I wholeheartedly agree that communication is the issue. And everybody is doing an awful job of it right now (Users and Canonical). "Figuring out what the user

I wholeheartedly agree that communication is the issue. And everybody is doing an awful job of it right now (Users and Canonical). "Figuring out what the user wants" isn't necessarily the answer either. Not if your goals are as lofty as bringing Linux to the masses. Un/fortunately, the current user base is NOT necessarily the future. But if they want to bring "us" along, there are options. Drive the design-centric stake into the ground. Put their designers front and center with blog posts and marketing and workshops. Make it real. Let those who want the same-old to make the choice to go elsewhere - cordially. And from there, teach the function-first world from which it comes why design is important, by leading through example. Open the curtains on this dark basement of a community to let some light in and start a long and important conversation about personal hygiene, kerning fonts and rounded corners. Help a couple app developers make some real money selling a simple yet well designed app through the new software center. In my mind, that's real communication and leadership. Bickering over features won't get anyone anywhere, and while their hand-waving "won't-fix" is NOT the way to go about it, neither is wasting too much time on people who probably won't like what Ubuntu is trying to become. Personally, I like the new stuff, and I'm looking forward to seeing what's next.