I’m an advocate of Open Source technology because of the potential for high gains in productivity, for minimal costs. I’m using Gentoo Linux and Gnome as my main desktop, mainly to establish how viable a Linux desktop is. I’m quite pleased with the results.
However, I have recently come across a problem with Gnome. It is not a technical problem as such, it is a problem with the way the developers release new versions and the attitude towards functionality. After a upgrade to gnome 2.10 i found that could no longer modify my menus in the manner I know.
The documentation still states that I can modify my desktop menus, however if you follow the instructions, it fails. After searching for the reasons why this no longer works, I found out that this functionality has been removed.
The apparent reason is due to a software management technique called “timeboxing†it means you have fixed release dates and code freezes that cannot be altered. If something isn’t finished before the code freeze, well it just has to wait for the next release.
Therefore, to modify my menus (Something most desktop users will do, and windows users can do with ease) I either have to download a third party tool, or wait for a new release of Gnome.
I can not complain to hard due to the fact that Gnome is based on the good will of developers devoting time to develop this great application. However, this is also the problem. The developers have no obligation to provide or maintain this application to the standard users require.
Lots of initiatives have started to provide a Linux desktop which will be a strong contender to the dominate windows desktop. Gnome is being used as one of the alternatives. However, with the attitude to functionality being displayed here, I’m starting to think whether it should be left as a nice hobbyist project for hackers. I shall wait and see.
http://gnomesupport.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=9392&highlight=menus