Shuttleworth at LinuxCon: Will Ubuntu Lead Free Software?

[ Thanks to James Maguire for this link. ]

"One of Shuttleworth's arguments in favor of regular releases over a short period is that releases "energize" a project. He says that, in addition to exposing the software to far more users, a release is the time when documenters and translators begin to work.

"In fact, technical writers will tell you that the time of the release is the very worst time to begin their work. Starting to document or translate with a release means that the work is under pressure to be completed as soon as possible. It also means that those doing the work may have a hard time finding developers to answer questions, because, their work being finished, they are taking time off.

"Both quality and usability -- Shuttleworth's other concerns -- are generally better served when documenters and translators begin their work with the alpha release or sooner.

"Similarly, Shuttleworth talks throughout the keynote as though attracting more people to a project is an unmitigated advantage. However, anyone who has worked on a software project can tell you that an increase in the size of the team does not automatically translate into more getting done."

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