[iyonix-support] Re: Problem installing Firefox-2-r2

  • From: Peter Naulls <peter@xxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: iyonix-support@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  • Date: Sun, 04 Mar 2007 12:19:31 -0800

In message <f5c06cbe4e.alan@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
          Alan Leighton <alan.leighton2@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> The problem you have is that many RISC OS users think that what you
> are doing is first class and are extremely grateful but are non 
> technical and are unable to cope with the difficulties of using a 
> program that needs, because of their lack of knowledge, additional 
> input. So we chat away and seek someone who can help us use such a 
> wonderful product. Hopefully, like me, they put cash into the project 
> to help it forward.

But I fear, you completely miss the point I'm making.  While I
appreciate the comments and the money, this really isn't what I'm
getting at.

Allow me to be very direct.  Short term, superficial fixes almost
always, with very few exceptions, cause more problems, and more time in
the long run.  I know this from hard experience from many years of
development, and it is often difficult for even intermediate level
developers to understand, but there are endless object lessons in RISC
OS which demonstrate this.

Much of the difficulty of the Firefox installation comes from the
diversity of shared components that are required to run it - and are
essential if RISC OS software is to make any kind of headway.  These
again are tricky, because of something that RISC OS needs as badly as
web browsing software - proper packaging - but something that has been
repeatedly poo-poo by those who've made little attempt to understand it,
and others who wish RISC OS to remain in the stone age, with the "well,
it works good enough for me" attitude.

Secondly, as I've said, there clearly is an issue with the profile
handling in Firefox.  Providing dummy profiles might will have some
short-term benefit to a few people, but does nothing to resolve the
underlying issue, and only provides long-term confusion.  Again, I can
point to plenty of other RISC OS techonolgies where precisely this has
happened, and I've berated Castle and others on more than one occasion
for perpetuating it.  But whilst current Firefox development remains
mine alone (despite considerable efforts to make it otherwise),  I'm
afraid a proper resolution (not to mention the considerable effort to
make it work really well in RISC OS)  will have to be when and if I'm
able. 

-- 
Peter Naulls - peter@xxxxxxxxxx        | http://www.chocky.org/
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