On 4-Jan-06, at 12:18 AM, Aaron J. Seigo wrote:
there is a reason Microsoft has MSDN, Apple has http://
developer.apple.com/,
Sun has SDN, Oracle has TechNet, etc....
Oh yes, indeed, and it's probably very close to the reason that we
have http://developer.mozilla.org/. I understand the value of
developer documentation, but I don't think that it's a goal, ipso
facto, for someone seeking to, uh, de-inhibit the Linux desktop.
It's a tool that can be used in service of many goals, some better
than others, and I was concerned because I hadn't really seen those
goals articulated here. That makes it hard to pick between competing
approaches ("wiki", "OSDL imprint", "lobbying for changes to high
school curricula") to the same class of goals ("improved developer
information/education/reference"), and easy to lose a lot of time and
energy polishing a solution that doesn't fit the most important
aspect of the problem.
actually come out and said why we want a great doc portal. If it's I
because it's a frightening nightmare to figure out how to develop
for the
Linux desktop (even if you've already picked or are leaning towards
one
specific API). i hear this constantly. i wish i didn't. i really
do. *sob*
it's particularly painful to repeat the same development related
answers at
show after show only to be presented with "wow! i didn't know that was
possible!" hell, i got this at the meeting in portland even. and
trust me,
having me and the other few dozen trench soldiers doing the same
thing is not
a particularly efficient way to get the message out in a useful
manner. ;)
this also happens to be one of the #1 blockers to getting more open
source
developers (in the traditional sense of the term) on board. it's
simply too
much of a learning investment for most people to make.
Those are all so true that I didn't want to trim any of them, but I
really do think that we need to associate those _problems_ with
specific changes we expect to see in Linux desktop adoption if we fix
them. Otherwise, I honestly don't know how we'll evaluate the
success of whatever efforts are undertaken here, in service of Linux
(enterprise?) desktop adoption.
Maybe that seems like deconstruction for its own sake, but I suspect
I'm not the only one that it would help, in a variety of ways.
Mike
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