Date: Mon, 10 Sep 2001 18:21:26 -0400 From: "Kenneth Mays" <kmays2000@hotmail.com> To: freebsd-stable@freebsd.org Subject: Re: FreeBSD 4.4 upcoming release/timetabling/mirroring Message-ID: <LAW2-F36A2DreBBsQwY00016cab@hotmail.com>
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Hi, I originally made the comments on the beta testing window since it is very true that you can't do quality testing (even if it is RC4) in just 3 days or less on a project this large. I'm glad the idea of pushing-back just 3-5 days was CONSIDERED. I know people think that if you test RC1->R3 then you are doing alright but your distribution is composed of many elements - which certain ones play a part in quality, competitiveness, security, and reliability. I don't think of STABLE as a RELEASE component because I "trust" RELEASE to have some sort of quality checks over a STABLE snapshot (which it is in so many words). I think people also forget about documentation and the "oops" factor in software engineering. Look, you can only do so much within certain guidelines. Everybody can't build and install the world in seven days (grin!). You want FreeBSD be to considered as a QUALITY product that can handle mission-critical situations. You get in the habit or reputation of rushing code out the door [M$oft] and you get lost in the world of many other OS options. You show you have the "balls" to hold back a little so that you can release something of quality. Just look at the Alpha distribution. If you had an Alpha machine you may have been screaming to get your copy of 4.4RC4 on last Friday so you could of had the weekend to do some downloading and testing. The Alpha interim builds and releases paled in comparison to the i386 builds. Yet, supply and demand. Some people don't care for the Alpha because the i386 distro gets all of the latest toys. The Alpha documentation and branch was a little spotty during the last few months. Yet, you need to compete with the other Free OSes and still have something of quality. A feat several other distributions lack. I have BSDI 4.1 as well as Solaris 2.6/7/8 (07/01) for Sparc/Intel. I also have several distros of Linux and Windows. Getting a quality product that is FREE and well supported (long-term) is not always an easy thing to find. Just remember, Slackware took a year to go from v7.1 to v8.0. I don't think waiting another day or two is going to hurt anyone's feelings (ok, don't shoot me on that one!). Ken 4.4RC4 _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-stable" in the body of the message
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