[Discuss] Why Open Source Software Isn't Leading Software Usability

[John Blomfield]

Coincidentally, I have just reflected on some current experience on a 
related topic.  Fedora 9 is hot off the press and as a long time Fedora 
user (currently Fedora 8) I decided to have a look, in particular I was 
curious to check out the changes that KDE4 would make (Fedora 8 has 3.5 
)  KDE 4 is built on Qt4 framework compared to Qt3 for KDE 3.5.  I have 
been converting some of my own development programs to Qt4 which is not 
a trivial exercise.  Fedora 9 KDE Live booted OK and so I thought I 
would try it out on my laptop which I maintain partly in sync with my 
main desktop but is not mission critical.  What a disaster!  The list of 
things that did not work properly was long and tedious and I will not 
bore you with them but suffice to say it was not really a functional 
system.  But as with all new releases I am sure at least some will be 
fixed over the coming weeks or months, after which I will look again.

To return to the topic however, since my laptop was screwed up anyway, I 
decided to try SUSE 10.3 which includes some stable KDE4 applications, 
which run under KDE3.5 provided Qt4 libraries are present and don't 
require the KDE4 desktop.  It is also possible to install both KDE3.5 
and KDE4.0 desktops without conflict under SUSE 10.3 and select the 
desktop from the session manager but I think I will wait!  Finally, 
relevant to the topic I found the following from some KDE developers : 
http://aseigo.blogspot.com/2008/01/talking-bluntly.html which puts the 
open software developer's point of view.

John Blomfield




Lloyd Budd wrote:
> On Sat, May 17, 2008 at 8:57 AM, Patrick
> <NixNoob-sneaking at sneakemail.com> wrote:
> Subject was: [Discuss] Photo Organization Review -- slides from my
> presentation last evening
>   
>>> f-spot is otherwise brilliant software, but this bug is one of a class
>>> I call "the open source surprise", where developer priorities, often
>>> personally motivated, misplace serious usability issues.
>>>       
>> Seems that would happen more often with closed-source software,
>> wouldn't it?
>>
>> I can remember several otherwise good applications for the Mac,
>> with a few serious but totally neglected bugs.  Bug reports from
>> a large proportion of users went unanswered, because the features
>> they interfered with weren't important to the author[s].
>>
>> Anyone can patch a free program, but those patches still might
>> not be adopted by its main developers.  Still, if not, you can
>> always fork off [please excuse my language].  Not so with closed
>> software.
>>
>> Anyway, I'm just guessing about how these things are *supposed* to
>> work, not necessarily how they do; from theory, not practise.
>>     
>
> You would think this, but unfortunately this isn't my experience,
> specifically as I apply my QA expertise in consumer software.
>
> Open source code is only a benefit if there are people with skills and
> more importantly the time and interest to build on it.
>
> Linux is incredible in its flexibility and providing complex
> solutions, but disappointing in utility to achieve everyday challenges
> for most people.
>
> I think personal motivation and disposition play large part in it, and
> there isn't enough commercial focused open source development -- as
> horrible as that may sounds. Many open source participants enjoy a
> technical challenge and are motivated to solving problems themselves.
> Unfortunately we are often challenged by aesthetic problems,  to
> collaborate in diverse groups, and appreciate the norms and the
> contributions that come from other approaches. To be commercially
> successful in the consumer space you generally have to focus on
> satisfying as many people as possible.
>
> Commercial viability allows time and interest of participants that
> don't have the inherent motivations that we do -- and even for us, I
> do a lot better work when I'm not concerned about a different day job
> or paying the rent. We just have to continue to be creative in being
> commercial without selling ourselves out, so that we can entice more
> diverse participation.
>
> Cheers,
> Lloyd
> _______________________________________________
> Discuss mailing list
> Discuss at vlug.org
> http://ladybug.vlug.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/discuss
>
>