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List:       kde-devel
Subject:    Re: Open question to all developers.
From:       James Richard Tyrer <tyrerj () acm ! org>
Date:       2008-06-28 22:31:32
Message-ID: 4866BBC4.4080000 () acm ! org
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Kelly Miller wrote:
> Oh, I can confirm this, seeing as I'm back in yet another argument of
>  this kind at Groklaw, likely posted by the same three guys who have 
> been bringing up these arguments over and over again.

I have to wonder why this discussion, some of which has valid points, is
at Groklaw rather than on a KDE list or forum.  So, any efforts to bring 
such discussions home is welcome.

> I'm not sure the problem actually is that no one knows where the info
>  is (though indications are that there might be problems there); from
>  what I've seen, most of the problems come from users who have used 
> random versions of KDE4 (most commonly the parts labelled ALPHA) and 
> believe that KDE4 will always be like this,

While the presumption that problems won't be fixed does not make a lot
of sense, it is probably reasonable to some end users.  And,
unfortunately, a lot of KDE4 versions that should have been labeled Alpha
& Beta were not so labeled.  I have TRUNK installed and the version info
doesn't say Alpha or Beta, it just says 4.00.84 which IIUC means that it
is Alpha, but do end users know this?

> forgetting that similar sorts of things happen whenever a new major 
> version of anything is released.

Perhaps the hype about a radically new desktop didn't help.  Added to
this is the fact that Plasma is late.  Problem is that the developer
doesn't want to clearly state this.

> For example, the most common complaint I've seen so far is that the 
> KDE desktop "does not act like a desktop",

I hope my critical remarks were clearer.  I have become used to doing
things a certain way on my KDE3 desktop.  I will be happy when I can do
the same things on the KDE4 desktop.  I am willing to do them in new
ways as long as the result is the same.  OTOH, I can see why business
and government users will not be happy unless they can do them exactly
the same way even though the new ways are better.

> though what the user in question really means is that KDE is not 
> imping more Windows features.

Is so, he has a small point.  We do not want to clone MS-Windows, but
the KDE desktop needs to be familiar and friendly to users migrating
from MS-Windows.

> Although I can (and do) repeatedly tell them how to handle this, most
> of them simply turn around and repeat, verbatim, the same arguments a
> short time later.

Well applying the small amount of Psychology that I know.  I would guess 
that they don't think that people listened to them and/or understood 
what they said.  I know that I have done the same thing, we are all 
human after all.

> Sometimes I start to wonder if some of these characters are in fact 
> shilling for someone else.

Yes, can't argue with that.

-- 
JRT

 
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