[mythtv-users] Why Free Software has poor usability ?

Russ Dill russ.dill at gmail.com
Mon Aug 4 16:23:01 UTC 2008


On Mon, Aug 4, 2008 at 9:11 AM, Param Singh <mithu.singh at gmail.com> wrote:
> Interesting article :: Why Free Software has poor usability, and how
> to improve it
> ============================================================
> Link :: http://mpt.net.nz/archive/2008/08/01/free-software-usability
> ============================================================
>
> Major Points in the article
>

Have you never worked on commercial software? I think all of these
could apply to any commercial software I worked on, plus more.

> * Weak incentives for usability.
> * Few good designers.
> * Design suggestions often aren't invited or welcomed.
> * Usability is hard to measure.
> * Coding before design.
> * Too many cooks.
> * Chasing tail-lights.
> * Scratching their own itch.
> * Leaving little things broken.
> * Placating people with options.
> * Fifteen pixels of fame
> * Design is high-bandwidth, the Net is low-bandwidth.
> * Release early, release often, get stuck.
> * Mediocrity through modularity.
> * Gated development communities


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