I think this nicely sums up the state of the Linux desktop

http://ufies.org/archives/2012/05/15...x-desktop.html

The…. “challenge” that open source software has, and has always had, is that doing things like implementing contact blocking isn’t sexy. Making an IM whiteboard is sexy. Voice chat is sexy. Implementing a complete new desktop paradigm is sexy. Squashing bugs isn’t. Making the whole new desktop paradigm more usable isn’t.

There you have it: if it isn't fun, it doesn't get implemented.

Let me mention something. I've been using KDE for a while now... Only I haven't really. Instead I've been using KDE 4 applications under standalone window managers, with acpid or sudo hackery for power management.

Why?

Because KDE 4 login times are annoyingly long on every machine I have ever used it on. Many people, including me, have mentioned this on the KDE forums and posted bug reports. The response has been, more or less, nothing. KDE 4.5 took 30 seconds to log in. KDE 4.8 still takes 30 seconds to log in.

What can I say... When a person isn't being payed to do the work they don't like, they'll do the work they enjoy.

[hugsy]

Than take a keyboard in your hands, download source code and start typing and fixing.
Not so easy now is it?

Exactly. It isn't easy, and developers aren't being paid for it, which is why they don't do it.

Edit: for the record, I'm not trying to be a jerk; I'm pointing out that this problem really does exist.

Solving it is another matter though. I want to say: "Maybe some of these projects should be relicensed under BSD licenses, so that commercial and government interests have more incentive to contribute." But that hasn't worked very well for *BSD, has it?

(OTOH, a permissive license seems to work spectacularly well for Apache, which has been the most popular web server since the 1990s. But I'm not sure about the rate of commercial and government contributions to Apache.)

[Hungry Man]

There are definitely developers comiting bug fixes - you can check kernel changelogs and see for yourself.

I just think most devs are saying "I want to make my own project" instead of "I want to fix that other one." That doesn't mean there aren't devs fixing bugs.

Originally Posted by Hungry Man

There are definitely developers comiting bug fixes - you can check kernel changelogs and see for yourself.

It just would be wrong to say that no bugfixes get committed, but for the most part it seems like features accumulate faster. Also I think what I'm describing applies more to desktop stuff.

I just think most devs are saying "I want to make my own project" instead of "I want to fix that other one." That doesn't mean there aren't devs fixing bugs.

True. I've been guilty of this.

[sunoracle]

Originally Posted by Gullible Jones

There you have it: if it isn't fun, it doesn't get implemented.

This type of thing is also true for commercial projects. It's just that the main motivation may be the boss tells you to do it, rather than it being fun.

In regards to free software vs. proprietary software projects, both often concentrate on adding features rather than squashing bugs. Documentation can get skimped on too.

Part of it is also developer culture. People tend to get more recognition for adding cool new features than for fixing a bug (even if the bugfix is clever and elegant).

Well... I will say that, in all the time I have used Windows, I have encountered one single usability bug in it.

OTOH comparing Windows to e.g. Ubuntu is comparing apples to oranges, because Ubuntu is really a haphazard collection of software from dozens of different parties.

[sunoracle]

Originally Posted by Gullible Jones

Well... I will say that, in all the time I have used Windows, I have encountered one single usability bug in it.

OTOH comparing Windows to e.g. Ubuntu is comparing apples to oranges, because Ubuntu is really a haphazard collection of software from dozens of different parties.[/quote]

I don't know that complaining about various specific pieces of software is really fruitful anyway in terms of this discussion. I was originally just trying to point out that it's not just free software development that has issues.

I started to tell you in detail about my experiences with bugs in MS software over the last 30+ years, and how Windows is a haphazard collection of software of varying ages and written by different people, groups, and companies, but I deleted it all and let's just leave it at this.