Are We Ready? Beta1 vs. Alpha3

[Rex Dieter]

Allen Winter wrote:
> No, I don't think we are ready for a beta release and the API + Feature Freeze
> that goes with a beta release.
> I think we should tag an Alpha3 on 25 July and extend our freeze dates
> forward another month.
> Then try again for a Beta1 on 25 Aug.
> This probably means delaying KDE 4.0 for at least 1 month, ie. 23 Nov.
>   
For anyone who missed Mark Shuttleworth's akademy talk... he stressed 
the absolute importance of regular, reliable release cycles.  Not 
sticking to release schedules sucks.  Don't hold releases hostage for 
features.

<don=fedora-kde-packager-hat>
This would pretty much screw us trying to ship kde4 (as the default kde 
desktop) for fedora 8 (which *is*, err maybe *was* the plan).
</don>

My totally biased suggestion: try harder to stick to schedule as much as 
possible, which means
* hold folks accountable to get their sh*t fixed (I know... isn't always 
possible in an opensource/volunteer world)... or...
* drop features that aren't ready.

That said, I can totally understand the temptation to push back the 
release.  There's a whole lot of work yet to do to get kde-4.0 into 
release shape.  I'm just not sure lowering expectations (and slipping) 
will necessarily yield the results you're looking for.

-- Rex