Abandon "Default Desktop"

[Dariusz J. Garbowski]

On 05/04/2009 09:50 PM, Callum Lerwick wrote:
> On Mon, 2009-05-04 at 23:15 -0400, Trever Fischer wrote:
>   
>> I'm confused. Is this thread about bashing other desktop design philosophies 
>> now? I thought this was all originally a thread to introduce a way to put the 
>> major desktop environments on even footing.
>>     
>
> My point is putting GNOME and KDE on "even footing" is not advantageous
> to our overall ease of use. Yes, I'm disagreeing with the OP.
>   

Care to elaborate? Why is it "not advantageous to our overall ease of 
use" (whatever this actually means)?

>> I think you two should take a step 
>> back here and look at what we're trying to accomplish.
>>     
>
> I don't know what you're trying to accomplish, but IMHO ease of use is
> far more advantageous to the distribution's overall health than
> political neutrality that no one but a bunch of nerds cares about.
>   

Like "net neutrality" that only "bunch of nerds cares about"?

>> Let's just put a big 
>> 'ole 3-way radio button in the installer with "GNOME", "KDE", and "Other/None" 
>> in the DVD installer and be done with it. I realize that picking a desktop 
>> environment probably isn't something a new Linux user is familiar with. But 
>> that doesn't mean we can't put some link on the download page explaining the 
>> term and the differences between the two.
>>     
>
> And as Joel's essay points out, no amount of explaining or lecturing is
> going to make the user care. You can't make them care. They will never
> care. They want Firefox. They've heard of Firefox. They don't want GNOME
> or KDE, they don't want Epiphany, they don't want Konqueror, they want
> Firefox, they want their Myspace, and they want their webmail.
>   

...they want Windows... and so on...
I want KDE but then again you'll say that I am not "them"... Come on! 
"They"? As agent Mulder would say "they are out there"?

>> The only way I see this being resolved is with:
>>
>> A) We cave in and give the user a choice, which is something few other distros 
>> with a graphical installer do (only suse comes to mind), or
>> B) We remain a stick in the mud, staying with the tried and true GNOME 
>> desktop.
>>     
>
>   
>> Picking A will almost certainly bring in more KDE users and help make KDE less 
>> of a second class citizen in Fedora. Picking B will make one less decision for 
>> linux newbies to make when they install Fedora.
>>
>> I believe option A will benefit fedora in the longer run.
>>     
>
> And I disagree. B is better.
>   

And I disagree. A is better.

What do we do now then?

-- 
thufor





		
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