On Thu, 2003-03-06 at 02:19, Greg Meyer wrote: > I have followed Cooker for 4 releases now, 8.1, 8.2, 9.0 and now 9.1. The > first two, I pretty much lurked and just tried to learn about the bug > reporting and development process, and also pick up some tips for how to deal > with some technical issues for final. 9.0 I got a little more courage to try > and contribute some bug reports, and this time I have been actively testing > and reporting and at this point interacting with the main development staff > and contributors (I hope to positive result). > > If I may make an observation based on my experiences to date. Every single > release, as it gets closer to release time, someone makes a post like this > and then everybody piles on. You'll notice that none of the Mandrakians or > core contributors ever take part in it. Why, because they are busy trying to > find the bugs and squash them before the release has to go gold. My > understanding is that there are contractual requirements for hitting the > release date. From the publisher of the boxes, to the retailer and > wholsalers that ordered boxes. Not to mention this time, the financial > issues that present themselves this year.
And for the last release at least - and, it seems, this one - they've been absolutely right. In addition to numerous other bugs, 9.0 shipped with a critical kernel bug that broke access to many people's CD-ROM drives. You surely can't think this was a good idea? If the problem is contractual obligations, perhaps the 9.0 experience ought to indicate that such contracts should not be made. > Example from 9.0 > http://marc.theaimsgroup.com/?l=mandrake-cooker&m=103264057205311&w=2 I remember the thread. It highlighted the fact that 9.0 was in danger of being released with a number of bugs that would infuriate users and reviewers and lead to a negative impression of 9.0. This is exactly what happened. -- adamw
