1) Basic telemetry isn't a bad idea but...
2) Opt-in and by default disabled. Ask on first run if the user wishes to enable it, and inform about it.
3) DON'T USE GOOGLE ANALYTICS.
2) Opt-in and by default disabled. Ask on first run if the user wishes to enable it, and inform about it.
3) DON'T USE GOOGLE ANALYTICS.
Yes it is, the distro maintainers will strip it out which makes the data it collects garbage.
I don't hate Google. I just don't want my desktop applications to even be capable of telling Google about my computer usage if I can at all help it.
Similarly, use a double-file-buffered stack trace of the last n minutes of function calls. If the user selects "I just experienced a bug" in the Help menu, offer to send the most recent stack traces.