Re: HOWTO: lilypond-1.3.98 on windows32

[Mats Bengtsson]

address@hidden said:
> I've noticed a distressing trend: for reasons beyond my comprehension,
> people that use binaries on windows tend to generate more problem
> reports, and the're harder to solve.  I fear that we'll have to
> reconsider distributing binaries if this trend continues. 

Why not see it the other way; Jan's distribution of binaries
is a way to collect a user group large enough to reach a
critical mass. The hope is to find someone with the competence
of Jeff Reed but more time available who can produce the 
Windows versions in the form of nice easily-installed packages.

And, honestly, I haven't seen that many strange problem reports
on windows compared to Linux. It seems that many of the people
doing their first install of Lilypond, regardless of platform,
come with some initial questions to this list. Once they've
done the first install, they know how to solve the problems.
The variations in problem reports we see, merely reflect the
random number of users that happen to do their first install
or a major upgrade, at a certain time.

For the discussion starting this thread, it's obviously a
matter of different view-points and habits. Of course, 
we who are used to UNIX like to impose a UNIX-like structure
also of the Windows installation to get something we can
understand and relate to without having to waste too much 
time. In the same way, a person used to Windows wants a
different structure to feel familiar. 

     /Mats