Reason Behind the Lack of Release Cycle for PCLinuxOS

Let me ask you a question - why does a Linux distribution need release cycles?

A software release is the distribution, of a new and upgraded version of a computer software product. Each time a system or a software program is changed, the developers and the company (or community) doing the work decide on how to distribute the software (or the latest changes to the software) to the users (customers or community members or general public). Software patches are one method and the full package (full OS and/or software including the patches and changes) is the other.

Generally a distribution undergoes a release cycle such as: pre-alfa, alfa, beta, release candidate, general release and the boxed copy. A release cycle is necessary to be on the edge of the latest stable software.

So, why does PCLinuxOS lacks a regular release cycle, whereas Ubuntu, Fedora, OpenSuse, Mandriva and many others come up with roughly two releases per year including much alpha, betas, rc (release candidate)s and boxed editions? The reasons are:

• PCLinuxOS repository keeps itself always updated with the latest in the Linux World. The users can easily update their systems online, so there is no need to download the full bundle. It's tiresome. By the way, every release of PCLinuxOS is so stable, up to date and usable that any desktop user can have happy computing for quite a long time (till a major release), even without installing the updates.


• PCLinuxOS has a unique approach to releases (and updates). Each of its release comes with some major updates, so that the user can feel the difference in the Linux world in general (between two consequitive releases) and PCLinuxOS in particular. That's why there are discernible changes among PCLinuxOS 92, 93 (Big Daddy) and 94 (2007). In other Linux distributions (Ubuntu, Mepis, Fedora, Suse...) you will hardly find any major difference between two releases, except for some change in software update numbers.


• PCLinuxOS has no set dates for releasing. This helps the developer and the community to be patient and work on the distro steadily to offer a really stable and usable distro, when they are at all satisfied after much alpha, beta and release candidates. Hence, every PCLinuxOS release has very less number of bugs compared to other distros.


• Frequent Release Cycles create chaos in Linux User Community. They feel the urge to update (though for not worthwhile benefits). And they spare much work-hours in tweaking the system, updating, installing and configuring. The actual productive computing is ignored. But late and stable releases help users to work on a usable system and forget about the update thing, till a really major release knocks in.

As of now, I think the next PCLinuxOS release will be groundbreaking with stable KDE4. So, I would tell every Desktop Linux User to get back to life and work on PCLinuxOS 2007, than trying the minor updates of Gutsy, Herdy, Celena, bla... bla.... bla…..

Microsoft has killer Q1, profits surge, beats estimates

Whatever else you want to say about Microsoft, it makes its investors happy. Very happy. Profits surged for its fiscal first quarter, the company reported today, helped nicely along by strong sales of Halo 3, Windows and Office Suite, reports AP.

On the news, shares rose a hefty sum today, from $31.99 to $35.55. For the quarter ended Sept. 30, profits climbed to $4.29 billion, or 45 cents per share, from $3.48 billion, or 35 cents per share, over the same period last year. These results beat Wall Street estimates – which called for 39 cents a share.

Revenue grew, too, 27 percent to $13.76 billion from $10.81 billion in the year-ago quarter, again topping analysts' forecasts by more than $1 billion. The business unit responsible for Vista contributed $4.14 billion in revenue in the quarter, 25 percent more than a year ago. It claims to have sold more than 88 million copies of Windows.

Halo 3 pushed the entertainment division into the black for the second time, contributing $165 million of profit for the quarter. Ad revenue, too, grew thanks to the aQuantive acquisition, but, the story reports, that even without that, ad revenue would have been up 25 percent

IBM Lotus Sametime tops corporate IM platform review

Jabber and Cisco follow as close seconds in test of corporate IM platforms

Messaging has come a long way from the early days of rudimentary chat programs, the DOS and Windows "NET SEND" command and the Novell NetWare "SEND" command.

The ideal corporate instant-messaging environment lets users communicate anything they choose, from simple typed messages to documents to video. It tells employees which colleagues are available for an impromptu meeting and which don't wish to be disturbed. The ideal IM environment offers impenetrable security that thwarts intrusion attempts, as well as IM-borne malware. It's nimble and responsive; intuitive to use and administer; and integrates seamlessly with other IM products and protocols, such as AOL Instant Messenger (AIM).

Preferably, it safely archives IM sessions for easy retrieval by an auditor, is highly scalable, exhibits rock-solid reliability and uses network resources frugally. A corporate IM product taps into a Windows Active Directory or a Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) back end for grouping and authenticating users. And finally, it provides the necessary VoIP capabilities to turn a chat session easily into a telephone call.

In short, the model platform makes holding meetings via IM as productive as - or even better than - meeting face to face.

To test the state of corporate IM tools we invited all vendors in this space to send products. We received Extensible Communications Platform (XCP) 5.2 from Jabber, Lotus Sametime 7.5.1 from IBM and Openfire Enterprise Edition 3.2 from Jive Software. We downloaded Gordano Messaging Suite (GMS) 5.0 from Gordano's FTP site and Mirador Instant Messenger for Windows 3.0 from Serial Scientific International's (SSI) Web site, and we accessed Cisco's WebEx AIM Pro Business Edition via the Internet.

Microsoft also plays in this space with its older Live Communications Server 2005 platform and will be forging ahead with enterprise IM as part of its Office Communication Server platform running on Exchange 2007. As this product was still in beta during our testing Window and won't be available until next month, we could not include it in our head to head test. We have, however, test early beta code to help give readers a feel for what they can expect from this unified messaging platform.