Re: [Peep-develop] peep's popularity problems

[Collin S. <col...@co...>]

On Sun, 2003-05-18 at 11:36, Michael Gilfix wrote:
>   Hey Xavier. Probably the best way to go about this is to get Collin
> to let us know what the schedule is with his PhD.  I can't promise
> massive amounts of time at this point but we can definitely make
> progress. Unfortunately, we never quite finished up the 0.5.0 release
> (although we were so close). That's definitely something on the
> agenda. Then we can work on some of the nice configuration frills
> we talked about. More below.

We were so close!  It won't take much to get 0.5.0 out the door, but I
am defending my dissertation on June 20.  There are about a million
things I need to do between now and then.  Needless to say I have been
chained to my desk for some time trying to get the dissertation tucked
away.  

Unfortunately, though it pains me given how close we were to 0.5.0, my
first (and only) priority at the moment is getting through the defense
and I haven't been able to set aside the time to tie up the loose ends.

>   It's definitely a cultural thing. I remember when I was originally
> preseneting the work that I had dissenters who doubted it's usefulness
> just because it uses sound. It's unfortunately, but there are strong
> ties to music and hearing and no more. That's something to work
> on over time, but seems more like a mission than producing good
> software, which is somewhat less tangible.
> 
> > may be a visual output plugin might be a hooker for people ?
> > see attached file to see what i mean. sound would appear
> > like drops of rain, left and right for left and right ear.
> > real time, say 10 fps / sec
> > i don't know how to do that (using the screensaver rain ?
> > using winamp plugins ? look for something else ?)
> > but i'm thinking that if we do it, we need to do it 
> > fast. like to come up with something in 1 day or less... 
> > this is a teaser. a hooker for ppl.
> > no need to loose time on it. 
> 
>   I think providing some kind of visual output or integration with
> a visual component would have definite value for people.  It gives
> them the excuse to move beyond the novelty of the idea since the
> visual is useful. I think it's important that any kind of visual
> component is very straight-forward without too much abstraction. The
> audio is already very abstract. We need something concrete to draw
> people in. Collin was working on a visual display that had some strong
> promise. I think we should pursue integration. I can't remember how
> far along he had some in that respect.

I got a basic GUI prototype built in Glade, but hadn't tied in callers
to events.  I had intended to use eXtace as an embedded component to
provide the visual cues.  There would still be a good bit of work to get
a visual system out the door but the framework is there.

> > may be another problem is that our closest competitor,
> > netsaint/nagios, is already filling the niche...
> > reports, availability, the power of nagios is logging and
> > retaining information. 
> 
>   Still different but I see your point. Why use the gathering framework
> of Peep if you have another tool that substitutes but fits another niche?
> Well, we do still offer uniqueness, so I'm not too worried. I think
> our real problem is that we need to rekindle the fire and let the tool
> evolve some more. I'll let Collin wax eloquent on that regard.

I have taken a look at nagios, and it is an impressive system.  I see
Peep in another role, however.  Nagios is primarily geared towards folks
who have large-scale professionally managed installations.  I see Peep
as more of a simple, targeted system for folks who have a simple set of
monitoring tasks to accomplish.

I personally use Peep to monitor a box at home, one on campus, and soon
one that I'm dropping into a local coloc.  Peep is easy for me to
install, configure, and customize, whereas nagios would be extreme
overkill for my simple needs.  I also rather enjoy the seamless ability
to monitor systems in an aesthetically pleasing way without having to
look at an interface every few minutes.  

I agree about rekindling the fire.  My schedule leading up to my defense
I think has been the primary reason development has slowed to a
standstill recently.  I look forward to finishing up my degree and
having some time to turn some attention back to Peep.

>   Thanks for starting up the discussion again Xavier. It's been
> too long :)

Indeed!  Good hearing from you again, Xavier :-)

-me

-- 
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Collin Starkweather              http://www.collinstarkweather.com
Consulting Software Engineer      col...@co...
Ph.D. Candidate     University of Colorado Department of Economics
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