Release Cycle http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22041408 orion940 : No one is arguing about packages in the distribution, at least I'm not. I'm arguing, let us choose the repositories at install time, so you don't have to go back and reinstall all the stuff you lose.

O.
--
Nothing has more momentum than mass stupidity.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22041408 Mon, 09 Mar 2009 17:21:13 EDT Re: openSUSE Moves To 8 Month Release Cycle http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22041382 SUMware : The reasons why a certain software package is not included in the main openSUSE are the following:

* The software is proprietary software, it does not conform to the Open Source definition.
* The software is providing functionality which is patented and the patent holder is preventing distribution of the software
* The software violates laws concerning software distribution in jurisdictions where Novell conducts business.

Some proprietary software and drivers may be available from their respective owners and licensed vendors. Patent-encumbered software may be obtained from vendors which have been able to struck licensing deals with the patent holders.

Novell has a headquarters in Germany.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22041382 Mon, 09 Mar 2009 17:17:36 EDT Re: openSUSE Moves To 8 Month Release Cycle http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22041335 No_Strings :
said by SUMware See Profile :

SUSE is based in Germany.
SuSE is owned by Novell.
404 Wyman Street, Waltham, MA 0245

I suspect it's simply a matter of size. The big players who are making money at this have more risk and are bigger targets than someone packaging a distro out of their garage.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22041335 Mon, 09 Mar 2009 17:11:40 EDT Re: openSUSE Moves To 8 Month Release Cycle http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22041321 orion940 :
said by SUMware See Profile :

Rant away all you like revealing your lack of understanding and crudeness.
SUSE is based in Germany.
They can't include it, Fedora won't include it, but in either case the user can add products, features, etc. according to the laws of their own country. So do the disclaimer once, and get it over with. Packman repo is in Germany, BTW.

O.
--
Nothing has more momentum than mass stupidity.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22041321 Mon, 09 Mar 2009 17:09:31 EDT Re: openSUSE Moves To 8 Month Release Cycle http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22041296 SUMware :
said by happylurk :

WHY does it make ANY F*ing difference if you have to make a conscious effort add the repos DURING the install instead of AFTER?

To me the entire "GPL" line of bullshit smells like so much bullshit anyway. Distros like Mint and Medialinux don't put people thru this garbage simply for the sake of keeping their metaphorical hands "Spotlessly OCD Clean..." :p
Rant away all you like revealing your lack of understanding and crudeness.
SUSE is based in Germany.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22041296 Mon, 09 Mar 2009 17:04:38 EDT Re: openSUSE Moves To 8 Month Release Cycle http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22041295 anon : Even Ubuntu doesn't put you thru the garbage of reselecting all repos after an upgrade install. It automatically assumes you have made your legal decisions on the first install.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22041295 Mon, 09 Mar 2009 17:04:09 EDT Re: openSUSE Moves To 8 Month Release Cycle http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22041292 orion940 : I was going to say that, but I was busy googling pictures of statues with pidgeon aftermath.

I agree with happy 100%. I understand there are laws that say they can't have/include all this, but if they allow the additions after the fact from a third party, just cut the chase and let us put the repo's in at install time.

This was my major complaint (well one of them), about Windows, you got to start over. OS/2 was the only one I recall not having to go through the BS of reinstalling everything.

O.
--
Nothing has more momentum than mass stupidity.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22041292 Mon, 09 Mar 2009 17:03:35 EDT Re: openSUSE Moves To 8 Month Release Cycle http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22041263 anon : What's the point of making you jump thru an extra hoop AFTER installing to accomplish the same thing?

WHY does it make ANY F*ing difference if you have to make a conscious effort add the repos DURING the install instead of AFTER?

To me the entire "GPL" line of bullshit smells like so much bullshit anyway. Distros like Mint and Medialinux don't put people thru this garbage simply for the sake of keeping their metaphorical hands "Spotlessly OCD Clean..." :p]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22041263 Mon, 09 Mar 2009 16:57:52 EDT Re: openSUSE Moves To 8 Month Release Cycle http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22041222 SUMware :
said by happylurk :

If SuSE wanted to make upgrades painless, they'd automatically allow you to add Packman and Videolan and Non-OSS repos right from the beginning. But they hold firm on this blockheaded issue as a matter of policy it seems.
No they don't.

