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release-schedule posts

Filed under: OS Updates, Symbian, Mobile

Symbian moves to a 6 month release schedule

Symbian release schedule

The Symbian Foundation is planning to move to twice a year release schedule, which means user -- and more importantly, cellphone makers -- will be able to plan for updates. The Symbian operating system is found on millions of cellphones.

Symbian won't be the first operating system to be released on a regular schedule, as opposed to "when it's ready." The folks at Canonical have been releasing a new version of Ubuntu Linux every six months for the last few years. It's true, that not every new build is loaded with dramatic changes from earlier versions. But that's a good thing. Can you imagine using a cellphone or desktop operating system that launched an entirely new interface every six months? There's a reason Windows has been using some form of the Start Menu for years, while Apple has adopted the Dock. It makes the learning curve a lot simpler when users simply have to get used to minor tweaks and changes and not a whole new paradigm.

That's not to say that Symbian, Canonical, or any other groups putting out software on a regular schedule won't occasionally have releases that proide a major shakeup. Those are important too. But when you're shooting for a six month release schedule, the most important thing is to make sure that all the features work by the time a new version is unleashed on the public.

[via Techmeme]

Filed under: OS Updates, Linux, Open Source, Canonical

Ubuntu release schedule: Right on schedule, and then some

Ubuntu release schedule

You can practically set your watch by Canonical's release schedule for the Ubuntu Linux operating system. Every six months, the organization releases a major upgrade. While open source developers are constantly tweaking and improving Ubuntu, these major releases typically include better hardware support, new software, and the latest kernel and desktop environment updates.

Ubuntu founder Mark Shuttleworth says the team is now going a bit further. Not only will Ubuntu 8.10, 9.04, 9.10, and 10.04 be released at regular intervals, but Canonical will be releasing point upgrades for Ubuntu 8.04 every three months. Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy Heron gets this special treatment because it's an LTS or Long Term Support release. That means Ubuntu 10.04, which will be released in April, 2010, will get the same kind of support.

Shuttleworth does suggest that he'd be willing to throw out the release schedule (or at least amend it a teensy weensy bit) if another major Linux distributor like Red Hat, Novel, or Debian were willing to collaborate on a coordinated release.

For our part, we'd like to see Apple and Microsoft enter into that agreement. If there was a new version of Windows, OS X, and Ubuntu out every 6 months, or even every 2 years, consumers would always have the option of picking among the latest, and most up to date operating systems, whether free and open source or commercial and closed source. Not that this will ever happen, but sometimes it's nice to dream.

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