WhoDo wrote:mcewanw wrote:WhoDo wrote:
I've seen that expression used before - "4.2 is a Puplet" - and I think it came from a well-known member of this forum. That leads me to think that SilverPuppy may be an alias, and the very recent registration would seem to confirm that.
The accusation against SilverPuppy is keeping us in suspense. If the accuser can't bring himself to name the accused, I hope SilverPuppy will confirm or deny his guilt since hearsay/accusation is not a healthy attitude in argument and debate.
Hardly an accusation; more of a speculation.
I believe it was Dougal who used the subject expression in an earlier thread on Puppy 4.2 and "bling". Dougal has been notably absent from the forum for some time of late. Even his updated network wizards posted in April of this year have "disappeared" from the subject post. Again, that is pure speculation and there may be a perfectly good reason for that. Or Dougal may have felt his contribution was not being properly valued so he removed it. If that were true it would be a very sad situation indeed.
Even if SilverPuppy is Dougal by another name, it doesn't alter his right to an opinion ... even a dissenting opinion. I support that wholeheartedly. I also reserve the right to rebut speculation with fact where that is possible. If we are talking about my motives, and it seems we may well have been at the time, I reserve the right to clarify what my motives truly were regardless of how they may have appeared to some. Fair enough?
Haha, now that's truly funny. I've been called many things, some pleasant and some not, and Dougal has never been one of them. It seems the only thing I'm guilty of is having the same thoughts of genius as someone who shares my view of Puppy, apparently. Nope, I'm not Dougal. SilverPuppy is a play on my business name, Silver Dollar Business Solutions, and I have no idea who Dougal might be—I've been mostly ignoring the forums until this point, quietly playing with Puppies and not really saying much about it.
Sorry to whatever marketing guru did a study and found that the grey Windoze 98 look was unappealing, but I far prefer it. I'm a Charmin Ultra kinda guy, I guess: less really is more sometimes. Also, IMHO, the look never really evolved to look like Windoze XP; it still looked very Win98 as of 4.1.2 AND THAT WAS FINE WITH ME!!!!! I strongly dislike all the visual special effects that Vistuh uses; I find them very distracting. And after all, what is the point other than to be able to say, "Now prettier than ever!" That'd be great, if we were buying houses or dresses or something.....but this is an operating system we're talking about. Granted, Puppy 4.2 is NOT as downright silly with its visual effects as Vistuh, but it's still gone to the dark side on the "must be pretty" trend if you ask me.
Perhaps in the future this argument can best be solved this way: (I'm taking yes for an answer and proposing an exact methodology for it!) Keep the core Puppy basic, looking like 4.1.2 did. This will be the "Standard" version for maximum minimalism, keeping the original vision alive. Then create a .PET which, when installed, adds in the pretty colors, fancy window stylings, widgets, clock, and whatever else you bling people like. Basically it's an OS-level skin in a .PET file. Install the .PET, reboot, and voila! Looks pretty to appeal to........whomever you're trying to attract with all that ugliness. (Oops, I said that, didn't I? Well, it is my honest opinion....) Then also offer an "Enhanced" ISO file, which comes preloaded with the bling .PET as part of the package. This arrangement is ideal, because a) Those who like the simplicity and minimalism of the Win98 look can have it without having to re-engineer the thing, b) those who know they want bling can get it just as easily with it as without it, and c) those who change their mind later can go back and forth by removing or adding the .PET file. (Yes, I think that instead of being part of the core files in the "Enhanced" ISO, it should be a preloaded .PET so users can change their minds backwards in a savefile or installed environment.) Also, by doing it that way, you remove the need to build completely separate releases. Just build the basic Puppy, make the release, then install the .PET and remaster. Piece of cake.
I still don't get why you care so much about making Puppy look like Vistuh, but I think I've come up with a practical way to give us each the particular cake we prefer to eat and not have us at each others throats about this, because I know from this thread that I'm not the only one who feels strongly about this.
Exactly who do you think that all this bling will attract? Soccer moms? Old folks? Teenagers? I really don't understand the market segment you're after. I'd think that the people who wanted all the visual silliness (oops! I got too honest about my opinion again.....) that was added into 4.2 would have gone with something entirely different, something not minimalist, like Mandriva, or Ubuntu, or some other trendy-looking just-as-bloated-as-M$-but-lots-more-stable variation of Linus' great idea. I really don't think that just because you clutter it up with a bunch of colors and gadgets all the Ubuntu people are going to suddenly slap their foreheads and say, "How could I have been so stupid?" and jump on Puppy with both feet. I'm glad that Puppy is getting noticed, but I think speed has had, is presently having, and will continue to be the greatest draw that Puppy has. Gizmos will take away from speed, and negatively impact the draw of Puppy.......
.....BUT I'm going to take yes for an answer and shut up now. I do think my Puppy_Bling.pet solution is just about perfect; at least, as perfect as anything I ever thought up to accomodate something I despise..........but do know that I don't despise those of you who think Puppy having any official bling ever is a good idea......I just disagree with you.