Tell the world that Ubuntu is easy to upgrade

I am reading an article on the Swedish news site IDG about pro and cons between re-install and upgrading Ubuntu. The attached forum shows a clear doubt to upgrading. I meet the same opinion and lack of knowledge at work when talking about how easy it is to upgrade Ubuntu/Debian, in fact that it is as easy as do a security update. People do not believe me. Why?

My guess is that MS Windows, commercial Unix such as Solaris, True64 and RPM-based Linux distribution have an upgrading scheme between releases that differs from security upgrades. You need to reboot the machine on a CD run a special upgrading program and hope that everything goes well. Most of the time you get a very crapy result whith lost configuration, broken application etc. Some OS (read MS Windows) are more or less impossible to upgrade to new releases, a new installation is the only option.

It is time for a information campain about how easy it is to upgrade between Ubuntu releases. If it was not so easy it would be impossible for me to keep my, my wifes and my relatives computer up to date.

I am not saying that there are no work left to do on upgrading but we a very much ahead of every one else. Good work everybody working with new Ubuntu and Debian releases and of course every one that package applications.

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