The Raspberry Pi is a ground-breaking computer that has been adapted for many purposes ranging from education to industrial control. I have successfully used various Raspberry Pis (original, 2, 3, Zero and Zero-W) for the past 3+ years for a variety of purposes. Until recently the OS has been stable and with minimal OS problems, and the process of installing and configuration has been simple and fool-proof. Unfortunately that was in the past.

I have tried the various “Stretch” release and found each to have significant problems that should have been easily identified, even with minimal testing. The latest release includes what is apparently an old driver for WiFi dongles and incorrect libraries for Apache2 and MySQL. After solving these problems I ran into another problem with a SQL connector to which i was unable to resolve. Upon re-flashing the SD card and starting a new implementation to verify my notes, I encountered a new problem with apt-get unable to find the “mirror server”. Where did this new problem come from and why didn’t it appear a few hours earlier? The next day the problem continued. Has the OS changed, without a corresponding change to the version number or date? Or is the mirror server down and no one noticed?

Reviewing the comments and problems on your Forums and other web sites reveal many other problems that have occurred and reoccured multiple times. Unfortunately there is a pattern here and it is not a positive one.

Attempting to find information about how to correct these problems is both time consuming and frustrating as there are many people searching for answers which are few and far between. And few of these are address on the Raspberry Pi site. That should be the MAIN site these problems are reported, discussed and addressed! But that is not the case.

As a result users are forced to reinstall older version of our OS. While this solves an immediate problem it does not address the fundamental problem. It provides only a temporary solution which will cease to function when one adds new products or functions to their Pi or make other changes that entail new drivers.

Is this the new norm for the Raspberry Pi organisation? I hope not. I recognise you are (mostly) a volunteer organisation and your software is open source. However that does not relieve you of the responsibility to your supporters and those you serve of providing fully tested and functional hardware and software products. Releasing products, be they hardware or software, that are inoperative will quickly dissipate the store of good will you have accrued over the past few years.

Jim Scott