KDE 4 problems highlight shift from community users to consumers
Posted by: Anonymous
[ip: 70.190.71.172]
on July 17, 2008 07:45 AM
I've been using KDE since the 0.X days. I was around for RMS' hissy fit about the Qt license and the creation of Gnome as a "response" to KDE. I've watched KDE grow and mature into a functional desktop system in which each new release was an improvement upon what came before.
Until now....
KDE 4 is a marketing failure. (Marketing != Advertising). Instead of seeking feedback from their users and improving the system that was already in place, the developers decided to go off on a tangent and do something else. Then they compounded this by making the mistake of releasing a beta product as an X.0 version. Had they avoided either mistake then the backlash would not have been so bad. Had they released an evolution of 3.5.x instead of a devolution, they would have been fine. Had they released KDE 4 as 3.99-preview then they also would have been fine. The KDE team REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, needs to recruit some marketing people who will keep them from making similar mistakes in the future.
If they want to make a desktop that people will USE, they need to understand the needs and expectations of those users. Pulling a "We don't care, we don't have to, we're the developers" is a great way to become the next XFree86. Complaining about users being resistant to change is also a non-starter. Change is good, but only when it doesn't break things. Change for its own sake, or because someone thinks that something is "cool," is just flat out juvenile. Ford can innovate all day long, but only so long as those innovations comply with the usage habits of their customers. Configuring a car to where the back wheels do the steering may very well be "cool," but almost no one is going buy such a vehicle.
I don't know what KDE 4.1 looks like. If they have truly fixed it, then great. If they haven't then I'm going to have to look at moving to a different desktop.
I don't like having to say negative things about KDE. I don't like the fact that my comments are going to upset the developers. I have not read the personal attacks against them that have been described in this article, but I can tell you that such attacks are completely uncalled for. My criticism are not intended as a personal attack. Everyone screws up, and this year it is the KDE developers' turn. Maybe it will be my turn next.
Learn about Linux
Download Linux
Get Linux help
KDE 4 problems highlight shift from community users to consumers
Posted by: Anonymous [ip: 70.190.71.172] on July 17, 2008 07:45 AMUntil now....
KDE 4 is a marketing failure. (Marketing != Advertising). Instead of seeking feedback from their users and improving the system that was already in place, the developers decided to go off on a tangent and do something else. Then they compounded this by making the mistake of releasing a beta product as an X.0 version. Had they avoided either mistake then the backlash would not have been so bad. Had they released an evolution of 3.5.x instead of a devolution, they would have been fine. Had they released KDE 4 as 3.99-preview then they also would have been fine. The KDE team REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, needs to recruit some marketing people who will keep them from making similar mistakes in the future.
If they want to make a desktop that people will USE, they need to understand the needs and expectations of those users. Pulling a "We don't care, we don't have to, we're the developers" is a great way to become the next XFree86. Complaining about users being resistant to change is also a non-starter. Change is good, but only when it doesn't break things. Change for its own sake, or because someone thinks that something is "cool," is just flat out juvenile. Ford can innovate all day long, but only so long as those innovations comply with the usage habits of their customers. Configuring a car to where the back wheels do the steering may very well be "cool," but almost no one is going buy such a vehicle.
I don't know what KDE 4.1 looks like. If they have truly fixed it, then great. If they haven't then I'm going to have to look at moving to a different desktop.
I don't like having to say negative things about KDE. I don't like the fact that my comments are going to upset the developers. I have not read the personal attacks against them that have been described in this article, but I can tell you that such attacks are completely uncalled for. My criticism are not intended as a personal attack. Everyone screws up, and this year it is the KDE developers' turn. Maybe it will be my turn next.
#