Tzafrir Cohen wrote:
>
> On Tue, 29 Jan 2002, Dvir Volk wrote:
>
> > we'll be doing a big "don't be afraid of Linux" story soon.
> > but i think it might better to wait until KDE3.0 is released and hebrew
> > support will be optimal.
> > btw, does KDE3.0 really deliver in the hebrew field as promised?
>
> That will take some time. I'm not sure if next versions of mandrake (8.2)
> and redhat (8.0?)will include it, although I'll figure that at least
> Mandrake will try very hard.
>
> But those will only be out on around March or April (I believe).
I didn't follow this thread, so maybe somebody else already wrote what
I'm going to write here:
There is a big difference between Linux and other OSes: In other OSes,
once per a time, a new version is announced, and all of its componenets
are upgraded. In Linux, the components are upgraded independently of
the new versions of the distributions, so announcements of new versions
of distros are more often, but each of these new versions is an
EVOLUTION, rather than REVOLUTION: Sometimes the kernel is majorly
upgraded, sometimes the X, sometimes gcc, sometimes KDE, etc., and
contrary to other OSes, where each version is a REVOLUTION.
Sometimes, in coincidence, there are many major upgrades of components
("packages", in the language of Linux), in a very close time. The real
winner in that times, is the first distro to be announced AFTER this
"super-nova" coincidence: This exciting distro contains all the Latest
and Greatest packages, while its competitors remind the newspaper of
yesterday.
We have such a super-nova very soon: The second half of March.
Let me list the key components of a typical Linux distro in MY eyes
(though it's not an exact science, so your list may be a little
different):
* kernel
* gcc
* KDE
* GNOME
* X
* Apache
Since their major upgrades are spreaded and not synchronized with each
other, a typical new version of a distro has an upgrade of one key
component, in average.
The April 2002 distros (probably RH8 and SuSE8) will upgrade MOST of
the key components, so they are going to be very exciting (unless you
hate ".0" versions):
* KDE is going to release 3.0 on March 18.
* GNOME is going to release 2.0 on March 15.
* Apache 2.0, the result of 4 years of development, is going to release
on March too.
* X was upgraded recently to 4.2.0 (though you may argue if it's major
or minor).
* gcc upgraded to 3.0 a long time ago, but most distros continued to
supply 2.9.5/2.9.6 as their default. April's distros will fell safe
enough to finally upgrade.
There are other packages which are not "key components" of Linux, but
many of them are going to be majorly upgraded too (such as PostgreSQL).
Tzafrir mentioned Mandrake too; I have to say that this time, contrary
to previous times, Mandrake is going to be the real looser: Its beta is
already out, and unless a miracle happens, its next release will be
obsolete even before it is announced: old KDE, old GNOME, old Apache,
etc.
Of course, some people prefer mature and tested packages, rather than
major upgrades; But those people also don't upgrade frequently, so the
new Mandrake will not be good for anybody: Neither the "Early Adopters"
(who will prefer RH8/SuSE8), nor people who prefer to stay with their
old and good distro (who are not expected to upgrade at all).
--
Eli Marmor
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CTO, Founder
Netmask (El-Mar) Internet Technologies Ltd.
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