I do agree that bug trackers suck, but I don’t think your idea makes a lot of sense:
> It can collect and upload system logs.
> It can identify the bug tracker used by a given application.
> It can identify the package in the appropriate bug tracker against which to file a bug
Ubuntu has `apport` and a lot of applications have “Report a Problem” entry in the Help menu, that should take care of bug reporting (at least for GUI applications). It also collects logs.
> It can manage your bug tracker logins.
this is already done by the browser
> It can provide better search for duplicates.
this is already done by bug trackers (or at least should), what I’d like to see is integration between bug trackers (upstream/downstream)
> It can open an impromptu chat with others suffering from the bug, or with package maintainers.
I don’t think it would be feasible, nor it would make a lot of sense
> It can search existing help avenues for potential solutions to your problem.
> It can look for PPAs that contain updated packages that might fix the bug you’re reporting.
This information should stay in the bug webpage as a reference.
What I would like to see is integration between different bug trackers and the ability to forward a bug without having to login again, copying the bug report etc. Also, merge bug comments in a meaningful way to minimize duplication of effort. If you have a bug in EOG you will probably have three different bug reports about it, one upstream, one in Ubuntu’s bug tracker and one in Debian’s. It is not unusual that each of them have different info about a fix or a patch attached, this is plain stupid.
I would push for strict DVCS integration with bug trackers.
I like launchpad because you can link a branch with the fix in the bug page, AFAIK bugzilla can’t do that.