Hi Klaberte,
I agree that everyone’s needs and wants are different. But one thing we as OpenWRT users have in common is that we want to be able to easily customize the device to our needs, as that’s OpenWRT’s forte.
A shell makes it harder, and a shell-on-a-shell makes it harder still. Even while I appreciate LuCI’s value in flattening the learning curve, once I veer off the paved path and try something that isn’t on the menu, LuCI makes things more complicated.
To give an example, I’m presently trying to configure another router (WDR3600) as a bridged-repeater, a fairly common need that is not available in LuCI. I’ve found a how-to for it. But it, as well as all of the how-to’s on OpenWRT.org, is geared toward UCI, not LuCI. Since I’m still using LuCI as a learning crutch, I don’t know how any change I make in LuCI will affect the changes I made in UCI. It makes my learning harder, not easier. OpenWRT is complicated enough as it is.
That’s the problem with all shells. They’re fine as long as you stick to the menu. But the whole point of OpenWRT is the freedom to customize, and no shell can accommodate. The GL UI is VERY limited, which means we have to use LuCI anyway for probably 90% of even normal uses. It also is packed with what would normally be called bloatware, ie specific menus for webcams and Chinese 3G modems. It compounds my above difficulty, as now I have to be on guard for GL UI’s interactions with LuCI, as well as LuCI’s interaction with the underlying tools. It doesn’t reduce complexity, but adds to it.
As well, I take issue with some of the “value-add,” such as loading AdBlock filter by default in the startup script. AdBlock is undoubtedly useful for certain use cases, but as with the webcams/3G modems, it’s bloatware that reduce the device’s performance and take up precious resources. It’s fine if these were available as packages, but they shouldn’t be loaded by default.
Again, the main audience for OpenWRT devices are enthusiasts who like to customize things their way. I do see LuCI as a necessary crutch for us noobs. But anything else, I would steer away from.
Please excuse the rant. Anyway, as with others, I’m fine with whatever Alzhao wants to do with GL UI, as long as a comparable clean firmware version is available. It’s all good.
HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYBODY! 