Fully compatible with Microsoft Office?

[rikona]

Hello Alan,

Friday, April 29, 2011, 12:49:10 PM, Alan wrote:

AP> On 29 April 2011 20:34, rikona <rikona at sonic.net> wrote:
>> Does this mean that they are unaware of the negative feedback re
>> Unity,

AP> No. They get feedback from many angles. I gave three of them some
AP> feedback over beer at the release party last night. There's
AP> nothing quite like talking to developers in a relaxed atmosphere
AP> to get them talking about the stuff they love and hate too :)

Good! It may be that you are one of the best ways to relay the
widespread displeasure with Unity back to developers. If you do, then
thanks.

>> and are, in essence, not listening to their users, or do they
>> monitor REAL user feedback in another way that gets the FULL range of
>> responses.

AP> I don't know what you mean by "REAL user feedback". A user is a
AP> user whether they frequent this list or not. I am a user, a
AP> developer is a user, we're all users.

True, but there are different types. For me, the UB box is a tool to
get stuff done - docs, data, calcs, etc. It is NOT a hobby, as it
seems to be for many. It is NOT my profession, as it is for many. Like
a screwdriver, I just want the tool to work - easily, reliably, and
intuitively. If screwdrivers were my hobby, perhaps I'd be interested
in folding/flexible/flashing-light/etc screwdrivers that I could take
apart and play with. Professionals can put up with a lot to just keep
it running reliably, etc , and can/do spend lots of time on that. I am
hoping that the majority of users are like me - they just want to get
stuff done. Maybe that's not true. What do you think?

AP> The Ubuntu project has pretty focussed places for providing feedback.
AP> This list actually isn't one of them.

AP> Here's some lists where you will find developers.

AP> http://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-devel
AP> http://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/Ubuntu-devel-discuss
AP> https://launchpad.net/ayatana

Wouldn't a simple 'don't like unity' message be considered off topic,
ignored, or worse on 'tech' lists like those?

AP> https://lists.ubuntu.com/ - comprehensive list of mailing lists

AP> They also get feedback in various IRC channels like:-

AP> #ubuntu-desktop, #ubuntu-devel, #ubuntu-motu, #ubuntu-kernel and so on.

AP> https://wiki.ubuntu.com/IRC/ChannelList - comprehensive list of irc channels

A detailed discussion like we have on this list is better - it
includes a lot of people, with different views, to help flesh out a
better picture of what the 'overall' view might be.

AP> Then there's AskUbuntu which is monitored by a number of developers.

AP> http://askubuntu.com/

Aha - interesting forum - I didn't know about that. Is that a
better/worse/same place to ask tech questions, as opposed to this
list?

AP> The developers have a limited amount of time on their hands. They
AP> get feedback from every direction be that mailing lists, irc,
AP> twitter, facebook, UDS sessions. They're not short of feedback, I
AP> can assure you of that.

I can totally believe that! :-) It's a huge job to keep all of this
going. My guess, though, is that the feedback is 99.9% technical,
which is appropriate - not 'opinion' statements.

>> Not liking Unity is not a 'bug' or 'technical problem' and
>> would not likely show up on those kinds of places, that perhaps they
>> do monitor. It would be a shame if Ubuntu were to be surprised when a
>> significant number of capable folks leave for another distro...
>>

AP> Indeed. I don't like Thunderbird but I have never filed a bug or
AP> moaned about it on a mailing list. Personal taste is exactly that,
AP> personal. Canonical have done quite a lot of usability testing on
AP> Unity, some of which has even been published, but that doesn't
AP> mean they don't listen to feedback.

AP> http://design.canonical.com/2011/04/unity-benchmark-usability-april-2011/

Very interesting doc! This is the best info page re Unity that I have
seen yet - it has some DETAILS. :-) The summary made it sound as
though everyone loved it - when you go through the details, though,
that is obviously not true. :-) Sounds more like a sales sheet than
an objective report.

And - it was full of the very 'squishy' meaningless verbiage often
used with Unity - for example 'visual assets' whatever those are
[never described] - and a need for users to 'develop a more physical
relationship' with Ubuntu [is Ubuntu inviting me to bed? :-)) ] They
REALLY need to explain that one. :-)

There were a lot of things that 'were not immediately' understood. It
seemed, overall, to be not very intuitive at all, not even for Mac
users [who did better]. The Oct/Apr comparisons showed it was a bit
better, but it sounds like they have a LOOOOOng way to go to get
something that is as productive as existing environments.

>> I left Mandriva when they screwed up - it would be nice to stay put
>> for a while. :-)

AP> Indeed. I have used Ubuntu since 4.10 and have considered my
AP> options along the way. I have decided to stay put because I
AP> believe that this will all work out in the long term. Short term
AP> it's bumpy here and there, and we will inevitably lose people who
AP> don't agree with the philosophy, design or package selection, but
AP> I don't believe we need to be obsessive about keeping every single
AP> user.

Agreed - but watch out when they leave in droves, as with Mandriva,
which was an outstanding distro for quite a while.

AP> I never got a call from Bill Gates asking why I switched away from
AP> Windows, I doubt I'll get a call from Mark Shuttleworth if/when I
AP> switch away from Ubuntu :)

Of course, as with Mandriva - no call. :-) if Shuttleworth is starting
to act like Gates, we're in deep trouble. :-) Gates has a monopoly,
and gets away with murder.

Hoping for the best...

-- 

 rikona