On 1/21/08, Kevin Donnelly <address@hidden> wrote:
Another important point is that the more people use a free software app for
real-world work, the more likely it is to get developed to meet the
additional demands on it - look at Blender, where a lot of armature stuff was
added as they did pro-level work on Elephant's Dream.
I absolutely agree. Unfortunately certain types of software (accountancy is a prime example) have to reach a critical level before people are willing to be guinea pigs.
I can understand the pragmatic requirements of the working world - some stuff
is still easier to do with proprietary software - but I think it's a bit
disingenuous to argue that an approach based on personal convenience is
somehow doing free software a great service.
I simply said it allows me to do my job better - which happens to be helping people with FLOSS. My approach seems to work for me and my customers, and ultimately that's what matters.
I can't see how you can
convince people that FLOSS is a great thing if you're not actually practising
what you preach.
Ah, but you're making assumptions on what I do. I do practise what I preach - I use the same software to host my sites as I encourage customers to use. I do not (and would not) preach to customers that they should switch to Linux desktops, OpenOffice, etc - except in a few very special cases - and so there's nothing hypocritical here.
It's a bit like saying that everybody should do their bit
to reduce global warming, but that your work requires you to hop on a plane
every week - your message is bound to be weakened somewhat.
Was the net effect of Al Gore's work positive or negative? Positive.
How many flights did he make whilst doing his presentations? Lots.
Was his message weakened? Only to those with a weak grasp on reality to being with.
Meanwhile I suggest we start a campaign to have Lessig hung, drawn and quartered.
A.