XFree86 4.8.0 Released

[yogi_berra]

This will come as a surprise to many Linux users (and even most Linux developers), but a lot of people don't want to have to upgrade their whole OS -- and put up with (re)learning this month's flavor of desktop layout/features/icons/apps/bugs when the old one did what they needed just perfectly fine thank you -- when they can just keep using what they have. That was supposed to be one of the big advantages of UNIX systems over Windows systems, after all: many year reliability.

Quoted for affect, though it will have none.

[elanthis]

elanthis, after reading your post I find it quite surprising you were the same user who asked why do ps2 ports still exist

Bah, I tell you! I was talking about brand-new mobos for brand-new CPUs for recent form factors intended for HTPC and other new-ish applications, not replacement parts for old machines and installations.

Nobody's going to be replacing hardware running XFree86 with a Via Nano board/CPU.

[rbmorse]

Are we dead yet?

I htink the better question would be, "are we still dead?"

[curaga]

elanthis, after reading your post I find it quite surprising you were the same user who asked why do ps2 ports still exist

[elanthis]

I think the primary motivator for new XFree86 releases is that there are old but perfectly working installations out there which do not want to risk the massive changes and possible breakages of a whole new OS update, but which may need the occasional minor bug fix.

This will come as a surprise to many Linux users (and even most Linux developers), but a lot of people don't want to have to upgrade their whole OS -- and put up with (re)learning this month's flavor of desktop layout/features/icons/apps/bugs when the old one did what they needed just perfectly fine thank you -- when they can just keep using what they have. That was supposed to be one of the big advantages of UNIX systems over Windows systems, after all: many year reliability. I know of several businesses running 15+ year old machines that haven't been serviced or upgraded since they were installed (and thankfully said machines are NOT Internet-facing, of course), and other which have only received only a few minor updates/patches/fixes. If you're running an old POS (point of sale, not piece of something) terminal that you just had to replace the touch screen on only to find out that a minor bug in the existing XFree86 install causes it to fail, which would you rather pay for: someone to install a brand new OS and graphics stack that may end up having a ton of other bugs or misfeatures and then reconfiguring the POS software; or someone to come install a new release of XFree86 that fixes the display problem with no chance of breaking other parts of the working system?

[[Knuckles]]

I think I can speak for all of us when I say *YAWN*.

[KDesk]

Why do they still release Xfree86? How use that? Strange people...

[deanjo]

Are we dead yet?

Heh, well you still can purchase linux drivers for radeons too http://www.xig.com/

[RealNC]

Are we dead yet?

[phoronix]

Phoronix: XFree86 4.8.0 Released

For those still living in XFree86 land, version 4.8.0 of this X Window System implementation is now available. This is the first major update to XFree86 in about a year and a half, but with changes that aren't too exciting and have already been available through X.Org. The X Server found in XFree86 4.8.0 has PCI-X and PCI Express fixes and a few other minor changes...

http://www.phoronix.com/vr.php?view=NjkzMA