This is true, in my experience. I used to be ok with that, but Iâm liking it less and less. Itâs exactly why youâre getting so much flak, on multiple fronts. The vision you have for Ubuntu, as expressed by your actions and in various statements and discussions, it not something I, for one, want to see realised. Itâs not where I want Linux to go.
If it were any other distro, I wouldnât care. I would just switch the handful of boxen I have running it and recommend something else for the relevant use-cases, done. But Ubuntu is not any distro, itâs the public face of Linux, especially for home desktop use. So Ubuntu has the clout to make other distros follow suit and any and all controversy, fear, uncertainty & doubt attaching to it hurts Linuxâs mainstreaming. If it were any other time, Iâd say, Iâm too old for this. But the end of Windows 7 support is near and for the first time non-technical (but privacy-conscious) people are actively looking for an alternative. Thus, I do care.
The question is, can Ubuntu be changed or must it be toppled and replaced as the leading Linux distro, even if that means losing years of progress?
Developers can make one package that runs on many releases of the same distro
⊠or even different ones, yes. For proprietary software thatâs an advantage, but using it for open source software is just cutting corners. Forcing the whole system to be in lock-step, having all components tailored, is an advantage as far as quality & security are concerned.
Currently when an update to LibreOffice or Chromium (as examples) is needed, thatâs tremendous work
The thing is, on an LTS release I donât want updates as in newer version, certainly no big new features, I want backported fixes, security mainly. These are an ungodly amount of work, but irrespective of the packaging format.
Snaps automatically update so users have the latest software without manually updating [âŠ] can override this to a great degree
I do not want updates forced down my (or anyoneâs) throat, no matter the âdegreeâ. Users need to be educated, not treated like imbeciles. Whatâs next, automatic forced reboots?
The Snap Store provides delta updates, so users donât have to download the full snap file every time
Thatâd be less of an issue, if the snaps werenât so large in the first place. Also, if âdisk space is not an issue, disk space is chapâ is valid, then so is âbroadband is cheapâ. For the record, I think both are real concerns.
The whole thing sounds like youâre trying to emulate how things are done on iOS & Android, Windows & MacOS, app store and everything, throwing away Linuxâ traditional strengths. The problem is, people who prefer how things are done on iOS & Android, Windows & MacOS are already using that. You canât beat those OSâ on their own turf (only), if you try youâll forever be playing catch-up. You need to offer something different, better.