Re: focus! (was Re: Focusing on innovation re: mono, python et al)

["Murray Cumming" <murrayc murrayc com>]

[snip]
> Don't call the desktop release "desktop" either because it's too vague.
> More specific examples might be an "enterprise unix/linux GUI" release,
> or "tech-oriented consumer/hobbyist" release or "tech workstation
> release" or "high-powered MS Office user in an office release" or
> "computer lab / thin client release" or whatever people feel is the
> right focus.
>
> The word "desktop" is like a cancer. Its problems include:
>   - it's vague as hell
[snip]

The "desktop" includes stuff that everything (apart from very tightly
focused embedded stuff) needs. Vendors who don't need some part of the
desktop usually don't want any part of it. So, it's just a "base" that
isn't yet a development platform.

As for bringing in new functionality and allowing varied focus, I still
think this could be done with additional release sets such as
- Productivity:
  Spreadsheets, Word processing, Slides, Databases, Publishing.
- Creativity:
  Photos, Graphics, Drawing, Video- and Audio-editing, sharing, mixing,
augmenting, collaborating.

Actually making these happen does require some some encouragement and some
commitment from these new projects.

In reality, however, all end users and vendors will want everything. But
the vendors will just prioritise on some of these parts.

Murray Cumming
murrayc murrayc com
www.murrayc.com
www.openismus.com