clueless GNOME bashing (was Re: [rescue] Mozilla Firefox)

[Dave McGuire]

On Apr 27, 2004, at 10:35 PM, Gregory Leblanc wrote:
>> Try running strace on a Gnome application some time.  The stupid code
>> loads themes by brute force searches of a set of pathnames.  Why
>> the hell doesn't Gnome figure out all of the paths that have objects
>> in them when it starts?
>> In fact, why does a Gnome application have to search for those parts
>> anyway?  They all use the same objects for the most part, so why 
>> doesn't
>> the Gnome environment cache this information and feed it to each
>> application through shared memory or something?
>
> There is MUCH less hacker time available than there are interesting or 
> desirable projects to work on.  This doesn't even touch on the fact 
> that it's hard to find people interested on working on code that is 
> essentially "invisible" to the end user.  Feel free to step up and 
> write some prototype code, or propose this on the mailing lists that 
> the developers read.

   (Here's hoping YOU have a thick skin...nothing personal, Greg, 
seriously!)

   And herein lies the problem.  The small amount of hacker time that 
*IS* available should be spent on things that matter, not just the 
things that provide eye-candy and get the most visibility for the 
developers.

   It takes serious discipline to forget about building some new 
whiz-bang application that everyone will see, and in which everyone 
will see your name in the "about" dialog box, and spend some time doing 
profiling and code auditing.

   It's time for these people to dismiss their insecurities and get some 
work done, or get the fuck off the project.  And if that means the 
project dies, then so be it...because quite frankly, if it's not done 
right, it shouldn't exist...Microsoft notwithstanding.

   The old "this is free software, so if you want something done, do it 
yourself!" attitude simply does not fly here.  For better or worse, 
Gnome is being rammed down our throats with little or no viable 
alternatives...indeed, even I am running Sun-supplied Gnome on my desk 
to the left of this Mac, on an UltraSPARC, because CDE blows dog.

   Eye candy will get the attention and respect of morons.  Quality 
software that is resource-frugal and well-written will get the 
attention of intelligent people.  Gnome has the reputation of being a 
huge, bloated pig...Whose attention are they chasing?

          -Dave

--
Dave McGuire          "PC users only know two 'solutions'...
Cape Coral, FL          reboot and upgrade."    -Jonathan Patschke