The fall of KDE?

[alan c]

Billie Walsh wrote:
> Knapp wrote:
>> On Tue, Nov 18, 2008 at 11:59 AM, Girard Henri <girardhenri at free.fr> wrote:
>>   
>>> you are wrong : i just compiled kde4.2 and i can tell you it's really a
>>> good stuff even still in alpha
>>> i upgraded this morning alpha 9.0.4 no on itch !
>>> don't be so "morose"
>>>     
>>
>> You are a power users and know what is what. The moment you said
>> compile you jumped out of the biggest group of users, the normal
>> users.
>>
>> I have been telling my brother for 3 years that Linux is better and
>> that Kubuntu is really great and that I don't like Gnome. He just
>> decided to switch. The first think I would do would be to install
>> 8.04. The first thing my brother would do is click the upgrade button
>> because that is what he has always done in Windows. So then he will
>> come looking for my head if 8.10 does not work. I sure would not want
>> to be the person that helps 1000 new users with 8.04 that might
>> upgrade to 8.10 kubuntu.
>>
>> Anyway, so now I have to explain to my brother why he should love
>> Gnome or else remove that update button! :-/
>>
>>   
> Why not just explain to him why he shouldn't click the update button 
> just yet?

I help an ambitious, courageous user who is in the mid 80s (age). They 
own two machines, each dual boot (xp/Kubuntu).
I help with the machines when requested. With permission, I updated 
7.10 fully then set it to do a Version upgrade to 8.04.
It was a long download so I asked for it to be left on to complete, 
then it could be shut down.

The next day I talk on the phone and it appears to me that after the 
version upgrade completed, instead of clicking 'Quit', the user 
actually clicked 'Version upgrade' (New version is available!!!) and 
NOT 'Quit' as I had expected! Consequently the machine was then 
further taken from 8.04 (which was appropriate for this user) to 8.10 (!)

I cannot blame a person for doing this. They thought that QUIT was 
going to abort and loose everything.  Quit is not Finish, or 
Completed, it is Quit. This person is careful and is not a quitter! 
There is a difference between myself - I know that Quit in this 
context means 'Completed' and the hapless, courageous but innocent 
user who does not know this or its consequences.

A few years ago such an innocent user would not have got anywhere 
*near* linux, but the situation is different now. This person wants to 
use k/ubuntu, and they help me distribute leaflets when appropriate.

This debacle has meant the they are no longer using Kubuntu at all! 
Because 8.10 was reported as
'I dont like it'.

I am aware that if I been able to get to 8.04 before the innocent 
mistake, I could have used the facility (now in 8.04) to prevent 
Version Upgrade! from being so much in the face, but this is real 
life. No Kubuntu.
-- 
alan cocks
Ubuntu user #10391
Linux user #360648