Re: focus! (was Re: Focusing on innovation re: mono, python et al)

[Havoc Pennington <hp redhat com>]

Jeff Waugh wrote:
> <quote who="Havoc Pennington">
>
> > There's also Windows apps, "embedded" (focused?) devices, online services,
> > all kinds of stuff that could serve the goal of bringing an open source
> > computing platform to the general public.
>
> If you were at GUADEC you would've heard about some interesting action in
> this area (which will be more widely announced in the coming months). :-)
>
> Next year, COME TO GUADEC, HAVOC!

Good to hear! Now spread it through the project: why are GNOME mailing 
lists, web site, release groupings, etc. all proceeding merrily along as 
if the goal is "make a desktop"... while even the immediate ecosystem is 
clearly not about that exclusively or even mostly.

My big picture question, why would GNOME never have produced things 
like, and still is not producing things like:
 - itunes/ipod
 - gmail
 - last.fm
 - shutterfly
 - flickr
 - MySpace
 - TiVo
 - ...

Or even why is GNOME sidelining things like:
 - Maemo
 - Elisa
 - One Laptop Per Child
 - ...

My first-order answer is that GNOME thinks of itself as "making a 
desktop" - even though the _reality_ is that the larger GNOME 
community/ecosystem is doing way more than that, and that the larger 
tech industry is doing still more.

Havoc