RE: xPL Developers

["Ian Lowe" <ian@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

> IMHO, the major thing missing for xPLers is a slick front end -
> perhaps there are list members out there with some art and design
> talents that could be put to good use!

It's a pretty unique skillset - I don't know many developers who can
cross over into UI design easily.

> Ummm......Must admit i did like the look of the front end thing that
was done for xAP...

Yeah - the reaction at UKHA was pretty indicative, I think. Despite the
fact that (to the HA purist) the xAP desktop doesn't actually *do*
anything, it had no end of admirers.

I think my own reaction must have been somewhat akin to giving a kid a
wonderfully intricate and interesting toy to play with, only to come
back to find them sitting in the empty box making car noises. ;)

I recall re-installing decomissioned servers and disk packs back into a
rack at a previous employer, so that there would be plenty of flashing
lights for the visit of the top brass... The power of flashy lights must
never be underestimated!

On a more general note, your email was quite a surprise to me - it is
nearly two years. wow! A lot has happened in that time, but for the most
part the guts remain the same - xplhal has been quietly (and reliably)
running my house for over a year, with various cool features that are a
real shock when they are missing!

The Rionet stuff is amazing, and there's not the possibility of pure
windows only services (rather than .Net).

It's almost enough to get a guy developing again... And these northern
hemisphere winter nights are sure starting to draw in ;)

Ian.