Command Deck Update Notification (01/08/2025)

[Ioannis]

On 1/19/2025 at 11:08 PM, LarsJ said:

...

, but I would also argue something as simple as a twice weekly or even weekly update post simply saying "heya! Here's the exciting news from us" would work wonders.

...

I would disagree a bit. Although I work in research and not in a software development group, I have only biweekly update meetings for the main stakeholders, and some times even that is too soon to have meaningful updates to share, resulting in early meeting termination.

And don't forget that my meetings are internal between collaborators. On the other hand you are asking for product updates. What if the Hexos team announces some feature A now, and as time goes by, they have to drop it in favor of some feature B which is a more important feature because it introduces a conflict and to resolve it then there would be a push-back on a promised major update. (That's only but one simple example).

You think in terms of informal update, and that's easy, but other people will see such updates as commitment.

Have you ever heard, "if you can't have something nice, it's probably because of previously observed bad players". It could also be applied here.

Cheers!

[Skeleton Man]

I agree with Ioannis statement.

I have worked as a software engineer  and I wouldn't even dream of telling something to our clients  that its not 100% solid and coming in the next release.

The more details you give the more potential you have for conflict and disappointment, for now I think they should cook and get the new team acclimated. After that form a plan and release a vague roadmap that gives them wiggle room to change course if needed.

Now that does not mean that you cant have frequent updates , for example Anton Hand the main dev of the game Hot Dogs, Horseshoes & Hand Grenades does a weekly dev blog informing how the game is going. In my opinion he has done a wonderful job informing the players, but for sure it has given him some headaches .

Whatever approach  the team of HexOs decides to go for Im looking forward to future updates

Peace!

[theking8713]

On 1/8/2025 at 8:12 PM, jonp said:

Right now the team is entirely focused on bug fixes, QoL updates, and pool customization. When we go to shift focus onto our next major feature, we will also select another app for curation (maybe a few). We specifically started with Plex because it’s honestly A) one of the most popular and B) one of the most demanding for configuration. By starting with the hard stuff, we can really focus on honing in support and getting that experience just perfect as well as set a template for all future apps to come. As an example of this, we are very focused on improving the plex experience already. There are issues with remote access, resource assignment, and GPU-assisted transcoding. So those types of things will likely be addressed (at least in part) before we add another curated app. 

That being said, I am hopeful to really start cranking on a wider App Library sooner than later. Apps are one of the most important features of the product. 

I'm very much intrigued at this part "and pool customization"...

Can we expect some progress towards the ability to integrate maybe less than ideal non redundant pools like added vdevs for SLOGs or even just generic targets for applications, basically id to be able to add a generic SSD that is not redundant at all simply to be able to share afermentioned SSD over the network with all the amazing ACL stuff yall have put into this UI that is genuinely invaluable to anybody who has ever tried to get a coherent samba share up on truenas traditionaly lol...

[LarsJ]

On 1/21/2025 at 1:17 AM, Ioannis said:

I would disagree a bit. Although I work in research and not in a software development group, I have only biweekly update meetings for the main stakeholders, and some times even that is too soon to have meaningful updates to share, resulting in early meeting termination.

And don't forget that my meetings are internal between collaborators. On the other hand you are asking for product updates. What if the Hexos team announces some feature A now, and as time goes by, they have to drop it in favor of some feature B which is a more important feature because it introduces a conflict and to resolve it then there would be a push-back on a promised major update. (That's only but one simple example).

You think in terms of informal update, and that's easy, but other people will see such updates as commitment.

Have you ever heard, "if you can't have something nice, it's probably because of previously observed bad players". It could also be applied here.

Cheers!

 

On 1/22/2025 at 12:39 PM, Skeleton Man said:

I agree with Ioannis statement.

I have worked as a software engineer  and I wouldn't even dream of telling something to our clients  that its not 100% solid and coming in the next release.

The more details you give the more potential you have for conflict and disappointment, for now I think they should cook and get the new team acclimated. After that form a plan and release a vague roadmap that gives them wiggle room to change course if needed.

Now that does not mean that you cant have frequent updates , for example Anton Hand the main dev of the game Hot Dogs, Horseshoes & Hand Grenades does a weekly dev blog informing how the game is going. In my opinion he has done a wonderful job informing the players, but for sure it has given him some headaches .

Whatever approach  the team of HexOs decides to go for Im looking forward to future updates

Peace!

Both good points, and I really cant argue with the logic of any of it. I suppose i'm just speaking my point from the perspective of a excited hobbyist who hasn't worked in the field before and would love to see this community continue to flourish. Maybe my hopes are a bit naive, but ah well, a guy can dream, right?

