| > He basically wanted to upgrade just one (obscure) app No. He wanted a new version of the app and upgraded to a new version of the OS (with a new set of default packages). And he got surprised by getting a new GUI, something which is rather odd because Unity was one of the most publicized features of Ubuntu. > the process triggered the automatic removal of Gnome2 and installation of Unity Not really. Gnome2 would still be there. Just the default UI is Unity. I'm more than a little bit surprised ESR had trouble remembering you switch UIs on login. I've been doing it since my Solaris (2.5) days. I loved OpenWindows. > having to upgrade the whole distribution every few months just to be able to get new app versions That's not really true - you have to do so because the distro publisher won't support the newest Chrome on their 2006 OS. It's ridiculous to demand them to spend their resources on your particular needs. If you are not happy, you can ask to have your money back. And even when the distro publisher doesn't want to add newer versions to an old OS, you can always add private repos maintained by the makers of your favorite software. And, remember, having stable versions of software (even when a newer, flashier version, was made public) is not what some people want. I wan't my servers stable. > This "distribution" bullshit is not what is killing desktop Linux It was never much alive. Linux is an OS that suits a couple users well, but not most of them. > are imho just consequences of the distribution concept and the 6-month planned-obsolescence cycle. It usually took much longer to get a new version of your favorite Linux distro. 6 months is the current standard. And, again, there is no planned obsolescence. There are many alternative places to get newer versions for. > Windows installations, once installed or preinstalled, run for a decade. I don't believe we met, sir. Where planet are you from? > If anybody _ever_ really wants to see Linux succeed on the desktop (...) he will have to give up on the distribution concept first. I don't think so. In fact, most people don't think so. And, let me say that not thinking so works quite well. You do realize the incredibly arrogant position you are taking. You purport to be the savior of the Linux desktop (do we need one, BTW?) and to have realized what's wrong with it and, best of all, you have the solution! Just do everything opposite to how it's been working for decades and all our problems will be solved. Let me put it simply: when you think you are the dumbest person in a room, you are probably right. When you think you are the smartest person in a room, you are most probably wrong. And if you disagree with everybody else in the room, odds are you are really the dumbest person there. Maintaining a distro is a lot of work, but until we can make software makers to agree on a single package format, a single way to manage configurations and a single way to organize the file hierarchy, the distro way will remain a very popular way to manage your computers. |