Re: Dedoimedo: the end of a long, beautiful run?
Posted: Fri Dec 06, 2019 3:14 pm
I'll offer a few points:
1. The Deodo reviewer is confused. Why?
He is trying to review MX Linux from 3 different perspectives:
A newbie - (which he is not)
A techie - (comparing his experience older MX versions )
A designer - with very subjective preferences.
NEWBIE:
If you want to know what a newbie thinks, ask a newbie. Ask me and the many others who have identified themselves as new posters to MX Linux on the forum.
You'll get a completely different response. He doesn't represent my views (nor should he). He is tainted by his bias of 'thinking to know what new users want'.
When I installed MX Linux I was looking for 1/: Stability, 2/: helpful forum for assistance 3/: some customization (but not much).
I just want a system that works and is stable. I remember an MX Linux poster (an older person I think) mentioned this well when he said 'most users don't want something they have to constantly deal with the technical". He's right. If you're targeting the new users, then this should be MX's focus.
other examples:
On Thunar:
'You get single-click in Thunar by default, and this can be confusing and annoying". (to whom?? to a newbie? I am a new user and accept this as a feature, something to learn, pretty simple.')
_> it simply isn't flexible enough for everyday use. You can't reorder the sidebar, and those Devices at the very top are useless." (again, to whom? I didn't want to re-order the sidebar and the device names help me when a USB is plugged in.)
'more accessible to people outside the circle of diehard penguin-loving geeks' (which he was using it as in the past)
but then says: " some polish that can be done here, as we don't want newbs failing themselves with a nerdy Web interface."
So he is saying: MX has better clean up some points or there is danger for newbies. This can't be further from my experience.
I enjoy the interface but more importantly if I can't figure something out - I have the resource of the forum to help. (see my points above).
Techie:
Then there are some hard-wired technical people on this board who want to get down to the kernel with changes. If you're targeting the deep level techie, then this should be your focus.
From a technie perspective he is contradictory and mentions ridiculous points without recognizing the trade-off:
First: '550 MB of RAM, which is 150 MB more than MX-18'
Then: 'I do like MX Linux, and it is improving in many aspects.'
More features and improvements required more MB. It is a circular statement ' add more features (good) but the size has increased (bad), yet they are interdependent.
Designer:
I almost laughed when he said: " the device serial in some cases, which feels ugly." Ugly to whom? to a new user? to a former mac user? to a graphic designer?
Certainly not to me. This is the most subjective area which 10 different people will have 12 different opinions.
If you're taregting complete aesthetics, this will require focus on design.
Here is the problem:
Reading the over-blown reaction to the review, the problem is MX is reacting, versus acting. This is exemplified by BitJam's own words;
[i....]our very small dev team is, in some ways, struggling to keep up with all the new input from our greatly expanded user base. In addition, there could be a psychological factor that more perfection and polish is expected from us without being overwhelmed by user input. ....[/i]
Any organization cannot be all things to all people. That means every feature that every single person wants does NOT have to be considered as each person has finite resources, time, energy, opportunities, etc.
If you try this approach of everything, you'll be scattered and running from one fire to the next trying to appease everyone. That is what BitJam is saying.
By association, if you read AntiX, it's focus is on one thing: being a light distro requiring low resources. (at least that was my take). Mr. Dolphin Oracle excludes features based on this, not adding every item that every user asks for because he knows his vision for AntiX.
I'm not saying MX Linux doesn't, but I believe a bit more focus is required on what the developers want MX Linux to be.
Reading BitJam's point then, I believe MX Linux has to ask themselves 'who and what is the priority right now'?
So when someone says it doesn't have this feature or that, you can say ' that's not our focus".
example: Elementary mimics a mac user's experience, and the focus is on a design experience.
My Point:
Perhaps the developers can have a powwow and determine what the priorities are and for whom.
Once that is finalized, one-off reviews that are inconsistent and subjective will not drive the next decision phase - that should come from within.
Again, I appreciate the stability of MX Linux and the developers' time and effort.
However, developers that are overwhelmed and racing to catch up to please everyone is not sustainable.
One thing Dedeo's review might have caused is a pause to evaluate what's important, and that's not a bad thing.
