To view parent comment, click here.
To read all comments associated with this story, please click here.
Is there a gnu/linux distro that does clean seperation between base os and third party applications and platforms.
I'm using freebsd and have gnome 2.12.2 running as of this morning. The clean seperation of os and ports is what keeps me here. It's nice to have the latest and greatest in the application world such as rhythmbox 9.2, firefox 1.5, gnome 2.12.1 while maintaing a stable os.
Just courious
I guess it's became a marketing issue.
The just released gnome packages actually are not products but just components that are are more and more integral part of bigger systems.
As such they shouldn't be advertised in separation because most people cannot easily reach them directly and a lot of precious excitement that could otherwise be directed to distros is wasted.
Unfortunately people are used to treat project milestone announcements on the same level as product announcements in commercial world.





Member since:
2005-06-28
>Why can't I just double-click a file or two like in so many other OSes?
Because Gnome is a *platform*, not an "application". By being a platform, it means that it has to integrate itself on each different distribution or Unix or X server, mostly the same way, but not always the same. Sometimes extra patches or changes have to be made for some of these distros or OSes. And this is why when it comes to platforms, you need to WAIT for your distro/OS to upgrade.
If you can't wait, just compile it youself and lose the "warranty". Or, switch to a development version of your distro. Or, switch to a distro that are "faster" to provide updates, like the Arch Linux updates earlier today.
Would it be cool if there was an API/ABI compatiblity as you wish? Sure it would be. But it is not, and it ain't gonna happen. "Choice" is at the same time a gift and a curse in the Linux world.