WOW. . .those screenshots of 3.1Alpha are fantastic

[Mary Stamper]

but is that what is going to make real companies consider chucking M$ and take a look at KDE? What
business users give a crap about keramic or liquid? Hell, they look BETTER than windows. Clearly
that isn't going to reach everyone. Also, I think there may be a huge difference in priorities
between the people that actually USE kde at this time, and the larger lot of windows-pushing
organizations that still believe they have no alternative to M$. 

Some questions worth asking........

Your letter indicates that we probably know the CURRENT kde users and what THEY want, but has
anyone asked the question "What will make those who are NOT using KDE use it?" That is a
fundamental marketing question that everyone trying to "sell" something, regardless of it's price
or lack thereof needs to ask.

If you aren't willing to ask that question, then one has to ask the question of what do the
creators of KDE really want? To be their own private little club, or to seriously go out and
challenge M$?
--- antialias <vukman at mail.dk> wrote:
> On Saturday 13 July 2002 09:56 am, cr wrote:
> > On Saturday 13 July 2002 03:54, Mary Stamper wrote:
> > > Is this perhaps one of the weaknesses of the KDE project? or of free
> > > software in general? Folks work on what they want to instead of worrying
> > > about what is needed to stay in business. As an employee of a company
> > > that sells services for  money, we have to work on what the users need,
> > > not always on what we think is most cool or most fun. Is this discipline
> > > perhaps lacking when there is no money to be made?
> >
> 
> Waht we think is most cool and most fun? That is actually what users need and 
> users want. Keramik window decoration is one of the highest rated on 
> kde-look.org. As far as I know, qwertz, who is KDE artist, designed Keramik 
> (which is completely original window decoration and widget style) and Keramik 
> is probably going to be default in KDE 3.1.
> Icons, presented in screenshot are created by Everaldo (clone of MacOSX icon 
> style), K. Borrey (clone of Windows XP icon theme) and tackat (original KDE 
> default style). Users requested these styles and icon themes and KDE 
> developers fulfilled their wishes.
> Users who don't like colorful desktop have (and always will have) possibility 
> to choose some other styles and icon themes, color schemes etc. etc. There 
> are a plenty of possibilities. KDE is highly customizable. You can even use 
> styles and icons from gnome etc.
> 
> I don't think KDE developers are worried what is is needed to stay in 
> business. If they were worried about it they would be employed by Microsoft 
> or other big company.
> 
> And what is very interesting here: the best things in open source comunity are 
> actually developed by developers who don't think about money and promotion.
> 
> antialias
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