Quote:
Originally Posted by kovidgoyal
...It seems that we geeks have a slightly distorted picture of what the ordinary user wants...
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Wow, Kovid! Most geeks (not an insult here) have difficulty understanding that they do not always understand the needs of us "ordinary" users (in my case, computer idiot). My hat's off to you (wait, I'm not wearing one)!
Quote:
Originally Posted by kovidgoyal
...So I'm not convinced that ordinary users download new releases all the time...
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I'm one of the ordinary users who doesn't always download new releases. First, I like to wait a few days to make sure there aren't any bugs before I download. Second, if the new release doesn't have anything that would be useful to me, what would be the point in downloading? With weekly updates, one doesn't have long to wait for an update that will be of interest. I leave the update notification on since I run calibre 24/7 and the notification pops up only when I reboot. It's nice to know a new one is out and it doesn't take all that long to delete the pop-up (1 second; big deal). At least the pop-up isn't an obnoxious ad.
Quote:
Originally Posted by kovidgoyal
...In my experience, betas never have enough coverage to catch all regressions. So I don't see how to run a successful beta program...
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I so totally agree. I see professional programs that do run betas and still don't "get it right." Typically, their mistakes don't get fixed for at least a year, if then. It's impossible to duplicate all hardware combinations nor anticipate how many boneheaded manuevers users may make or how they will use features. Calibre, on the other hand, has a large user base that will report any problems which are, typically, fixed in a week.