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from the if-some-is-good-then-too-much-is-not-enough? dept.
Bruce Byfield's Blog on Linux Magazine explores the upgrade treadmill.
Byfield relates an old comic by Christiann MacAuley that depicts how Linux, Windows, and Mac users relates to a pop-up announcement saying: "An Update is Available for Your Computer".
The Linux user is enthusiastic, the Windows user groans, and the Mac user is glad it will only cost him $99.
One reason for switching to Linux used to be to get off the forced upgrades path common to proprietary software. Yet Linux users seem to have kept the urge to upgrade, even when the necessity was removed. Even when security fixes are back ported, to Long Term Support releases, we just can't seem to resist an upgrade.
Byfield explores the issue of upgrades, and why we Linux users feel compelled to perform major upgrades. Not only the minor patches to fix bugs that happen ever week. We routinely seem to rush in and put our entire systems at risk by installing complete system upgrades to new kernels, whole new desktops, sometimes new file systems, and even the dread systemd.
It's an interesting read, and set me wondering why so many Linux users chase upgrades for little or no new features.
(Score: 2, Informative) by Runaway1956 on Wednesday October 28 2015, @12:15AM
Chasing the new isn't enough for me. I'm a distro hopper. I enjoy sitting down, installing something new, with a different desktop environment, new and different utilities, applications, etc. Well - there's not much that's actually "new" nowadays, except for systemd. But, each new installation at least puts a new spin on everything.
After all these years, it's still a little thrilling to set up a new installation, see how it works, then start tweaking it to my liking. Sometimes, it takes me three months or more to get it just right. Then, I download a new ISO and start all over.
Updates? Most distros today are rolling releases. The maintainers make a point of encouraging you to keep up to date with the rolling release. I guess everyone is afraid of being left behind. I'm probably not going to keep an installation long enough to worry about updating and upgrading stuff. I do like to keep up with the kernel though. No good reason, but I like to do it anyway. Linux 4.2 finally runs on my hardware. I attempted to upgrade to it a half dozen times before it finally took. It doesn't seem to like SuperMicro power management, so I boot with acpi=off and everything's cool.
I like new, I guess.
(Score: 2) by Joe Desertrat on Wednesday October 28 2015, @01:40AM
After all these years, it's still a little thrilling to set up a new installation, see how it works, then start tweaking it to my liking. Sometimes, it takes me three months or more to get it just right. Then, I download a new ISO and start all over.
A big advantage of Linux, at least since 2004, it that it is so relatively painless to do this now. Most major distros have a live CD, if there are no major issues with that click a link and start a full install. A second big advantage, while you and I may install the same distro, we can both customize it in sometimes radically different ways. And of course, when you point out the zero cost in dollars to mess around like this...