[K12OSN] Release cycle too fast

[Peter Hartmann]

Hi List, 
Thanks Jim that was enlightening.  Is this an accurate example of a
feature not yet implemented or a hypothetical example?

> Say they want to plug in a USB pen drive,
>oohh, that feature might not be available yet.

  Does anyone have a rundown of the feature differences in FC4 vs.
Centos?  Specifically I'm looking for differences for the end user.



Thanks
Peter


On 4/2/05, Jim Kronebusch <jim at winonacotter.org> wrote:
> > I might decide to try out Debian exactly because of
> > the long release cycle.  I maintain computers for a
> > lot of family members who have very basic needs.
> >
> > Thanks to all for answering so many of my questions on
> > this topic.
> 
> >From what I hear Debian, CentOS, WBEL, RHEL, etc are slow release versions.
> K12LTSP is built from Fedora because it is a fast paced new release type
> distro and it allows the ability to be constantly changing which works great
> in a constant development stage.  I love the fast pace of K12LTSP.  Now for
> my main servers, I don't use it.  I have a few hundred customers for which I
> sell email,dns,mysql,web,etc services to.  I want to have those machine run
> with as little interaction as possible and feel fairly safe that updates
> won't be so drastic as to change my config files or risk a service going
> down even for a few hours.  I have chosen WBEL which is a generic free
> spinoff of RHEL for those servers.  I still get a very RedHat feel so it is
> similar to what I am used to when working with Fedora and K12 so it make
> switching back and forth very friendly for me.
> 
> The point is you have to choose an OS that fits your needs.  If you are
> running desktop systems for fairly computer illiterate users just for
> browsing the internet and word processing, then choose something like RHEL
> or a spinoff.  But if you want to take advantage of new features asap then
> choose something like Fedora.
> 
> Keep in mind the other problems you'll have with your less techy users using
> a slow moving distro however.  Say they want to plug in a USB pen drive,
> oohh, that feature might not be available yet.  Say they want to scan with
> the new scanner they bought, they may have waisted their money.  You get the
> picture.  A non techy user is also the first to get frustrated when the
> stuff they buy doesn't just bang work when they plug it in.  And when you
> tell them that feature won't be available for another year or they have to
> blow the system away and start from scratch with a new OS to get it, you may
> loose them back to a pirated copy of Windows from their neighbor.
> 
> I know it is tough with all of the options and versions available out
> there.  The best thing is to try them out and find what suits you best.  I
> have settled on different versions for desktop and servers.  And for LTSP
> you can throw it on any distro you want, you will just be missing the
> bundled apps you get with K12LTSP.  I managed to even throw a version on YDL
> and PPC Ubuntu, so your possibilities are fairly endless.
> 
> And as far as upgrades, I have my home K12LTSP server performing a yum
> upgrade while I type this email.  I hope when I am done I'll be running the
> newest version of K12 without any extra CD's.  But as far as major
> distribution updates go, such as Fedora Core1 to Core2, I am still brought
> back to my Windows Nature.  I never do upgrades on major releases, too much
> risk of old crap and old problems following with.  Just as you could upgrade
> from say 7.3->Fedora Core3 as stated in a previous email, you could have
> upgraded from Windows95->WindowsXP, but no techy in their right mind would
> do so :-)  But that doesn't mean the standard home user still can't.
> 
> 
> 
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