Re: A few general questions from a Debian newbie
Scott wrote:
>Kent West wrote:
>
>
>>
>>
>>>3- OpenOffice 2 was recently added to Debian Unstable.
>>>Is it likely that OpenOffice 2 will be added to
>>>Debian Stable. If so when?
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>No. Stable does not get new packages, other than bug/security fixes and
>>the like.
>>
>>
>
>And that my friends, is Debian's biggest flaw when it comes to the
>desktop user. It's also why I'll never run stable
>
>At least Ubuntu promises you won't have to wait more than 6 months for
>the next stable release.
>
>And there's Fedora Core, who's latest release has been out for several
>months. They added OpenOffice.org 2, to their updates repository
>shortly after it's release.
>
>But then, Fedora has that nasty YUM stuff. APT kicks the pants off of
>it (at least in the speed department).
>
>And that my friends is what brought me to Debian etch/sid.
>
>Stay tuned...
>
>
Whether it is a "flaw for the desktop user" is relative to who the user
is. It's not a "flaw" in Debian "stable".
Debian's "stable" is for people who don't really care about the next
version of anything (security updates excepted), because the software
they have allows them to do the work they need done. The beauty of
"stable" is that it is predictable and solid as a rock, not that it is
shiny and new.
"stable" is not for folks who have "version envy".
I spent about year using various versions of Fedora Core because I
"needed" the latest versions of *. I finally realized that I was
wasting a great deal of time upgrading perfectly useful software for no
reason, and fixing the bugs that were being introduced with each
upgrade. That's great if I'm involved in helping the distribution
developers, but not so great if I'm just trying to get work done.
That is why I don't care about Fedora's and Ubuntu's 6-month cycle. My
Debian "stable" computers do all the things that I need them to do right
now. Aside from security updates, what do I need a new version of xmms
or OpenOffice for?
Of course, the great thing is that we all have a choice!
--
Mitch Wiedemann
Webmaster - Ithaca Free Software Association
http://ithacafreesoftware.org
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