Jormundgand
December 10th, 2005, 01:39 AM
I've just now been on a massive update spree (I've got the new Cairo-enabled Clearlooks which is sexygreat, Firefox 1.5 which is wunderbar and Gaim 2.0.0 which is excellent) and figured one of Ubuntu's real setbacks for we upwardly-mobile Linux users is the highly rigid update schedule Ubuntu sticks to. Obviously this is a good thing for users who don't want to experiment and are happy with their regular Web browser and office regime and don't have the time or inclination to fiddle with the latest gadgets.
So I figured, why not something of a spinoff (like Ubuntu did with Debian, or perhaps under more of a Kubuntu-style flag) with a more fluid update regime able to provide the latest flashy things like the new Clearlooks or an updated Gaim or whatever as they appear? This seemed to me to be what the backports repositories set out to do originally, but it seems to be failing spectacularly at that (missing packages galore). Regular Ubuntu makes me somewhat skittish about changing what the repositories provide, since they want me to think they are the be-all and end-all of what is "Ubuntu" - a separate "initiative" (if you like) might provide more of an exploratory bent.
Here's my thoughts on it: there would be levels of completion - "release", "release candidate", "development", something like that, each given their own repository; of course, the Ubuntu concept of free and nonfree repositories would probably still exist. The releases on CD/DVD would be snapshots of what is available at the time of release - the repositories continue to update smoothly and people effectively jump on board and join the ride, as it were.
Am I barking mad? Tell me what you think. I appreciate constructive criticism, and I don't at all expect this to be a realistic approach; it's just a thought I had.
So I figured, why not something of a spinoff (like Ubuntu did with Debian, or perhaps under more of a Kubuntu-style flag) with a more fluid update regime able to provide the latest flashy things like the new Clearlooks or an updated Gaim or whatever as they appear? This seemed to me to be what the backports repositories set out to do originally, but it seems to be failing spectacularly at that (missing packages galore). Regular Ubuntu makes me somewhat skittish about changing what the repositories provide, since they want me to think they are the be-all and end-all of what is "Ubuntu" - a separate "initiative" (if you like) might provide more of an exploratory bent.
Here's my thoughts on it: there would be levels of completion - "release", "release candidate", "development", something like that, each given their own repository; of course, the Ubuntu concept of free and nonfree repositories would probably still exist. The releases on CD/DVD would be snapshots of what is available at the time of release - the repositories continue to update smoothly and people effectively jump on board and join the ride, as it were.
Am I barking mad? Tell me what you think. I appreciate constructive criticism, and I don't at all expect this to be a realistic approach; it's just a thought I had.