Re: "Red Hat recommends Windows for consumers"
On Fri, 2003-11-07 at 11:45, Jonathan Dowland wrote:
> On Fri, Nov 07, 2003 at 11:01:58AM -0600, Ron Johnson wrote:
>
> > As in "proprietary, closed-source apps"?
> >
> > Well, that depends on if you see them as a "problem", or something
> > that you prefer not to use.
> >
> > I prefer not to use proprietary, closed-source apps, but, when
> > necessary, will pay for them, and use them, even on Debian.
>
> Personally I haven't really made my mind up about prioprietry apps, and
> whether RMS is right or not. However, the success of Linux is widely
> attributed to the open-source development model, so I can't really see
> the future of Linux throwing it away.
I'm all for the open-source development model. However, we must
respect that some companies want to keep their source closed, and
still sell to the Linux market.
For example, as good as PostgreSQL is, there are many places where
it doesn't have the needed oomph or feature set that companies need.
Thus, Oracle, IBM (with DB/2 & Informix) & Sybase meet the need.
On the other end of the scale, there are, as far as I know, no OSS
packages comparable to Reader Rabbit or Calendar Creator or Act!
or EndNote or Quark. Some are ok, but in many cases, nothing is
out there in the OSS world.
The standard OSS business model is "the program+source is free, and
we make money selling support". However, the bottom line is that
there just is no market for supporting consumer-grade apps like
Reader Rabbit and Calendar Creator, or even SOHO apps like Act!
and EndNote.
--
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Ron Johnson, Jr. ron.l.johnson@cox.net
Jefferson, LA USA
"What other evidence do you have that they are terrorists, other
than that they trained in these camps?"
17-Sep-2002 Katie Couric to an FBI agent regarding the 5 men
arrested near Buffalo NY
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