Subject: release schedule? (was Re: FD_SETSIZE)
To: Jason Thorpe <thorpej@nas.nasa.gov>
From: Bob Sutterfield <Bob@XC.Org>
List: netbsd-help
Date: 05/06/1997 12:26:14
Jason Thorpe writes:
> ...are you using NetBSD-current?
> ... -current can ...  
> NetBSD-current also has a properly-implemented ...

I'm still using 1.2 because 1.2.1 hasn't been released yet.
And now it seems as if there are already features beyond that
mythical 1.2.1 that would be very helpful in running a stable 
production system.  But we can't track the nightly changes in 
-current because we're using NetBSD in just such as system.  
Laine Stump and Jon Ribbens and others have expressed this 
concern over just the past few days, and I've resorted to
snagging individual kernel sources from the -current tree to
fix particular problems.  I don't know what will happen to
those fixes if I ever install 1.2.1 (if it's ever released).

I understand this is the nature of a Net project, that its 
releases are never as neat and tidy as a commercial product.
But is there any chance of driving a stake in the ground 
sometime soon, and calling it 1.2.1?  And how about another
release, or maybe some straightforward patches with a high
degree of confidence that they'll install and work, to fix
the stability problems that Laine and others have described?

It's reassuring that a crew of very talented and motivated 
developers are still working on the system, and I have no 
doubt that everything's being addressed.  But it's faint 
comfort to hear that the only way to get the fixes is to 
run an ephemeral -current!  I'm a true believer in this OS 
and in the benefits of free software, but I also have to 
answer my bosses' questions about system reliability.  It's
getting harder and harder to resist buying an OS.
--
Bob Sutterfield                         +1 909 794 1151
Mission Aviation Fellowship / MAFlink Technical Manager
mailto:Bob@XC.Org                 http://www.XC.Org/bob
             Pray Globally - Serve Locally