honest ubuntu roadmap (Re: [hoary] Array CD 7/6 bugs

[Philippe Landau]

>>although interest seems limited, some more problems that could be resolved
>>for hoary release Ubuntu 5.04.  just so canonical can't say nobody told
>>them in time.  i know they say their aims are that it "just works" and
>>that their linux is easy to use.  the following things don't work and are
>>not easy to use.  they say the problems need to be fixed "upstream".  but
>>for the user what matters is the product.  i don't mind being told things
>>are expected to work smoothly in an edition in fall 2006.  but i do mind
>>being told to help debug release candidates when the real aim is beta
>>testing for two years.
>>
>>canonical published a 2 year business plan for ubuntu in 2004.  honesty
>>would best be served if they told us openly that the steps in between are
>>just milestones on the road, not polished releases ready for simple users.
>>even then there would be enough beta testers, i am sure.
> 
> This kind of accusation is not a very productive way 
> to draw attention to your problems.  
to draw attention to my problems ?
that is absolutely not my intention.

it would be interesting to discuss the subject of my email.

> Instead, detailed, complete bug reports and a willingness to
> participate in the diagnostic process are most valuable.  
i did until i notice the limited inclination
to solve certain fundamental problems.
we did discuss this earlier, if you remember.

> Remember also that many users are not experiencing 
> the same problems that you are, and that by
> using pre-releases of Ubuntu you are participating in our QA process, and
> should expect to encounter rough edges.
sure, that's why i am still reporting back.

> You also must realize that Ubuntu is a community-oriented open source
> project, relying on contributions from volunteer developers.  Canonical does
> sponsor a subset of development and infrastructure for Ubuntu, but you do
> the rest of the community a disservice by referring to Ubuntu as simply a
> Canonical product.
i am not sure where Ubuntu were without the money of Canonical.

>>in nautilus when you have long filenames and the window is smaller, rename
>>makes the files jump to the left so you don't see them.  also long
>>filenames should not make columns larger on their own.
> This sounds like a cosmetic problem, but it's not entirely clear what you
> mean.  Please file a bug with a step-by-step procedure which would allow a
> developer to see your problem first-hand.
> 
>>nautilus is still unstable.  now for example i selected several folders,
>>went to another one, created and renamed a folder, right-click pasted into
>>it, and crash restart.
> If you can reproduce a crash in Nautilus, please report a bug in Bugzilla.
the crashes of nautilus are random.

>>right-clicking .iso files should offer an option to calculate it's md5
>>check-sum and compare it with the content of the clipboard and
>>subsequently place it on the clipboard.
>>
>>right-clicking on a file should give an option
>>to copy its path to the clipboard.
>>
>>clicking somewhere outside while renaming a file
>>should have the same effect as enter.
> 
> These are feature requests, not problem reports.  We are currently in a
> feature freeze for Ubuntu 5.04, so new features are not being added at this
> time.
> 
> 
>>sometimes shift-insert does not work in the terminal when selecting paste
>>from the menu does.
> Selection/clipboard behaviour in Ubuntu is sometimes confusing to users who
> are accustomed to Windows, as there are multiple mechanisms at work.  If you
> can point out a specific example, we can discuss it.
confusing ?
it often just doesn't work and i am sure i am not the first to notice.
this is not new to hoary, and i never had a linux
that had a reliable clipboard.

>>ctrl-c something in firefox, alt-F4, clipboard is empty.
> Please file a bug in Bugzilla.
> 
> 
>>opening some wmv movies results in a remark about being asf.
>>some highly compressed wmv shortmovies are badly distorted.
>>
>>installing very popular prorietary codecs and players
>>is still more complicated then just downloading
>>an additional script/installer.
>>so the multimedia capabilities remain largely untested and buggy.
> 
> Unfortunately, WMV streams cannot be played in Ubuntu without the addition
> of third-party or otherwise unsupported software.  We are aware of this
> problem, but unfortunately there is little to be done about it.
> 
> If you can justify your claim that multimedia capabilities in general are
> not working well, please provide an example using only supported software.
non-free movie playback is essential for simple users.
examples are provided on this mailinglist on a regular basis.
canonical just chooses to consistently answer with
"not allowed to do it,
not allowed to look into it."

>>nautilus does not stay focused on the chosen file.  in a windo with
>>hundreds of files, create a new folder, rename, it will not immediatly
>>show its new name, then will move out of focus.  or select an object,
>>sort, and the object is not visible anymore.
> Please file a bug in Bugzilla.
do you see these deficiencies too ?

>>it would be nice to have a shortcut to switch between icon and list view.
>>
>>in find file, is should be able to right-click copy.
>>or show the file in the folder.
> Feature requests.
yes, but you are only halfway through my very limited list.
others could help find many times more of these problems
if you encouraged them to do so here.
bugzilla is too intimidating for many
and they say so on this list.

kind regards     philippe