J.B.C.Engelen@...1578... wrote:
Being a Windows user, I agree with Bulia on just about everything.
Isn't Linux supposed to have this great package management / update mechanism? (I have used Linux for half a year, Fedora 6/7 and it tells me everytime it boots that there are new packages to install) On Windows, there is no such thing. So when I for example read: "new release!" I go to the website and download; however if we release without a win32 binary, I'd go to the website only to find there is no new release for me. So I forget about it, and then I hear after months: "new release 0.47!" And then I'll see 0.46, but no 0.47 win32 binary yet...
I.o.w. I do not quite grasp what the release dates of linux distros are for, other than that it is all nicely packaged on a CD or DVD; but I am sure most users would check internet for new updates anyway?
it has to do with what goes into the official repositories besides the DVD versions. Thus, users doing an "sudo apt-get install inkscape" or "yum install inkscape" will get the version in the official repository. To avoid dependency problems, only security patched updates get added to the repositories (usually in a separate security respository that is checked in your "update" program).
Nothing stops Inkscapers from having specific packages on it's own website, it's just more work for someone to be a maintainer for each version posted and all the dependent libraries that are not included in a user's installation won't be automatically installed (part of what makes a "great" package management system). Thus, it's much harder for first-time users to install.