I just don’t see that much progress. I see lots of wheels spinning, but there are bugs fixed, bugs introduced, refactors that improve things, refactors that degrade things… I was plenty productive 5 years ago, 10 years ago, 20 years ago (o.k. - things definitely have improved since 2005, but…) when I install a new system these days, it’s not always a step forward.
BIG, HUGE, RIDICULOUS example: Debian dropped the underlying library supporting RTSP stream viewing in VLC and many other packages, didn’t replace it with ANYTHING. So: all those IP cameras scattered around the yard? Yep, I can view them in VLC in Ubuntu 20.04, but not 22.04, or 24.04, not even in the latest builds as far as I know. That particular issue can be worked around in native Debian (not Ubuntu) with a particular independently maintained repository which still included those (and many other) libraries that Debian has dropped without functional replacement over the past 5-10 years. Yeah, I complained to the writer/maintainer of the library that his feud with Debian isn’t winning any fans. He, predictably, doesn’t care.
I just don’t see that much progress. I see lots of wheels spinning, but there are bugs fixed, bugs introduced, refactors that improve things, refactors that degrade things… I was plenty productive 5 years ago, 10 years ago, 20 years ago (o.k. - things definitely have improved since 2005, but…) when I install a new system these days, it’s not always a step forward.
BIG, HUGE, RIDICULOUS example: Debian dropped the underlying library supporting RTSP stream viewing in VLC and many other packages, didn’t replace it with ANYTHING. So: all those IP cameras scattered around the yard? Yep, I can view them in VLC in Ubuntu 20.04, but not 22.04, or 24.04, not even in the latest builds as far as I know. That particular issue can be worked around in native Debian (not Ubuntu) with a particular independently maintained repository which still included those (and many other) libraries that Debian has dropped without functional replacement over the past 5-10 years. Yeah, I complained to the writer/maintainer of the library that his feud with Debian isn’t winning any fans. He, predictably, doesn’t care.