As has been explained to you in this forum numerous times (as well as available information on the openSUSE site) this has to do with international legal and licensing issues. Here are the links again:
Discover It - Restricted Formats and openSUSE - Restricted Formats]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22041222 Mon, 09 Mar 2009 16:48:33 EDT Re: openSUSE Moves To 8 Month Release Cycle http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22041086 anon : Actually that's an annoying thing about a SuSE upgrade install that's bothered me for years.

Every install, be it fresh or upgrade, reverts to the same 3 or 4 standard repos regardless of how you may manually try and update them to the extra repos.

The result is that the SuSE upgrade sees all your proprietary installed programs as deprecated and uninstalls them.

Leaving you with an extra few hours work to bring any system back to your own personal working specs.

If SuSE wanted to make upgrades painless, they'd automatically allow you to add Packman and Videolan and Non-OSS repos right from the beginning. But they hold firm on this blockheaded issue as a matter of policy it seems.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22041086 Mon, 09 Mar 2009 16:28:41 EDT Re: openSUSE Moves To 8 Month Release Cycle http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22041034 orion940 : I meant not having to reinstall all the products (firefox, etc etc etc.) would be the benefit. The other stuff, I have isolated as well.

Was there a way I could have just pointed to the new repo's and not had to worry about what I had installed and stuff?

Feel free to dump on me, it would be the fourth or fifth layer up anyhow, today. I won't feel it. Sometimes you're the pidgeon, sometimes you're the statue. Today is statue day for me. :D

O.
--
Nothing has more momentum than mass stupidity.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22041034 Mon, 09 Mar 2009 16:18:03 EDT Re: openSUSE Moves To 8 Month Release Cycle http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22040776 SUMware :
said by nwrickert See Profile :

I always do clean installs. I keep my own files on a separate partition, so that they won't be affected. I have never done an upgrade install.
Exactly. Me, too.

One of the nice things about openSUSE is that the repos are constantly updated to the latest versions 24/7. With YaST it's simple to stay current at whatever level the user chooses. And, of course, no one is forced to immediately upgrade to the next OS version as each is supported for 2 years.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22040776 Mon, 09 Mar 2009 15:35:35 EDT Re: openSUSE Moves To 8 Month Release Cycle http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22040693 nwrickert :
I did start from scratch with 11.1, and while it's good to clean house once in a while, I don't need to do it all the time.
I always do clean installs. I keep my own files on a separate partition, so that they won't be affected. I have never done an upgrade install.
--
AT&T dsl; Westell 327w modem/router; openSuSE 11.0; firefox 3.0.6]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22040693 Mon, 09 Mar 2009 15:24:48 EDT Re: openSUSE Moves To 8 Month Release Cycle http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22040590 orion940 :
said by happylurk :

Personally I like a longer release cycle. I wouldn't even mind a 12 month release cycle.

IMHO that would give us all some much needed breathing room between upgrades.
I like a 12-month cycle as well.

If you are running any small office business, you don't need to be constantly updating. By time you get something stable, a new one comes out. I tend not to upgrade until there is a compelling reason. 10.3 worked very nicely for me. 11.1 is OK with KDE3.5.

FWIW, I'd like to see them focus on a clean upgrade path. I did start from scratch with 11.1, and while it's good to clean house once in a while, I don't need to do it all the time.

O.
--
Nothing has more momentum than mass stupidity.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22040590 Mon, 09 Mar 2009 15:10:37 EDT Re: openSUSE Moves To 8 Month Release Cycle http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22036918 joako :
said by nwrickert See Profile :

I purchase the DVD, mainly as a way of supporting the project.

The release timing isn't as important as the support timing. I tend to continue with a release until support ends, unless there is something I badly want that has been added to the newest release.
They sent me the box for free, probably for submitting too many bug reports :)

I agree... I still have 10.3 on my laptop. After having massive issues on 11.1 I think I'll hold back from upgrading.
--
PRescott7-2097]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22036918 Sun, 08 Mar 2009 20:22:19 EDT Re: openSUSE Moves To 8 Month Release Cycle http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22035871 nwrickert : I purchase the DVD, mainly as a way of supporting the project.

