Let me get this straight

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Let me get this straight
by T. J. Brumfield on Friday 21/Mar/2008, @10:11

You're ocmplaining that free software written by volunteers isn't always better than commercial softwae, and you're upset about it?

It is free. If you don't like it, then don't use it.

You don't like that Ubuntu is OSS only? Install Mint or Sabayon. You prefer In Design, then dual-boot, or install it via Wine, or whatever.

Last time I checked, Linux has made HUGE strides in working out of the box for most uses for most users. It doesn't always work for every use, for every user. It is a different beast that is designed for a different market to do different things. It isn't Windows, and thank God for that!

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Re: Let me get this straight
by JRT on Friday 21/Mar/2008, @12:35

> You're complaining that free software written by volunteers isn't always
> better than commercial software, and you're upset about it?

Well, I complain about that and although many have disagreements with me, nobody has accused me of being anti-Linux. In fact I just installed another Linux system today -- yes folks, my new Sony TV runs Linux and came with a GPL license statement. So, no matter what is said about desktops for Linux, the Linux OS isn't going away any time soon.

IAC, I don't think that it is fair to the people that write OSS to call them mere 'volunteers'. They are hobbyists, and many people take their hobbies seriously. Some of these hobbyists are IT, CS, EE professionals (you know the people that the self taught hackers like to denigrate :-)) My complaint is a little more specific. I think that if people would take the personal responsibility to fix the bugs that OSS would easily be superior to commercial software. Yes, I know that it isn't as much fun, but we also take satisfaction in a job well done -- in the final project. You learn this contingency of reinforcement in engineering school. I don't know how to teach it to others. So, that is my manifesto on how to achieve world dominance. :-D

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Re: Let me get this straight
by T. J. Brumfield on Friday 21/Mar/2008, @17:46

I avoid terms like hobbyist because it takes away from the professional caliber of many of the coders. I use the term volunteer to reflect that most of them aren't being paid, though corporations like Novell, HP, IBM, Google, etc. do pay for coders to release OSS code.

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