[Server-devel] XS to become XSCE???

[Sameer Verma]

On Mon, Aug 5, 2013 at 1:16 AM, James Cameron <quozl at laptop.org> wrote:
> On Sun, Aug 04, 2013 at 10:13:25PM -0700, Sameer Verma wrote:
>> Just noticed that on
>> http://wiki.laptop.org/go/XS_Installing_Software_0.7 it says that
>> stable version is XS 0.7 and unstable is XSCE 0.3
>>
>> Is this correct?
>
> What you see is from the template page Latest Releases and occurs on
> every Wiki page that includes that template.  So the fact that it is
> on XS_Installing_Software_0.7 is not unusual, because that page
> includes the template.
>
> The template edits that led to this are here:
>
> http://wiki.laptop.org/index.php?title=Template:Latest_Releases/XS-devel&diff=287052&oldid=266082
> http://wiki.laptop.org/index.php?title=Template:Latest_Releases/XS-devel&diff=287053&oldid=287052
> http://wiki.laptop.org/index.php?title=Template:Latest_Releases/XS-devel&diff=287329&oldid=287053
>

Thanks for the links. Makes it clearer.

>> Is XSCE to become XS 0.8? I am all in favor of the two projects
>> merging, but as I understand it, XS and XSCE are two very
>> *different* projects as of now. Some clarification would be great!
>
> I don't see any indication on the template to suggest that XSCE will
> become XS, but I do see "Server" software now includes xs-0.7 as
> stable, and XSCE 0.3 as unstable.
>
> I don't see any unstable version of xs-, and I don't see any stable
> version of XSCE.  I'd like to see both.  The former would indicate
> ongoing development of xs- and the latter would indicate finalisation
> of XSCE.
>

Correct, but as it is represented now, XS will become XSCE, which is
incorrect. As a customer, I consider XS and XSCE to be two different
products. The XS is a product from OLPC. XSCE is a product (not
production ready, but still a product) from the "community" (double
quotes intended). Although the XSCE may very well be a fork of the XS,
it has its own specs and a set of developers working on it. I am one
of the few who use XSCE on a 1.75 in one of my projects. I also use XS
0.7 in three other projects. My reasonings for choosing one over the
other are distinct. So, I do not appreciate the confusion.

Mixing the two is misleading. XS 0.7 may very well be end of the line,
or there may be a 0.8, but that's up to OLPC to decide, and not for
XSCE to usurp. After all, AU has a server. So does Nepal. So does
Uruguay. So does Activity Central. We don't see those listed on the
template now, do we? If this was out of a misunderstanding, it needs
to be corrected. If this injection was deliberate, then it was foolish
at best.

It's a shame how much obfuscation has creeped into this space. Let's
be clear about what the XS is and what the XSCE is and move on.

Sameer
-- 
Sameer Verma, Ph.D.
Professor, Information Systems
San Francisco State University
http://verma.sfsu.edu/
http://commons.sfsu.edu/
http://olpcsf.org/
http://olpcjamaica.org.jm/


> --
> James Cameron
> http://quozl.linux.org.au/
>
>