The release timing isn't as important as the support timing. I tend to continue with a release until support ends, unless there is something I badly want that has been added to the newest release.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22035871 Sun, 08 Mar 2009 16:15:00 EDT Re: openSUSE Moves To 8 Month Release Cycle http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22035854 leibold : If you like stable software and infrequent release cycles then you might want to look at the distributions for large businesses such as SuSE Linux Enterprise, RedHat Enterprise Linux or CentOS.

The reason for the much more frequent updates in consumer distributions of Linux is that this class of users tends to demand support for the latest and greatest in hardware, peripherals, multimedia, eye candy and whatever.

Personally I don't see the switch from 6 to 8 month as such a big deal. However I don't know how many OpenSuSE users are choosing the free downloads and how many buy the release package. Increasing the length of the release cycle should reduce the revenue stream from selling the DVD package. If that is a significant source of funding for the OpenSuSE project that would not be good.
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Got some spare cpu cycles ? Join Team Helix or Team Starfire!]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22035854 Sun, 08 Mar 2009 16:10:07 EDT Re: openSUSE Moves To 8 Month Release Cycle http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22035653 anon : Personally I like a longer release cycle. I wouldn't even mind a 12 month release cycle.

IMHO that would give us all some much needed breathing room between upgrades.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22035653 Sun, 08 Mar 2009 15:24:02 EDT Re: openSUSE Moves To 8 Month Release Cycle http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22034137 joako : Yep. The KDE betas were included with the last two releases.
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PRescott7-2097]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22034137 Sun, 08 Mar 2009 07:19:25 EDT Re: openSUSE Moves To 8 Month Release Cycle http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22033845 leibold : I expect that they will continue to do what they have always done in those situations: include both the latest stable release and a beta/rc of the upcoming release on the DVD.
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Got some spare cpu cycles ? Join Team Helix or Team Starfire!]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22033845 Sun, 08 Mar 2009 01:53:53 EDT Re: openSUSE Moves To 8 Month Release Cycle http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22031464 SUMware : More dev time hopefully minimizes quality issues. My impression is that this schedule is not absolutely cast in cement.
said by donoreo See Profile :

The 8 month cycle causes another problem. Gnome and KDE are doing 6 month releases and this means at some point they will miss a new release that will be just a month or so away.
C'est la vie. Manual update via repos.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22031464 Sat, 07 Mar 2009 14:36:04 EDT Re: openSUSE Moves To 8 Month Release Cycle http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22031208 donoreo : It is nice to know when the next release is coming, but I hope they do not rush things to make a release date rather than fixing something broken.

The 8 month cycle causes another problem. Gnome and KDE are doing 6 month releases and this means at some point they will miss a new release that will be just a month or so away.
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The irony of common sense, it is not that common
I cannot deny anything I did not say]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22031208 Sat, 07 Mar 2009 13:30:37 EDT openSUSE Moves To 8 Month Release Cycle http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22031144 SUMware : From Ars Technica
March 6, 2009 -
quote:
The openSUSE community has published the roadmap for the 11.2 release and unveiled the schedule for the next several releases, all the way out to 2011. The distro will be shifting towards a fixed time-based eight-month release cycle.

Ubuntu and Fedora have both converged on six-month release cycles that are loosely pinned to the GNOME development schedule. The openSUSE developers have rejected this approach and selected an eight-month cycle instead because they don't believe that six months provides an adequate time window for building a quality distribution.

The new schedule was proposed in a message posted to the openSUSE mailing list by release manager Stephan Kulow.

OpenSUSE 11.2, which is codenamed Fichte, is planned for November 2009. It will include GNOME 2.28, KDE 4.3, a Web-based management interface for the YaST configuration system, improved support for Netbook hardware, and could potentially use Ext4 as the default filesystem. Subsequent releases will take place in July 2010, March 2011, and November 2011. Previous releases have generally been made at intervals of roughly 8 to 10 months, but a fixed cycle has never previously been enforced.

A strong commitment to a predetermined consistent release schedule makes it much easier for third-party developers and end-users to properly plan for releases. It also diminishes the risk of never-ending Duke Nukem Forever development cycles. The downside is that the pressure to ship on time can degrade release quality and also cause a distro to miss critical versions of important software components that are released too late for inclusion. The key is to be able to work within a schedule but make allowances for deviations where it is necessary and warranted.

The new openSUSE release strategy appears more structured than the previous approach, but still not as uncompromising as Ubuntu's rigid schedule commitment.
]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22031144 Sat, 07 Mar 2009 13:13:44 EDT