Oliver Grawert wrote: > hi, > On Mi, 2008-10-01 at 19:48 -0400, Patrick Rady wrote: >> I guess I'm feeling a little burned by Hardy Heron. Perhaps I am confused by >> the concept of the LTS version- but it seems like the LTS concept is kind of >> pointless for desktop versions. I understand a long-term support version of >> a server OS. But having a desktop stuck with same apps, infrequent backports >> and nothing but security patches... is kinda... not helpful for my >> particular situation. Especially when the LTS version in question, is not >> especially rock solid. The LTS badge seems to imply a stability that isn't >> exactly there. Debian's philosophy seems more closely aligned with my >> situation. I want updated apps, not the necessity to update the whole >> shebang every 6 months. > > are you aware that debian once it gets stable follows a harder policy > than ubuntu LTS ? there are no bugfix updates for annoyances like in the > ubuntu LTS release, only security updates until the next stable release > in (possibly) some years. with a stable debian release (which testing > will turn into within the next month(s)) you are more stuck. > > (i dont want to get you away from debian or something, but your > assumptions seem fairly wrong, in fact the massively outdated and stuck > nature of stable debian releases (which is great for servers but sucks > on desktops) is the main reason ubuntu exists at all) > Oliver is right about this, as long as you're talking about Debian Stable. Note that in Debian-speak, "stable" means "unchanging", not "dependable". Of course it's pretty dependable too but the important distinction is since "testing" is not "stable", that means it is "not unchanging" (it doesn't necessarily mean it's "not dependable"). Were there too many double-negatives in there for that to make sense?
I've been using Ubuntu for years, and still am using it. I generally find that it's dependable, but upgrading to the next version sometimes introduces new bugs that didn't exist in the old version. I question the usefulness of an LTS version for my purposes (however, I have it installed on my parents' computer because it suits them well). I've been using Debian Etch since it was released as stable. At first the package versions seemed fairly new, but they are showing their age now. I recently started using Debian Testing and I've found it to be just what I want in a desktop. It is dependable and has new versions of packages released frequently. The volume of updates is about the same as I have on my Ubuntu Hardy machines (or maybe slightly more). I will probably use Debian Testing for my next LTSP server at work. I am slightly nervous about the volume of updates and their potential to break something (I haven't experienced breakage so far, but I have only been using Debian Testing for about 6 months). I may decide to limit my upgrades to things like Firefox, OpenOffice, ssh, and the kernel in order to reduce the chance of breakage -- since this machine won't have any services running that are accessible from the internet, and my users are pretty trustworthy, that'll be fairly safe. One other difference I've noticed between Debian and Ubuntu is that Ubuntu definitely makes it easier to install some of the non-free stuff. For instance, using Debian I had to go to an external website to download firmware for my Intel wireless card. Just be prepared for that kind of thing. I was frustrated at first just because I didn't know what the problem was, but once I figured it out it's easy to address. -Rob ******************************************************** The information transmitted is intended only for the person or entity to which it is addressed and may contain confidential and/or privileged material. If you are not the addressee, any disclosure, reproduction, copying, distribution, or other dissemination or use of this transmission in error please notify the sender immediately and then delete this e-mail. E-mail transmission cannot be guaranteed to be secure or error free as information could be intercepted, corrupted lost, destroyed, arrive late or incomplete, or contain viruses. The sender therefore does not accept liability for any errors or omissions in the contents of this message which arise as a result of e-mail transmission. If verification is required please request a hard copy version. ******************************************************** ------------------------------------------------------------------------- This SF.Net email is sponsored by the Moblin Your Move Developer's challenge Build the coolest Linux based applications with Moblin SDK & win great prizes Grand prize is a trip for two to an Open Source event anywhere in the world http://moblin-contest.org/redirect.php?banner_id=100&url=/ _____________________________________________________________________ Ltsp-discuss mailing list. To un-subscribe, or change prefs, goto: https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/ltsp-discuss For additional LTSP help, try #ltsp channel on irc.freenode.net
