[Liverpool] Money

[Simon Johnson]

> I'm missing it.  What do you mean "shipping is a feature"?
>
>
If you don't ever release your product, it's completely worthless to
anybody.

In that sense, shipping the product is *the* key feature.


> Debian just didn't _get_ this for a very long time.
>
> I am at a loss to find any meaning of the word "shipping" that Debian
> might not have "got".  I'm definitely missing the fundamental point.
>

The gap between major releases for Debian used to be huge. Between Debian
3.0 and Debian 4.0, there was a period of approximately five years.

This has since shortened to around two years between Debian 4.0-5.0  and
5.0-6.0.

Ubuntu shortened the iteration interval to six months and enjoyed
significantly more success.

I'm not saying all of Ubuntu's success is derived from its shorter release
cycle, but it certainly helped because people could plan around their
release schedule.


>
> > Herd never got it :)
>
> I think you mean the Hurd.  Again, though, the fundamental point is no
> clearer.
>

Linux released and iterated, Hurd didn't and effectively died.

You could wave your arms and say, "It's still here, it's still here." but
the percentage of Hurd installs is approximately 0%.

Their failure to actually ship something prevented uptake and ultimately
killed its chances of any success.
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