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It's Not Time for OSS Release Cycle Synchronization

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the something-to-think-about dept.

Bakkies Botha writes "Ars Technica weighs in with some detailed analysis on the controversial issue of open source release cycle synchronization. Ars explains how time-based release cycles work and takes a close look at how the release management strategy suggested by Ubuntu founder Mark Shuttleworth would impact open source software projects. Ars concludes that Shuttleworth's proposal isn't currently viable and argues that the BFDL is overstating the potential to simplify development with better version control tools. Ars also examines a counter-proposal offered by KDE developer Aaron Seigo and explains how it enables users to get the same benefits of synchronization without disrupting upstream development."

1 of 110 comments (clear)

  1. Re:A lot of buzz by bsDaemon · · Score: 1, Offtopic

    "seriously, what sort of *nix system thinks you don't need a C compiler by default and makes you go looking for it in the repositories?"

    One that targets non-developer desktop users ? Or even servers ? Ok for servers -- but as to non-developers, it just sort of goes back to another point - what good is *BSD, GNU/*, etc, really and practically, to those who are not interested in doing UNIX-y things. I could type documents, browse the web, and hang out on AIM just fine in Windows.

    Maybe its just because of how I got into this all. I switched to FreeBSD in the 8th grade because I wanted to do C programing. I used X so I could run several term windows and a web browser. I didn't do it because I "hated Microsoft" or whatever have you.

    When I was in high school I thought nothing of emailing back and forth with Ken Thompson and Denis Ritchie. It didn't occur to me that I shouldn't talk to them. If I had a question, I asked, and I always got a response. Hell, one time I sent Ken Thompson an email containing merely "syn syn enq" and got a response of "ack."

    Jordan Hubbard used to hang out IRC on occasion, when he was in charge of the FreeBSD core team.

    I didn't know anyone who used the system that didn't at least shell script. No one was just sitting around doing nothing.

    Its not so much that way anymore. It boggles my mind that someone would merely want to "use" Linux or BSD to do basic PC things. I mean, I enjoy doing those things as well, but I also have my little projects and experiments.

    so, if I don't get it, then I guess I just don't get it, but I guess it is how they say, "BSD is for people who love UNIX; Linux is for people who hate Windows."