Panel colors in KDE 4.2.2

[marc]

Mark Greenwood said:

> marc wrote:

>> That is, using the excuse that users claiming about the removal of
>> features is a "fear of change". It's at best a non sequitur.
> 
> That wasn't what I was arguing. Yes, complaining about removal of
> features is perfectly valid; but using the argument that "it's not what
> we're used to" is utterly stifling. How can progress ever occur if you
> can't change what people are "used to"?

You can provide new features while retaining the old. In business, where 
folk fear everything, it's the standard mo.

>> > Arguments like that make progress and real innovation next to
>> > impossible. Thinking like that creates stagnation.
>> 
>> No. It's a failure of developers to understand the process of making
>> change while keeping the train running and on the tracks. Usually, it's
>> because the developers/architects don't have the necessary skills,
>> and/or the imagination.
> 
> But using that argument makes it impossible to remove any features

You have to be very careful about doing this in case you alienate folk. 
Often it is not necessary; developers will try and do otherwise, because 
it means there is less maintenance overhead. But it's in no way 
"impossible".

> or change any of the fundamental concepts.

Software architecture is infinitely flexible. How you implement is your 
call. It's a choice, not a limitation.

> Sometimes useful changes result from a complete shift of philosophy.

But that's not how software evolves - unless you rewrite, which is 
possible without regression if you know what you are doing.

> I'd much rather see that than the
> endless, mind-numbingly tiny shifts in concept we see at the moment.

Well, that's just poor development practices again.

But frankly, I don't think we've seen much change. Mostly I see and 
experience a great deal of regression.

It might be that the devs have improved the architecture that they're 
working with, but the fact that they seem to be struggling to implement 
and fix very basic features (e.g. sound and printing) indicates that 
that's not the case.

So, a great new philosophy is fine in principle, but the devil is in the 
detail; the implementation in this case.

-- 
Best,
Marc