Re: GNOME: lack of strategic roadmap

["Dr. Michael J. Chudobiak" <mjc avtechpulse com>]

> How about a healthy dose of ambition and aim for becoming the best
> platform of choice, regardless of the freeness?

All desktops are aiming for that, free or not. And honestly, most 
desktops are "good enough".


> We're already the most free and open platform out there.

But we seem embarrassed to promote that fact heavily.


> Let's focus on how we can become the best platform overall...

I don't think "best" matters that much to "average users". I mean, 
people use Windows despite its headline-worthy flaws.


Personally, my company moved to Gnome/Gnu/Linux because:

1) We found that our MS Exchange Server stored data in bizarre 
proprietary hard-to-backup format which requires specialized proprietary 
backups programs, and as a result, we lost a lot of email in a crash. 
This is a "freedom of data" issue. It is much easier to backup simple 
text files in a dovecot maildir!

2) We wanted to print photos with their filenames at the bottom of the 
page. Impossible with the crummy Windows software. Easy, if we patched 
gThumb! This was a "freedom to change" issue.



Obviously I want Gnome to be the "best" too. However, I think freedom is 
a key Gnome attribute that is easy to explain, easy to promote, and 
truly different and better than the competing offerings.



- Mike