Richard Creighton wrote:
> Sid Boyce wrote:
>> http://www.mandrake.tips.4.free.fr/opensuse10.3.review.html
>> Mentions of "for the uninitiated" sounds about right. To sidestep any
>> problems with the DVD, I've installed from Factory. Looks like the DVD
>> should have been delayed until it was compared with Factory for
>> stability.
>> I think the reviewer attempted to be fair (he points to the URL to
>> show where he is coming from). Perhaps some pertinent pointers for 11.0.
>> Regards
>> Sid.
> http://www.mandrake.tips.4.free.fr/opensuse10.3.review.html should be
> MUST READING for management at Novell and at openSuSE.org. It is
> eminently fair and for the most part, accurate. I think any
> inaccuracies could be attributable to unfamiliarity rather than bias.
> If this reviewer hadn't been what I would call a 'Power-user', and had
> instead been someone converting from Windows, not only would they
> probably not have had a successful install, but would have an article
> that Microsoft would probably have printed in full page ads throughout
> the world. As it is, it should wake up Senior Management in SuSE.
>
> regards
> Richard
>
Richard,
You hit the nail on the head. Good job! Just think about how the review
would have been different if Novell had taken the time to QA and fix
just the issues listed in that article. (pause and think about it)
All of the frustration and waste of time experienced and expended by
each of us would have been spared and the support headaches for Novell
would have been eliminated. I am committed to openSuSE after having come
from Mandrake when that distribution imploded and went through its "dark
times" (8.0 - 10.1). What caused the mass exodus from Mandrake?
The exodus was caused by the corpratizing of what was a fantastic disro
through 7.2. Quality developers committed to thorough QA, putting out a
reliable product when it was ready. Once Mandrake went public, the
developers were stripped of control over the distribution. The business
types made business decisions to adhere to an insane release cycle and
QA and reliability went down the tubes. It has taken Mandrake several
*years* to recover, but they are getting there. A costly few years it
took to find the correct balance between the business and software sides
of the house.
In business, as in virtually every facet of life, history can be a
great teacher for all intelligent enough to listen and learn. The
problems encountered in 10.3 pale by comparison to the Mandrake debacle,
but they indicate a troubling change in direction. When I moved to SuSE
at (8.0, 8.2?) the distro was the best on the market - hands down. That,
even with the yast ftp install that required booting from a floppy. It
worked, it worked every time, and gotchas were a very rare occurrence.
arTee's article is extremely well written and a candid, honest and fair
account of the 10.3 release. I applaud the time, the dedication and the
effort he expended to give back to the OSS community and provide an
opportunity for openSuSE to access how the distribution was released and
learn from a bit of history.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not knocking openSuSE at all. I still believe
it is the best distribution on the planet. But experiencing the exact
same install problems described in the article and after spending the
past 50 days sorting out lockups and many of the other problems
described, it has left me shaking my head at the sheer amount of time
required to get 10.3 fleshed out. arTee's point is well made, and I
agree. A vast majority of those that aren't already sufficiently Linux
literate trying 10.3 as a first Linux try, would have thrown in the
towel right after the install glitch and would never have looked back or
gotten to experience the elegance of this distro.
I know the developers are doing a great job, but I truly wonder if some
of the critical decisions are being made by the corporate folks ignoring
the better judgment of the developers. The article provides great
feedback and a great opportunity to learn. Lest another article with the
same candid, honest and fair account is to follow -- after the release
of 11.0.
--
David C. Rankin, J.D., P.E.
Rankin Law Firm, PLLC
510 Ochiltree Street
Nacogdoches, Texas 75961
Telephone: (936) 715-9333
Facsimile: (936) 715-9339
www.rankinlawfirm.com
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