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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