Xubuntu's goals

[Charlie Kravetz]

On Tue, 2008-02-05 at 22:26 +0200, Jari Rahkonen wrote:
> Arthur H. Johnson II wrote:
> > Vincent wrote:
> >> Hi all,
> >>
> >> Another branch off, regarding Xubuntu's goals.
> >>
> >> I've asked this in the past, and then I was told that Xubuntu's goal 
> >> was user-friendliness.
> >>
> >> However, with the recent discussion, it seems that Xubuntu's primary 
> >> goal could also be either to create a light-weight distribution, or to 
> >> promote Xfce.
> >>
> >> I'd like some clarity on this whole issue, and I'd prefer to hear from 
> >> the main developers (packagers) what they have in mind regarding 
> >> Xubuntu. If the goals have changed considerably, perhaps it is time 
> >> for me to look for another distribution that does suit my needs, and 
> >> Xubuntu could really start focusing on this one specific group. IMHO a 
> >> bit of clarity would make life easier for everyone and the best for 
> >> the project that is Xubuntu, too.
> >>
> >> Best,
> >>
> >> -- 
> >> Vincent 
> > I think the focus should be on making Xubuntu the lightweight 
> > Ubuntu-like distro, as well as promoting Xfce.  In other words, I feel 
> > that Xfce is the perfect tool to unite all the low-calorie applications 
> > together.
> > 
> > Being user friendly should take a back seat to bringing Ubuntu to 
> > platforms like old laptops, UMPCs, or making hardware with limited 
> > resources like new again.
> > 
> 
> How about following the Xfce philosophy of "[aiming] to be fast and
> lightweight, while still being visually appealing and easy to use"[1].
> Personally I use Xfce solely because I find it less of a hindrance to my
> work flow than the competition (read: GNOME and KDE) on both modern and
> older systems.
> 
> We don't need another Ubuntu, so let's prefer and promote Xfce apps
> where applicable, but let's also keep in mind that even Xfce doesn't
> want to sacrifice usability and aesthetics to work on every piece of
> antique hardware out there, so neither should Xubuntu.
> 
> 
> - Jari
> 
> [1] http://www.xfce.org/about/
> 
As a user and seldom a tester, I have followed these discussions with
some amazement. The first time I tried Xubuntu on my old 400Mhz cpu
machine, I was amazed at the speed at which it loaded and ran
applications. I loved the colors, clean panels, and most apps. 

I did not find everything easy to use and change, nor did I expect to.
It seemed to be a great desktop, but more advanced than Ubuntu with
Gnome was. It ran fast, which meant to me that I would have to work a
little harder to learn how to manipulate what I wanted to get the
changes I wanted. That was fine. You get _what you pay for_, right?

I have since promoted Xubuntu every chance I get, even when some would
dispute the idea that no version of ubuntu could be run on older
hardware with small memory and slow cpu´s. That got me in trouble a
couple of times, but, so what. I know a good OS when I use it. I am
sorry to see what is now happening. If the current issues result in a
split just because people have different opinions, that would be a very
wrong thing! That would mean a lot of effort goes wasted, and a lot of
processes start over. That also means users like me get left out in the
cold again. Do we stay at version 6.01 or 7.10? 

Please find a common ground again. I know all of you guys worked
together at one time. There must be a way to set aside differences and
strive once again for a common goal. If you must insist on differences,
perhaps Jim Campbell has the right idea, with his suggestions to set up
separate test cases. 
	quote:
  What can we do?  Can we create test cases for possible app inclusion?
Would there be individuals willing to test particular apps head-to-head
in VM's and report back on their findings?  I'm a bit inexperienced in
this regard, but are their app testing tools that can measure the
performance and resource usage of a particular application and its
dependencies?  This could be something where we can have a set window of
time to propose new applications, a set window of time to test them and
report back . . . etc.
	unquote

I do not know the answers, nor do I have the experience to do this, but
I could assist in this with guidance. Let me know, but you have to stay
together, I think. 

Thanks if you read this. It is just my .02 cents(US) worth.

-- 
Charlie Kravetz 
Linux Registered User Number 425914          [http://counter.li.org/]
Never let anyone steal your DREAM.           [http://keepingdreams.com]