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Break from PCLinuxOS to Test Mandriva 2008

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We had PCLinuxOS 2007 final sometime in May 2007. It’s almost an year and the developers say PCLinuxOS 2008 will come out before Christmas of this year, i.e., still 6-7 months to go!

This uncertain delay has led many desktop users to try suitable alternatives such as Mepis, Mint and Mandriva. I have always liked PCLinuxOS but this time, I had it enough. I had to install PCLinuxOS 2007 on several of my friends’ notebooks and desktops on their request. Though installation of pclos on desktops was pretty smooth, it was really problematic while I tried to install on the latest notebooks. There were hiccups related mainly to device drivers and power management. And did not like to tell every user to do a complete upgradation of their pclos notebook after installation and do some manual configuration each time. Therefore, I tried my hands on Mandriva 2008 Free DVD and it really came to me as a savior. It stood by me in every sorts of hardware across a variety of laptops and desktops.

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Not correct

This is not corrrect. The person being quoted on our forums about a Christmas release is not a developer. We are looking at beta releases towards the end of the month and an updated iso the following month provided everything goes well. The other statement that many users are looking for suitable alternatives is also not correct. There will always be distrohoppers but our community is still growing each month. I hate waking up to crap like this.

re: not correct

Perhaps if your main site or even the forum announcements had that type of roadmap info published, there'd be less speculation.

Kinda of hard to put

Perhaps but it is kind of hard to put something in writing when everyone is volunteer doing what they can when they can. A simple install, update and if updated iso is needed a remasterme command and you have an updated iso. The community will be providing quarterly iso updates after the 2008 release.

re: Kinda

Well, you wouldn't exactly be the first or only distro to announce a release schedule, and then miss it, would you?

I think even a vague wishy washy roadmap with potential release dates would be better then nothing (and you certainly can explain the loose time frame by stressing the fact that you prefer QUALITY over QUANTITY in your release schedule). Your site doesn't appear to have any type of road map - so who knows but the insiders group what's planned (achievable or not) for PCLINUXOS?

With nothing, you're a very easy target to put words (or dates) into YOUR mouth - then you're stuck refuting them on a website that's not even your main site.

The quarterly respins is a VERY good idea - once again, where is that news on YOUR site?

Out of all those PCLINUXOS volunteers, not one of them took Marketing 101?

The obsession with updated ISO's.

@ patentlystupid.com: A recent blog post over on tuxmachines has me a bit torqued. Oddly enough it follows a similar thread in the PCLinuxOS forums. It has to do with the fact that the PCLinuxOS ISO is still dated 2007.

Some background, PCLinuxOS is one of the more popular distros in recent history. It's a fairly mature and stable piece of work, something that I appreciate. The current ISO is from 2007. Not a big deal as PCLinuxOS is a "rolling-release" meaning as updated pieces to the OS or the software bundled with it are available all you have to do is update in synaptic and you're brought current. Yes a rolling release means you have to update your machine! OMG what a shock!

I've noticed over the last two release cycles that as the time grows between releases of PCLOS so does the whining for a remaster, exponentially. What I dont understand is why. If you want an updated ISO PCLOS includes the tools to build one. The number one reason I see people whine about is 'new hardware' and 'having to download all those patches'.

I have started to figure out why.

re: Obsession

"I have started to figure out why".

Em, no, you haven't.

The problem with a 2007 ISO is that it isn't "Install & Go". It's install and go.....get nine zillion megs of patches.

If you only install PCL 2007 on ONE box, ONE time - no big deal (rolling releases are great that way). But if you install it on several boxes (or have to reinstall it because you FUBAR'd it) - you start to wonder why the ISO is SOOOOOO very far out of date.

You would assume, the developer(s) have the tools and the know how to respin THEIR distro. Saying in one sentence this is the distro to convert Window users and then saying "and if you don't like it - respin it yourself" seems a bit unrealistic.

Not everyone has huge bandwidth available, so a little consideration on updating their ISO's would be a nice touch to help set PCLINUXOS apart from the rest of the herd (or you can continue to not listen to your user base and call them "whiners" - seems to work for Microsoft).

Children, children, chill

Okay, we can all agree that more frequent respins would be nice. You've heard from Texstar himself that that's going to happen, with quarterly respins that will integrate the accumulated updates. Attboy.

Meanwhile, the point seems to have been lost that PCLinuxOS includes a remasterme utility which automates the process of making one's very own respin. So if you're setting up several boxes, you can set up the first one, update it, tweak it and make it just-so, add and remove apps to your liking... and then make your very own personal .iso which you can use to make new systems set up exactly the same. Great for system admins!

I agree, it is time for a new .iso. Sounds like that'll be here before Spring ends. Great-- can hardly wait, bet it'll be something special... as PCLOS 2007 is (still).

As Texstar points out, this is an all-volunteer operation. As such, it's got a bit of a herded-cats thing going on. What counts is the final product. And PCLinuxOS stands shoulder to shoulder (or better) with any distro out there, including well-funded professional ones. Part of the reason is Texstar himself, and the quality ethic he has enforced, both for the distro itself and for the contents of its repositories. I've broken other distros by downloading stuff from their repositories... that doesn't happen with PCLOS, and there's a reason for that. A reasonable analogy is Linux Torvald's close stewardship of the Linux kernel...

So, folks, ease up, and lift a toast to Texstar and his crew for their stellar work, past, present and future!

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