CardinalFang wrote:
In that case, I would guess that in order to match the higher profile
and wider consumer appeal that you would want to acquire, products like
SlimServer have to break out of the more tech-led user base it has so
far and develop a more consumer-friendly look and feel?
I would say that the hardware, and the post setup user experience is
already very consumer-friendly.
Open source development is unlikely to provide that as it tends to
build products that match the community's requirements, not the mass
market's.
This is not necessarily the case. Positive leadership in areas such as
feature support and UI design can guide even the most raucous community
to a usable outcome. Firefox is a good example. Also consider that the
server is eminently skinnable, and would allow customizations for
divergent user classes.
You are also less likely to get support from that community
now that it is to generate returns for anomymous major shareholders and
not company founders.
But community work still supports the community of users. Add a new
feature then enjoy it yourself and enjoy the accolades of the other users.
I would assume therefore that more in-house design
and productisation is required - that would be the route I'd take.
SlimDevices is already doing the bulk of this in-house.
I'd actually like to see the server software get more consumer
friendly, I'd feel more comfortable recommending it to friends. I
wouldn't contribute freely to that myself though - Logitech are a rich
company...
And when rich companies join forces with a visionary community good
things may come to be.
Sure, this sort of change is scary. But I'd rather remain hopeful and
work to keep the community going than to assume the worst and abandon
the effort.
Just my .02
--rt
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