Update here: ubuntu-is-not-changing-to-a-rolling-release
The Register is reporting that Mark Shuttleworth has hinted that Ubuntu could be moving from its’ current six-month release schedule to something much ‘faster’.
Shuttleworth is said to have told press: –
“Today we have a six-month release cycle, in an internet-oriented world, we need to be able to release something every day. That’s an area we will put a lot of work into in the next five years. The small steps we are putting in to the Software Center today, they will go further and faster than people might have envisioned in the past.”
But, what is a Rolling Release Distro?
Rolling Release means you don’t have to upgrade or clean install everytime a new version comes out, everything is done through updates, It also reduces the need to depend on and add extra PPAs to get the latest software updates because software is also updated to the latest version along with the OS.
Some examples of rolling release distros are Gentoo, Arch, PCLinuxOS and Foresight Linux and development branches like Mandriva Cooker, openSUSE Factory, Fedora Rawhide, and Debian’s testing and unstable branches.
Pinch of salt, leap of faith
There is a case to be made for a speedier ‘update’ process and a case against. Most users love bug fixes trickling through but they also love having the latest features that their applications/utilities have to offer.
As nothing “official” has been formally announced regarding development cycles changing there’s no need to get too worried about what this could mean for your desktop just yet.
via The Register