[Dylan]

On 1/28/2025 at 11:52 PM, LarsJ said:

 

Both good points, and I really cant argue with the logic of any of it. I suppose i'm just speaking my point from the perspective of a excited hobbyist who hasn't worked in the field before and would love to see this community continue to flourish. Maybe my hopes are a bit naive, but ah well, a guy can dream, right?

That's not naive at all. Like you say, both points are valid from certain perspectives. On one hand, I would LOVE to see more "hey this is what we're up too" type of posts. On the other, for the sake of stability, I'd rather the dev team keep heads-down and crank out solid, well tested functionality that can be relied upon. So, I do see it both ways.

However, I CAN share with you that the HexOS team is committed to increasing comms. It's  bit of a double-edged sword, right? You don't want to put yourself on the hook for something unless you a SUPER sure it'll land as intended but you also want to keep folk engaged and I know that the HexOS team is working at just that.

So, hang in there...realize this is the long game and respect for your patience thus far!

[Sonic]

Solid, well tested functionality, that’s what keeps us happy in the long run. Our precious data deserves a stable and reliable HexOS. My Synology DS414 is already 24/7 up and running for more then 10 years. I want HexOs as reliable as my DS414. With TrueNas as fundament should that be possible.

But…..

I am also very enthusiastic and I and want to see more and more 😀. @Dylan, patience is difficult 😜. 

[LarsJ]

On 1/30/2025 at 1:45 PM, Dylan said:

That's not naive at all. Like you say, both points are valid from certain perspectives. On one hand, I would LOVE to see more "hey this is what we're up too" type of posts. On the other, for the sake of stability, I'd rather the dev team keep heads-down and crank out solid, well tested functionality that can be relied upon. So, I do see it both ways.

However, I CAN share with you that the HexOS team is committed to increasing comms. It's  bit of a double-edged sword, right? You don't want to put yourself on the hook for something unless you a SUPER sure it'll land as intended but you also want to keep folk engaged and I know that the HexOS team is working at just that.

So, hang in there...realize this is the long game and respect for your patience thus far!

 

I can see that, I will try to be as patient as I can manage! 😛

 

Thanks for hard work guys, really, and I look forward to the next update with baited breath!

[Dylan]

This is the way. Stay plugged in and keep sharing you experiences!

[Zizuar]

On 1/31/2025 at 9:57 PM, Dylan said:

This is the way. Stay plugged in and keep sharing you experiences!

I really hate to be that one guy... but I feel as though I have to.
We are nearly a month since this post hit the forum, and from what I can tell it was the last real official communication from the team. Even most of this communication came from mods rather than the dev team as well.

I've been trying to check back in at least once a week to see if we've gotten even a 'Hey everyone! We're still alive and kicking here. Should have more to say *blah blah blah*'. I'm sadly disappointed that an effort to even give a brief state of dev update hasn't been made.

As a developer myself I know how these things go a lot of times. However, unless there is just a total breakdown somewhere - a month between communication is just not good leadership. Even if you're not following an agile cycle where multiple sprints should have been completed by now; something to engage the community must have happened in less than a month you could have info dumped on us. You need to adopt some sort of schedule here to say something official every week or two. Even if all you have to say is that you have nothing new to say.

I've waited on engineering teams to tackle issues in platform environments for upwards of 9 months with certain projects, but the only reason we waited that long rather than finding a new partner to work with was because they kept the lines of communication open. Taking five minutes every week or two and writing a brief paragraph really isn't too much to ask. Especially when people have been here supporting and cheering on your project (as well as funding.. I got multiple licenses when I wasn't even sure I'd find a use for more than 1).

 

Please get some sort of dev outreach going fast. The further down the road you get the less you'll have to constantly communicate.. but NOW is the time that you should be extra present and informative.
The mods are great, but they don't embody this project. You guys do. Right now it feels rather unsupported.

 

Thanks!

[markrieder]

Please keep us informed every step of the way. For example, such a feature was added or such a problem was removed.

[Dylan]

On 2/5/2025 at 6:52 AM, markrieder said:

Please keep us informed every step of the way. For example, such a feature was added or such a problem was removed.

HERE YOU GO

[jonp]

On 2/4/2025 at 8:28 PM, Zizuar said:

Please get some sort of dev outreach going fast. The further down the road you get the less you'll have to constantly communicate.. but NOW is the time that you should be extra present and informative.

That's on me.  I've been highly distracted this past month with a lot of administrative work.  That's starting to wrap up and I will be dumping a lot more of my time into communications.