On Thu, 7 Aug 2014, John Jason Jordan wrote:

> During the past hour I've discovered half a dozen more programs that were
> uninstalled, and a couple more where the executable will no longer launch.
> Dist-upgrades suck rocks.

John,

   Sometimes the efforts to make things 'easy' for users and spare them the
details of what's happening inside the black box does more harm than good.
Microsoft Windows is a prime example: the overwhelming majority of users
treat it like they treat their telephone or TV. They've no idea how it
works, they just use it. Ergo, spam bots and worse.

   While there may be a market for this approach, I don't think it's
appropriate for those who both need and want to know more details. When we
depend on complex technologies, I believe we have a responsibility to know
_something_ about how they work.

   Linux is more like an Erector Set (remember those?): you get a box of
components of various shapes and sizes with a selection of fasteners, then
you build whatever you want with the pieces. Didn't require as much
knowledge as the Gilbert Chemistry Sets, but more knowledge than Lincoln
Logs.

   Perhaps a distribution with a longer release cycle but a more visible
approach to upgrades would suit your needs better. The time you invest in
learning more details will be saved by not having to go back and repair
breaks you did not know happened.

   I recall your using Fedora in the past; it might be worth another look by
you.

Good luck,

Rich
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