Proposal to delay release of Precise Pangolin

[nick rundy]

I appreciate your e-mail, Martin :) 

>  * These types of bugs are too big/complex for quick patches and too
> small or unimportant for critical attention.

This is what I'm getting at. I don't doubt this is true. However, fixing this stuff is what's going to make a critical difference in users coming to, enjoying, and staying with Ubuntu. Put the "rapid release" schedule on hold temporarily and make an LTS that fixes this stuff. Then the LTS can last a long time as the face of Ubuntu. The status quo has become new releases perpetuating old bugs that are years old. The LTS releases up to this point are better than the 6-months but they still contain these bugs. I'm proposing that if bug #1 is going to be "Fix Released," the current full speed ahead rapid-release approach has to at least take a break for a cycle and address this stuff. NOW is an appropriate time because of Unity and GNOME 3.2. There's a lot of stuff that needs fixing in Unity and GNOME 3.2.

>  *The gnome programmer deals
> with bugs as he feels like it and expects patches.

Is there anything to prevent Ubuntu developers from saying, "Hey, is it okay if I take this and fix this bug?"


>  * No one answered the question 'did you try compact layout'

Compact Layout works to some extent. But what about use scenarios where the user needs the increased zoom only available in Icon View?

> I understand your point Nick, I'd really like a cycle that focuses
> _only_ on bug fixing and nothing else. But I'd also like a cycle that
> took everyone off coding to train a 100 new kernel hackers and 50 new
> xorg slaves.

Perhaps this should be done? Delay the release of Precise Pangolin and really refine it. Then miss a 6-month release or two and spend the time training 100 new kernel hackers and 50 new xorg slaves. With a strong, refined LTS, Ubuntu will be fine for 2-3 years. To use an analogy from athletics: when you've been training hard for a long time, taking some time off will help you make gains because it gives the body time to grow from the training. Let Ubuntu grow into Unity and GNOME 3.2 bug-free. Unity was an awesome accomplishment IMHO. I'm proposing that NOW is the time to pull it all together by making an ultra-refined bug-free LTS product that can truly begin to tackle Bug #1. It's going to be an LTS that takes on Windows, not one of the 6-month releases. 



> Subject: Re: Proposal to delay release of Precise Pangolin
> From: doctormo at gmail.com
> To: nrundy at hotmail.com
> CC: ubuntu-devel-discuss at lists.ubuntu.com
> Date: Tue, 18 Oct 2011 23:27:01 -0400
> 
> On Tue, 2011-10-18 at 22:15 -0400, nick rundy wrote:
> > Yet the bug has existed for more than 3 years. Sadly, the same can be
> > said for many other bugs.
> 
> To be fair to the bug:
> 
>  * No one answered the question 'did you try compact layout'
>  * Nautilus is a 'special' codebase which I wouldn't want to touch again
> this side of the 21st century, ugly and duplicative spaghetti.
>  * Anything to do with how something looks, workflow or speed is not
> going to get fixed by the fire fighters or cathedral builders. 
>  * These types of bugs are too big/complex for quick patches and too
> small or unimportant for critical attention.
>  * No user continues to pay for bug fixes, no economics and no other
> relationship between programmer and user. The gnome programmer deals
> with bugs as he feels like it and expects patches.
> 
> I understand your point Nick, I'd really like a cycle that focuses
> _only_ on bug fixing and nothing else. But I'd also like a cycle that
> took everyone off coding to train a 100 new kernel hackers and 50 new
> xorg slaves.
> 
> If wishes could be put in dishes the world would be delicious.
> 
> Best Regards, Martin Owens
> 
 		 	   		  
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-devel-discuss/attachments/20111019/3e934119/attachment.html>