I just published/send/submitted the last part of the openSUSE strategy stuff. Coming from KDE, this was a very interesting endeavor. It's not done yet, of course - I expect a huge amount of comments on this one (find it here) as it includes some notes on our 'competition' (coopetition?), what the results will be and how we'd like to be in a few years.
I know the KDE community is also looking at future directions - KDE 4 series is stabilizing, so where to go next? GNOME meanwhile is getting GNOME 3 out - but at the same time also had strategic discussions at the last GUADEMY. And of course Fedora has followed openSUSE in discussing directions. Guess it's contagious...
Not surprisingly, not everyone is happy with 'strategic discussions' within Free Software communities. In an earlier blog I spoke about the why of a strategy, so I won't go there again. I do feel, however, that tides seem to have turned. Either those sick of strategy have gone away, or those who think it's good to think about the future have convinced them. Or changed their ways of course, hehe...
Anyway. For a sec, let me move to the topic of helping... Not just openSUSE, but Free Software in general. I'm not sure how effective this is going to be, but I like the idea even though it's remarkably similar to linux counter :D
Ok, one more thing, because I can't help myself: the openSUSE marketing team is working on some flyers - KDE promo peeps might recognize something there, hehe. Find them here (for potential users) and here (for potential developers). Feel free to edit and improve ;-)
Oh and of course, because we're less than 2 weeks away now - go register!
Love, Jos
I think opensuse strategy is mostly right, but new users and non-heavy users could also use opensuse, I mean if install is easy but yet provides advanced features (complicated stuff put in visible advanced button) and good defaults/things pre-condigured, then it's no problem. I mean automatic driver/printer install,simplifications like package manager with apps instead of packages(also permit install of packages obiously) etc will still be done right?
ReplyDeleteJos, I wouldn't be linking to that dodalibre site. There's no accountability anywhere on the page - they could be anyone. Way to get a spam avalanche. Stick with the linux counter, it seems to be well recognized and people have put their names to it.
ReplyDelete@helen: you're right, won't do it again ;-)
ReplyDelete@damian: sure, even an experienced sysadmin likes it if his printer 'just works'. openSUSE is actually quite good at that and I think it's important.
What I don't really like is the idea that we expect new users to have someone knowledgeable to help them.
ReplyDeleteI've been an openSUSE user since 9.1, and fulltime since around 9.2 or 9.3, and I although it is my distro of choice, I recognize that it still has A LOT of sharp edges. Lots and lots of gotchas and tricks and small details which I know by heart, but new users do not.
I worry that by saying "no worries, there'll be someone in the know nearby", those sharp edges will never be fixed.
That's mainly the reason why I still recommend Ubuntu, although I do not use it at home or at work.
At IAnjo:
ReplyDeleteWhatever we do, we assume some previous knowledge. After all, if you've never SEEN a computer before, you won't be able to use openSUSE, or Ubuntu, or anything, without a little guidance. How to use a mouse and such.
so the Q is - where do we draw the line? I think it's a separate issue from sharp edges - imho these should be fixed anyway. Things that don't work (properly) or are harder than they should be are annoying for anyone, advanced or beginner users.