Re: Unidentified subject!
Rob Bradford wrote:
>
> And of course non-free, dont forget that. :-P
(Okay, looks like thats getting quite a long rant. You have been warned.
:-)
So whats the big deal? On my pooter, I'm using non-free stuff such as
Opera as well as OpenSource software (which would enlarge this mail to a
very indecent size if I would sum them up here *g*).
Face it, lads: Commercial/proprietary/non-free/whateveryoucallit
software will never vanish from the face of the earth, same for
OpenSource (maybe it helps if you look at them as if they were
non-identical twins).
And I dont see any problem with that.
So maybe somebody writes a great tool and hands it out for free.
*applause* Thank you, man. If I can support you, I will do so gladly
because I appreciate the effort you have put into the thingy for
free/fun/the greater good/whatever.
Hell, if my coding skills will be good enough some day and I'll hack up
a nifty tool, I might also release it as OpenSource software, because
thats the basic principle behind the whole thing (at least how i
understand it):
You get something useful and give something useful back. Maybe not
directly to the one which gave you something in the first place, but
maybe in some kind of
"daisy-chain" (no dirty pun intended :-).
But odds are quite high that somebody might use my tool then to create
something new, which might help somebody else to create something
else... You get the idea.
And maybe the guy who made the tool i used in the first place will use
some entirely other tool which (if you follow the traces) was created
because somebody used mine long before.
Maybe not, I dont know, if I would know what lies in the future I would
waste my time throwing my huge wealth out of the window instead of
pretending to study computer science and like maths (actually I do study
comp-sci and like maths, but I'm far from getting a piece of paper
telling me that I got a university degree yet, so I dont want to brag
too much about it. Yes, you out there, asking "Who's that f***er
anyway?", I can hear you loud and clear...)
Okay, somebody else also writes a great tool, but wants to make a living
from writing software.
Maybe he has a family to support, maybe he just wants to buy that shiny
new Porsche or buy some booze, drugs or a hooker for a nice weekend, I
dont know.
One needs money to make a living, and if one decides to earn money by
writing software, so be it.
As long as he doesnt show some attitude which might make you think that
he aims for World Domination, thats okay with me (now what a
coincidence, I was just looking into the general direction of Redmond,
Seattle. And I haven't the faintest idea, why... *dark evil grin*).
If I dont like that software, dont have the cash or <insert personal
favourite reason>, I dont have to buy it. I'll use something else.
So: Choose, advocate, give aid, promote, convince, buy, borrow,
download, do what you like. But see to it that you dont become a
missionary, for they often have a strong tendency towards being a
nuisance (or "pain in the ass", if I would use graphic language, which I
would never do. Yeah, right...)
IMVHO, all that effort put into an "OpenSource only" attitude is spent
better for promoting a philosophy based on the principle of choice.
Or maybe to work on new software, bugfixes etc. There is so much to do
which I consider more important than to "convert" people to the belief
that OpenSource is The Only Way To Salvation (and I hereby declare
"TOWTS" to be used freely by any sentient being until the day after hell
froze over. On that very day, it will be oficially GPLed :-)
As i said before: Face it - OpenSource is here and will be, as will
commercial stuff. Live with it, choose what you prefer and be happy and
productive with that choice. Or as Linus would probably say: "Have fun".
The key is COEXISTENCE, not CRUSADE.
Okay, thats my rant, and thats enough of it. Love it, loathe it or leave
it, its up to you.
Just one last hint: Get that book "Just for fun" from that funny Finn
with the big nose. Read it. Think about what you read in it. IMO, the
lad has some pretty cool views.
Thats my 2 cents, and sorry for the wasted electrons. I promise I'll see
to it that they will be recycled properly :-)
Have fun,
Dominic
--
Madam, there's no such thing as a tough child - if you
parboil them first for seven hours, they always come out tender.
-- W. C. Fields
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