this post was submitted on 05 Jul 2023
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Linux
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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).
Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.
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Because most developers don't follow Torvalds' first rule of kernel development: "We don't cause regressions". They're completely fine releasing so-called newer stable versions that are less usable than the earlier ones - removing features, demanding more of the system, letting known bugs to slip through because they assume user case ("it's fine~").
And, contrariwise to the guy in the video plenty, plenty users know this: that the latest "stable" version might cause a regression. But they usually don't have time and/or knowledge to check every single new version of every single piece of software that they might use. So it would be great if there was someone or a group doing this for them, while taking into account that the difference between "this shit is broken!", "this shit is usable but worse" and "this is actually better" is subjective and depends on user case. Right?
Well. That's what a distributor does. This is a critical role of distributions that the video does not address - they sort and trial software versions for the users, based on user case.
If library developers did what the kernel devs did, this would not be a problem. So while the video guy is addressing a real problem, he's being unable to pinpoint where the problem lies in; it is not in the distros, but upstream.
Is the increased amount of storage necessary a real problem in 2023? I'm not sure given that storage has become dirty cheap even for users, and the cost is usually spread out among the distro maintainers.
Regarding developers releasing multiple versions: usually the ones doing this are the distro maintainers.
I've stopped watching the video at 4:09.