Thanks for your efforts.
1. The Deodo reviewer is confused. Why?
He is trying to review MX Linux from 3 different perspectives:
A newbie - (which he is not)
A techie - (comparing his experience older MX versions )
A designer - with very subjective preferences.
NEWBIE:
If you want to know what a newbie thinks, ask a newbie. Ask me and the many others who have identified themselves as new posters to MX Linux on the forum.
You'll get a completely different response. He doesn't represent my views (nor should he). He is tainted by his bias of 'thinking to know what new users want'.
When I installed MX Linux I was looking for 1/: Stability, 2/: helpful forum for assistance 3/: some customization (but not much).
I just want a system that works and is stable. I remember an MX Linux poster (an older person I think) mentioned this well when he said 'most users don't want something they have to constantly deal with the technical". He's right. If you're targeting the new users, then this should be MX's focus.
other examples:
On Thunar:
'You get single-click in Thunar by default, and this can be confusing and annoying". (to whom?? to a newbie? I am a new user and accept this as a feature, something to learn, pretty simple.')
_> it simply isn't flexible enough for everyday use. You can't reorder the sidebar, and those Devices at the very top are useless." (again, to whom? I didn't want to re-order the sidebar and the device names help me when a USB is plugged in.)
'more accessible to people outside the circle of diehard penguin-loving geeks' (which he was using it as in the past)
but then says: " some polish that can be done here, as we don't want newbs failing themselves with a nerdy Web interface."
So he is saying: MX has better clean up some points or there is danger for newbies. This can't be further from my experience.
I enjoy the interface but more importantly if I can't figure something out - I have the resource of the forum to help. (see my points above).
Techie:
Then there are some hard-wired technical people on this board who want to get down to the kernel with changes. If you're targeting the deep level techie, then this should be your focus.
From a technie perspective he is contradictory and mentions ridiculous points without recognizing the trade-off:
First: '550 MB of RAM, which is 150 MB more than MX-18'
Then: 'I do like MX Linux, and it is improving in many aspects.'
More features and improvements required more MB. It is a circular statement ' add more features (good) but the size has increased (bad), yet they are interdependent.
Designer:
I almost laughed when he said: " the device serial in some cases, which feels ugly." Ugly to whom? to a new user? to a former mac user? to a graphic designer?
Certainly not to me. This is the most subjective area which 10 different people will have 12 different opinions.
If you're taregting complete aesthetics, this will require focus on design.
Here is the problem:
Reading the over-blown reaction to the review, the problem is MX is reacting, versus acting. This is exemplified by BitJam's own words;
[i....]our very small dev team is, in some ways, struggling to keep up with all the new input from our greatly expanded user base. In addition, there could be a psychological factor that more perfection and polish is expected from us without being overwhelmed by user input. ....[/i]
Any organization cannot be all things to all people. That means every feature that every single person wants does NOT have to be considered as each person has finite resources, time, energy, opportunities, etc.
If you try this approach of everything, you'll be scattered and running from one fire to the next trying to appease everyone. That is what BitJam is saying.
By association, if you read AntiX, it's focus is on one thing: being a light distro requiring low resources. (at least that was my take). Mr. Dolphin Oracle excludes features based on this, not adding every item that every user asks for because he knows his vision for AntiX.
I'm not saying MX Linux doesn't, but I believe a bit more focus is required on what the developers want MX Linux to be.
Reading BitJam's point then, I believe MX Linux has to ask themselves 'who and what is the priority right now'?
So when someone says it doesn't have this feature or that, you can say ' that's not our focus".
example: Elementary mimics a mac user's experience, and the focus is on a design experience.
My Point:
Perhaps the developers can have a powwow and determine what the priorities are and for whom.
Once that is finalized, one-off reviews that are inconsistent and subjective will not drive the next decision phase - that should come from within.
Again, I appreciate the stability of MX Linux and the developers' time and effort.
However, developers that are overwhelmed and racing to catch up to please everyone is not sustainable.
One thing Dedeo's review might have caused is a pause to evaluate what's important, and that's not a bad thing.
Thanks for your efforts.