I'm the founder & CEO over at ThinkPenguin and I thought I would just fill in my two bits on this.
I believe the rolling release is likely a mistake. There are lots of unfixed bugs in Ubuntu already and things are moving needlessly fast. If it is going to be more than a toy for hackers it'll have to become easier to use and more consistent.
Here is what I think and why:
1. New LTS releases every two years is probably a decent target. This means consistency, printed books, and other education materials for new adopters.
2. LTS releases should have an integrated backports system with versions of critical components such as: HPLIP, kernel, libreoffice, firefox, pidgin/empathy, and other similar components. Some of these components should be maintained side-by-side with security updates to the originals. For instance this list probably would include the kernel & libreoffice.
3. Consistency of basic user interface components such as Unity over a number of years gives people the opportunity to learn Ubuntu. Unity was released too early and many users have jumped ship. I'm sure many in the Kubuntu community here would agree with that in particular.
Now I'll also point out some other problems in general. While a rolling release is not a problem with the right hardware most “Ubuntu shops” don't ship that. They are shipping hardware that is dependent on proprietary pieces. This creates all sorts of problems that most users don't see or don't want to recognize. In some cases these proprietary components are essential for certain use cases although the overall picture is more along the lines of use what looks like it is working today, not something we can support tomorrow, or that the free software development community can support at least.
This issue alone keeps ThinkPenguin in business. People switch to Ubuntu and end up having to replace hardware because it doesn't work from one release to the next or support is extremely poor (from an inability to integrate proprietary features/components with core free software components to drivers that don't get updated).
I believe I read somewhere that Carl Richell was concerned about the lack of naming due to the move. I laughed at that. It's not huge issue although there is a good reason to continue to have point releases for publicity reasons as well as psychological ones. While the majority of people do not easily adapt to new user interfaces there is a significant group of technical users who dominate. Most of these users just play with Ubuntu. They don't actually use it for real work. This group is attracted by these numbers. They are a decent part of the current user base.
If Ubuntu is going to move from a niche OS on the desktop to a mainstream one there needs to be more of a focus on consistency between releases. Hardware also needs to be available that works with the release model. If you ship regular releases (even LTS) there needs to be at least two versions that work on the hardware shipped. At least if the releases are supported for about 3 years each.
At ThinkPenguin we are trying to fix the hardware availability / sales outs / consumer support problems. I think we are doing a decent job of that given the size of the company. It needs to grow significantly though to really make a difference (although not too fast). We haven't done as much marketing to our core customer base as I'd like although we have a very good idea of what it'll take based on sample areas that have been tested. In any case we are coming out with a brand new web site and there will be much better support for additional languages, currencies, and localization of certain products (laptops with region specific keyboards and AC adapters for instance).
If anybody is interested in seeing what an LTS + backports system will look like check out the Trisquel distribution in a year. It is moving to the design I've described above. Be aware though that Trisquel is a 100% free distribution so if your hardware isn't terribly well supported in Ubuntu it probably won't be supported at all with Trisquel. That has its benefits and drawbacks although with the right hardware most users should find the distribution works surprisingly well. It does not have all the kinks worked out due to funding issues. Some of that might be fixed with the new design. I also would hold back on the criticisms of excluding non-free pieces. If you don't understand the advantages of free software it'll probably only seem like a disadvantage to you. ThinkPenguin deals with those disadvantages on a daily basis though. One day we may put out a video that better communicates the problem (and I'm not talking about the ethical issue here even if it is related).
I believe the rolling release is likely a mistake. There are lots of unfixed bugs in Ubuntu already and things are moving needlessly fast. If it is going to be more than a toy for hackers it'll have to become easier to use and more consistent.
Here is what I think and why:
1. New LTS releases every two years is probably a decent target. This means consistency, printed books, and other education materials for new adopters.
2. LTS releases should have an integrated backports system with versions of critical components such as: HPLIP, kernel, libreoffice, firefox, pidgin/empathy, and other similar components. Some of these components should be maintained side-by-side with security updates to the originals. For instance this list probably would include the kernel & libreoffice.
3. Consistency of basic user interface components such as Unity over a number of years gives people the opportunity to learn Ubuntu. Unity was released too early and many users have jumped ship. I'm sure many in the Kubuntu community here would agree with that in particular.
Now I'll also point out some other problems in general. While a rolling release is not a problem with the right hardware most “Ubuntu shops” don't ship that. They are shipping hardware that is dependent on proprietary pieces. This creates all sorts of problems that most users don't see or don't want to recognize. In some cases these proprietary components are essential for certain use cases although the overall picture is more along the lines of use what looks like it is working today, not something we can support tomorrow, or that the free software development community can support at least.
This issue alone keeps ThinkPenguin in business. People switch to Ubuntu and end up having to replace hardware because it doesn't work from one release to the next or support is extremely poor (from an inability to integrate proprietary features/components with core free software components to drivers that don't get updated).
I believe I read somewhere that Carl Richell was concerned about the lack of naming due to the move. I laughed at that. It's not huge issue although there is a good reason to continue to have point releases for publicity reasons as well as psychological ones. While the majority of people do not easily adapt to new user interfaces there is a significant group of technical users who dominate. Most of these users just play with Ubuntu. They don't actually use it for real work. This group is attracted by these numbers. They are a decent part of the current user base.
If Ubuntu is going to move from a niche OS on the desktop to a mainstream one there needs to be more of a focus on consistency between releases. Hardware also needs to be available that works with the release model. If you ship regular releases (even LTS) there needs to be at least two versions that work on the hardware shipped. At least if the releases are supported for about 3 years each.
At ThinkPenguin we are trying to fix the hardware availability / sales outs / consumer support problems. I think we are doing a decent job of that given the size of the company. It needs to grow significantly though to really make a difference (although not too fast). We haven't done as much marketing to our core customer base as I'd like although we have a very good idea of what it'll take based on sample areas that have been tested. In any case we are coming out with a brand new web site and there will be much better support for additional languages, currencies, and localization of certain products (laptops with region specific keyboards and AC adapters for instance).
If anybody is interested in seeing what an LTS + backports system will look like check out the Trisquel distribution in a year. It is moving to the design I've described above. Be aware though that Trisquel is a 100% free distribution so if your hardware isn't terribly well supported in Ubuntu it probably won't be supported at all with Trisquel. That has its benefits and drawbacks although with the right hardware most users should find the distribution works surprisingly well. It does not have all the kinks worked out due to funding issues. Some of that might be fixed with the new design. I also would hold back on the criticisms of excluding non-free pieces. If you don't understand the advantages of free software it'll probably only seem like a disadvantage to you. ThinkPenguin deals with those disadvantages on a daily basis though. One day we may put out a video that better communicates the problem (and I'm not talking about the ethical issue here even if it is related).
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