{Solved} More from Dedo

[Richard]

Calm down a bit and take a deep breath.

This question has been asked and answered before, though perhaps not completely. And probably does need stating somewhere else in big letters. To be pointed to when asked again.

Many are using Debian who do not, to my knowledge, offer an LTS version, though they do provide LTS kernels, backports and security updates which we also pass on.

[Richard]

@Bluesguy,

I'm neither dev nor mod, my statements are not official --just an MX user since the first week of the first release.

[malspa]

The one thing that's really missing is a guaranteed LTS edition for me to be able to commit it to production

An unofficial response about MX regarding LTS (abridged from Richard's comments) ...

At the moment, MX Linux does not have an LTS version ... we provide support past the time that the base Debian release is supported ... Debian do not ... offer an LTS version, though they do provide LTS kernels, backports and security updates which we also pass on.

Good to know, but unlike Dedoimedo, I like LTS versions for my spare computers, the older ones that I don't use as often. For my main/primary machine, whatever you wanna call it, I like to get the newer release when it comes out.

[figueroa]

MX is an ESR (Extended Support Release) Distro based on Debian Stable with 3 years of Debian standard version-support plus 2 more years of Debian LTS. Add to this MX's extended support for its own packages, and you have an OS that can easily accommodate users needing long-term productivity features.

I kinda like it as it sets MX apart from Rolling or LTS Distros and all the rest ... a great "branding" if you will. Whaddya think folks? If I get a green-light i will send this little nut-shell to Dedo as my spin on his (and others) concern(s).

I don't think that's helpful. The noise adds to the confusion. It's OK if you believe those things about ESR and LTS, but at its core those comments about ESR and five years are misleading.

[Head_on_a_Stick]

One of my initial questions regarding MX's version(s) longevity took into account my understanding of Debian's position regarding LTS:
https://wiki.debian.org/LTS

Debian do not have an "LTS release" at all.

Debian have a stable release, for which their official Security Team provide support until the next stable release, any security-related updates after that are provided by the LTS team.

Non-security-related updates do occasionally happen in the stable release but they are rare (except for Firefox & Chromium, which are special cases).

As MX Linux is based on the stable release then that will also receive security-related updates from Debian's Security Team until the next Debian stable version is out, at which point their security-related updates will come from the volunteers on the LTS team.

Disclaimer: I have nothing to do with MX development.

[anticapitalista]

An example might suffice - MX-15, released 24 Dec 2015, is based on Debian jessie and is still receiving updates from both Debian (LTS) and MX repos.

[anticapitalista]

To add to my example.

Debian LTS team for jessie offers support from 17th June 2018 to June 30, 2020.
After that date, they might just shut own the repo, or they might continue it. No-one really knows.
MX team offers support for MX-15 jessie to June 30, 2020 at least.
The MX package team may continue to add updates after this date, I don't know.

[asqwerth]

The definition of "support" will change after EOL though.

1. Debian repo packages - after the Debian LTS team closes shop, no more patches/updates will come from them.

2. but some packages like Firefox might still be rebuilt by MX team for a short time after the EOL date of the Debian release. Example: Mepis12/MX14 is based on Debian Wheezy, and EOL was on 31 May 2018. See https://www.debian.org/News/2018/20180601

But MX's packaging team still built Firefox 62.0.2 for MX14 on 25 Sep 2018.

viewtopic.php?p=461821#p461821

3. However, apart from a few such packages still receiving short-lived additional updates, I think you will find that "support" after Debian EOL just means receiving continued help and problem-solving suggestions on the forum. It won't be a case of software updates/patches. And at some point, the forum members will probably suggest that you install a newer MX release.

[Adrian]

MX team offers support for MX-15 jessie to June 30, 2020 at least.
The MX package team may continue to add updates after this date, I don't know.

MX-15 was released in 2015, in the meantime we released MX-16, MX-16.1, MX-17, MX-17.1, MX-18, MX-18.1, MX-18.2. It's going to be 5 years next year, I doubt there's any interest to provide any updates to MX-15 past that date especially if Debian stops supporting Jessie.

We try to make installing as fast and easy to do, you can preserve /home, installation takes 5-10 min. on a SSD. If after 5 years you cannot set aside 5-10 minutes to do an installation and do an apt-get install for the rest of packages you want... too bad. You can still use it, but you won't receive updates.

[cyrilus31]

And at some point, the forum members will probably suggest that you install a newer MX release.

And as long as it doesn't require to buy new hardware, I think it's the least worst solution