>There is a reason Microsoft is winning guys and price isn't it. At the risk of starting a flame war, I agree, although it's not nessisarily a bad thing. There's two fundamental reasons why documentation and the user experience (UI inconsitiencies for example) with Linux basically sucks:
1. The decentralized nature of open source. You don't like something? Fix it or change it yourself, or fork off and do your own thing. This is good in that there's a Darwinian type of evolution going on where only Good Projects survive and Bad Ones are abandoned, or forked into something good. This paradigm shift in the way software is created allows for *true* innovation, not just feature sets pumped down from the Marketing department for implementation. If Mr. Spencer was a Windows guy, there's no way Asterisk would exist. No way. This is bad simply *because* there is no rigid control over how a project starts , is implemented, and ends. You have a free-for-all where everyone is conviced they are right, everyone thinks everyone else is an idiot, and there is a net dilution of focus and talent on a project and things like documentation, consistient user experience and the like fall victim. 2. The programmer culture Programmers are human, albiet smart ones. Smart humans need stimulation. I write code for a living too, and there's nothing cooler than coming up with a super nifty way to do something that you never thought of before. Now the boring part comes; documenting what you did, and wrapping it in a pretty clicky-clicky interface so your PHB can go 'ooooOOOoooo'. My conjecture is, UI, user experience and documentation are the *hardest* part of any project. Hands-down. Because, it's easy for a programmer to write stuff that a Linux box will happily compile and run. Programmers understand the box. Programmers don't understand people. They think everyone is as uber-talented as them, and the interface they make works for them, so why not eveyone else? But when they make that fatal assumption that everyone thinks like they do and they set up their app the way *they* want it, from the user's perspective, the app has failed. It doesn't matter how good the app is, if it isn't slick and clicky-clicky, as far as the user is concerned, the app doesn't work. Again, it's good because programmers are motivated by writing cool code and not concerning themselves with trivial things like documentation and UI. It's bad because mere mortals cant comprehend what the hell the app does so they won't use it. Strength and weakness. Why did I write this rant? Because I (and my PHB's) are blown away by Asterisk and it's capabilities, we are demoing * to other affiliated companies, and they are blown away too (I did a demo yesterday to 20 PHB's and it got a STANDING OVATION); our * implementation *will* fundamentally change the way we do our business. -but- we are nonplussed by the brutal interface, steep learning curve, inconsitient and incomplete, and scattered documentation, and it's close-to-the-metal implementation. I write this rant as a call to arms for all of the * users: Let's get organized. Let's stop forking. Let's document and write howto's. Let's get some better abstraction layers on Asterisk that mere mortals can understand. Let's stop bitching about top-posting on the list (who cares, anyway) and move beyond that and focus on making Asterisk as beautiful on the outside as it is on the inside. Before Mr. Critchfield can say: "Well, why don't you do something about it, instead of complaning about it" I'd like to say I am not without GUI and documentation skills; but I cannot do it alone. I need your help, too. I'd like to start a project (wrong phrase: more like "Continue on with the current efforts") for better documentation and GUI's. If anyone is interested, contact me off-list. My apologies in advance if this offends you _______________________________________________ Asterisk-Users mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://lists.digium.com/mailman/listinfo/asterisk-users To UNSUBSCRIBE or update options visit: http://lists.digium.com/mailman/listinfo/asterisk-users
