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<div class="gmail_quote"><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">I'm missing it. What do you mean "shipping is a feature"?<br>
<div class="im"><br></div></blockquote><div><br></div><div>If you don't ever release your product, it's completely worthless to anybody.</div><div><br></div><div>In that sense, shipping the product is <em>the</em> key feature. </div>
<div><br></div><div><br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex"><div class="im">
> Debian just didn't _get_ this for a very long time.<br>
<br>
</div>I am at a loss to find any meaning of the word "shipping" that Debian<br>
might not have "got". I'm definitely missing the fundamental point.<br></blockquote><div><br></div><div>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.</div>
<div><br></div><div>This has since shortened to around two years between Debian 4.0-5.0 and 5.0-6.0.</div><div><br></div><div>Ubuntu shortened the iteration interval to six months and enjoyed significantly more success.</div>
<div><br></div><div>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.</div><div> </div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
<div class="im"><br>
> Herd never got it :)<br>
<br>
</div>I think you mean the Hurd. Again, though, the fundamental point is no<br>
clearer.<br></blockquote><div><br></div><div>Linux released and iterated, Hurd didn't and effectively died.</div><div> </div><div>You could wave your arms and say, "It's still here, it's still here." but the percentage of Hurd installs is approximately 0%.</div>
<div><br></div><div>Their failure to actually ship something prevented uptake and ultimately killed its chances of any success.</div></div>