I feel Monero is rapidly heading into the "user-friendly" proportion of crypto users. Not everybody is comfortable with CLI wallets and we need to accept that. When a good 95% of other alts out there are Qt-based - with a nice shiny front-end GUI with logos and taskbar icons and cross-platform compatability for use on shiny MacBooks, Microsoft Surface tablets and desktop Windows units, which users know how to use and abuse - when these users are then confronted with Monero - a (at first glance) CLI-only wallet, I don't think anyone can blame them for being surprised. I was, when I first opened the wallet, and I use CLI every single day at work. I think the cries for an official GUI are warranted - those users who have no technical background and are only into cryptos for the trading aspect are not going to appreciate the CLI interface. The sad truth is there are a lot of users who come from this background. The high rollers with the huge BTC wallets are those users. Day traders and investors are often not technical - they come from banking, stocks and shares professions. They may not have the time nor the patience to get to grips with the CLI. They just want something that works and works well. Qt (for the most part) provides that and I think Monero is loosing out a bit in that regard.
This is my opinion, this isn't fact. Whilst we can say "learn to use the CLI" or "just go and get the unofficial .NET or Qt wallet" that won't stop people who don't have the time/don't want to use an unofficial client abandoning Monero. Usability is a huge factor in any product when it comes to uptake from the consumer. The wallet being CLI-only isn't a problem as such but it is something to discuss long-term. If we don't want to attract users that don't want to learn how to use the CLI then who do we want to attract? And does that then mean that Monero is only for a certain user group and not for everyone?
Points to mull over I suppose.
There's still a ton of work to be done till this is remotely feasible. Can you imagine if we had the world's most beautiful cross-platform wallet right now, but to use it you need several gigabytes of available memory, and it'll max out your 20mbps line?
Moreover, if Monero is to be treated by users as a private, secure, untraceable cryptocurrency, we need to be more certain of those three aspects. We are reasonably assured right now, but there is still a great deal of cryptanalysis and threat modelling that is lacking due to the inherited reference code. We cannot be lackadaisical with this, as it is other people's money we will be putting at risk.
Edit: that's not to say we aren't actively working on things that improve usability, but there are fundamentals that are more important before we can focus on - and drive - usability. I understand this may be at-odds with other cryptocurrencies who are given the silver platter of 5+ years of Bitcoin development by forking it, but we do not have that luxury.
Absolutely, and fundamentally this is why Monero is a much different coin than the other alts that exist atm. The approach is completely different and this is why things are done in a different way. I'm all behind the way the developers have chosen to do things and I think that tackling the important aspects to nail down what Monero is is a very good strategy. I'm supportive of this, but I can see why those that are less familiar with the coin and those who haven't been around as long as I have might jump to conclusion regarding it.
I have no complaints and no gripes with how the coin is being developed. I think it is the right way to develop a coin that is privacy and security orientated. I think my post might have had a bit of an anti-Monero tone to it and I didn't mean for it to - I think I was just launching off onto a mini rant about useability and not taking the wider context - but fundamentally, I think Monero is heading in the absolute right direction for what it was designed to achieve.
