FreeLists / openbeos / [openbeos] Re: I know I'll get flamed for this but....

["Anton du Toit" <adu_toit@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Speaking as Joe User:

If there's anything you have of 1.0 quality that provides a tangible benefit 
in functionality to the average user - I think you should think seriously 
about releasing it.

(I'd include a one-click "uninstall and restore" option to take people back 
to the original BeOS kit, though.)

Why? To keep the existing BeOS community going - keep the flame burning, so 
to speak. Provide some encouragement. The flow of apps on BeBits has slowed 
a lot. People are saying things like "I'm going over to Mandrake Linux".

So give the average user something tangible, something with a bit of "Wow", 
to keep them enthused about BeOS/OpenBeOS. Keep your base of potential 
OpenBeOS evangelists is the fold.

Yes, this is a marketing-based opinion, not a technical one. Then again: 
What is the goal of OpenBeOS? To reproduce and extend the finest desktop OS 
the world has seen?

Or - to do all that ... and have a viable community of people actually 
_using_ it?


Anton.


> >If people want to sign up for an alpha testing program, maybe that
>would be
> >the route to go. I don't want to flood our mailing list with "this
>doesn't work. You suck".
> >OTOH, I don't want people to fade away because we haven't published
>anything
> >yet.
> >What do you all think?


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