Extremely slow updates for Mint 13

[dinogorgon]

Although i like Mint 13 MATE very much and cannot complain about stability etc there is one thing that really upsets me. The update intervals for software.
To make it clear i do not talk about security updates for libraries etc. which happen almost every day, no i am referring to updates of everyday-applications such as
libreoffice, calligra, gimp etc. and last but not least kernel-updates.

I'am using several linux versions alongside with Mint ( Fedora 17 (with MATE), Fuduntu and Ubuntu 11.04) and i must say Mint has the slowest update-intervals of all times.

I installed MINT short after release and it is still running the same kernel (3.2.0.23), regardless of the newest kernel that was just released (3.2.0.29) with numerous perfomance and security improvements. So i had to update to kernel 3.5 manually 3 weeks ago on my Mint, and it runs really fine.

Even one month after gimp 2.8 was released - still Gimp 2.6 on Mint - so i had to update manually. Fedora is up to date since weeks, and so is Fuduntu and Ubuntu.

A few days ago Libreoffice 3.6 was released - and on Mint today there was a overwhelming minor update from 3.5.4.1 to 3.5.4.2 - Great deal ! Fedora 17 and Fuduntu updated to 3.6 today, one day after release.

Calligra 2.5 was released few days ago and ....... Fedora 17 installed the update today. I think Fedora 17 also installed the new MATE 1.4 update but i have to check this again.

I dont know if it is general "Mint-politics" to update applications only with every new release. But if this happens to be so, i think Mint will have only a short lifetime on my PC, before i switch back to Fedora 17/18 or Fuduntu. Sorry but i do not want to reinstall my PC every half year to have actual software, thats why i prefer to use Fuduntu, which updates regularly by roll-in, regardless of how old the distribution is.

[xenopeek]

Moved here by moderator

Yes, Linux Mint based on Ubuntu is -- just as Ubuntu -- not a rolling release distro. If you want a rolling release distro, have a look at LMDE instead (the Linux Mint Debian Edition). You may want the latest version of programs, others just want a system that works and that they know how to use. Linux Mint 13 is supported till April 2017 and caters to those users. If you want bleeding edge or latest version of all programs, yes, go for a rolling release distro.

Kernel updates are available if you enable level 4 and 5 updates in the Update Manager (Edit > Preferences menu). I've detailed a bit why the kernel is not updated by default, and what is and isn't the impact of this: viewtopic.php?f=47&t=104447#p590569.

If you have a set of programs you do want newer versions for, Ubuntu -- and thus Linux Mint -- caters to that through PPAs. Usually the developers of favorite programs have a PPA to get the latest version installed. That can be a newer stable release, but there are also nightly-build PPAs for bleeding edge versions. It's a different approach from Fedora or Fuduntu. Updates as a rule are only done for security issues and bugs, not for new features.

Though it sounds like you expect us to, we won't twist your arm on this. Use whatever works best for you