[iyonix-support] Re: 5.18 Upgrade
- From: A Rawnsley <rcomp@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: iyonix-support@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 06 Mar 2012 17:48:45 GMT
In message <49221.86.149.241.110.1331036831.squirrel@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
co.uk>
"Learning Partners" <lp.books@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> Dr John Hurley
> Research, Project Development and Publications for Education
> On Tue, 6 March, 2012 12:11 pm, dave higton wrote:
>> Quoting Learning Partners <lp.books@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>:
>>
>>> I think that next time a change this radical in the OS occurs it would
>>> be
>>> well to accompany it with a compatibility table of KNOWN requirements to
>>> upgrade key / core applications such as Ov Pro, Easiwriter, Artworks,
>>> Datapower, etc etc This information is obviously known to some
>>> developers,
>>> Martin, Andrew etc.
>>
>> I suspect that developers would be likely to keep their applications
>> up to date. I suspect that, for this reason, the incompatibility
>> information only emerges /after/ release of the OS.
>>
>> Dave
> A very fair point, although in this instance it looks as if some problems
> were identified through development builds. It would be helpful if these
> could be logged and disseminated beyond the developer community on
> release.
Part of the problem here is the length of time between major OS
updates for the Iyonix. I don't mean to sound unpleasant, but one has
to remember that the Iyo is essentially on life-support, and it is
only through the goodness of all at ROOL that 5.18 has appeared at
all.
What I mean by this is that in between 5.16 and 5.18 there have been
numerous updates and reported findings/changes which you can read on
the RISC OS Open forums, or other mailing lists like OvPro or ARMini.
However, there haven't bee Iyo updates during this time, so you'd have
less reason to know about what has been happening (understandable). I
believe the ROOL release includes a changelog which is quite lengthy,
but of course the problem with such a long changelog is understanding
what is significant etc. Indeed, the OvPro thing dates back over a
year - it was resolved before we even released the ARMini (things like
this were exactly why we didn't do the ARMini until last April).
By way of comparison, ARMini users have received 3-4 updates during
the same period (each documented, and supported on the mailing list or
via email/phone), but obviously when the ARMini becomes as long-lifed
as the Iyo, I can't guarantee the same situation won't occur (ie. a
long time between releases). In many ways, it is part of the aging
process of a computer. One can also look at it another way - after a
couple of years of frequent updates, there's much to be said for
"bedding down" with one fixed, static (hopefully largely bug-free) OS
build til end-of-life. Indeed, this was the state of play Iyo-wise -
5.18 is an *optional* update, after all.
If one was to be hard-nosed, one might point out that businesses often
have IT cycles for just this reason - every 5 (say) years hardware is
routinely replaced to prevent problems resulting from aging out.
However, most RISC OS systems are in use in home/small business where
such managed refresh isn't so desirable/affordable, plus there's an
expectancy of almost unlimited lifespan!
Whilst we'd all wish that updates were hassle-free, I think the
important thing is to be glad that 5.18 *has* appeared for the Iyo,
bringing with it lots of improvements. Did anyone really expect more
updates (and free ones at that) several years after the last Iyo was
built/sold? I think it's pretty wonderful, to be honest, and a
tribute to all those who worked on the project.
Best wishes,
Andrew
--
R-Comp
22 Robert Moffat, High Legh, Knutsford, Cheshire WA16 6PS
Tel: 01925 755043 Fax: 01925 757377 http://www.rcomp.co.uk
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