On 2007-01-19, Roy Schestowitz <newsgroups@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> __/ [ Handover Phist ] on Friday 19 January 2007 22:26 \__
>
>> On 2007-01-19, Roy Schestowitz <newsgroups@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>>> Mandriva Linux new life cycle
>>>
>>> ,----[ Quote ]
>>>| Customers and partners can sometimes make a difference. In accordance
>>>| with their feedback and Mandriva's analysis of the overall advantages
>>>| and drawbacks of the longer development schedule, Mandriva decided to
>>>| adjust the life cycle of the consumer oriented products to a shorter 6
>>>| month period.
>>> `----
>>>
>>> http://www.linuxlookup.com/2007/jan/19/mandriva_linux_new_life_cycle
>>
>> Microsoft could learn a thing or two from Mandriva. Short lifecycle and
>> low consumer cost can bring in a steady flow of bucks.
>
> Money aside, this ensures there's no "development collapse" (Ballmer's words)
> such as the one that hit Microsoft in late 2005 ("we had to 'reboot'")
For Microsoft I doubt that anyone saying "Money aside" would be working
there the next day. Not that it really matters... I see your point
though.
> A distributer assembles the components (stable or cutting-edge) he wishes to
> have and then tests to see if the integration is a good one. Modularity is
> mentioned time and time again as something that Microsoft absolutely must
> get in order to quit a cycle of features concession, or a 'big bang'
> approach that leads to a RTM that's more akin to beta (tons of bugs).
This I've seen in practice. As a software vendor I need to be able to
create a product that does the job well in as short a period of time as
possible. Linux and various distributions (well, two, Debian and
Slackware) make this both possible and easy. Yup, easy. Proprietary
software is made deliberately hard, I believe, in order to stimulate
cashflow.
Then again I could be a paranoid nutjob. Who knows?
> While Linux strides, Windows devs are more concerned about fixing all the
> software and hardware incompatibilities in Vista. It's like an older man who
> struggles with injuries while the teenager grows to become a man. or a
> pony/stallion and a mare. A racing car from the 1950's against a Honda.
I like the age comparison. While Windows and Linux are both OSs, i dont
believe they are the same species. *nix will continue to grow and
improve *even after Linus decides to leave the project*. I believe that
firmly. If something as trivial as my game project (www.thain.org) could
continue to thrive and grow for years after I (and the other founder)
had left, then Linux will likely die out when computers go through a
massive enough upheaval in development as to make porting Linux to a new
platform untenable.
Since it runs on freakin EVERYTHING, I doubt that's going to happen.
--
Black people have never rioted. A riot is what white people think blacks
are involved in when they burn stores.
-- Julius Lester
http://www.websterscafe.com
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