Re: Ubuntu

In article <znu-78F75B.13551611012009@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
ZnU <znu@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

In article <timmcn-E04DFD.11295211012009@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
Tim McNamara <timmcn@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

In article <110120090827148364%star@xxxxxxx>, Davoud <star@xxxxxxx>
wrote:

Marc Heusser:

It is a better alternative to MS Windows IMHO, and there are
quite a few people prefer open source software over proprietary
software for ethical reasons.

People find it unethical to run productivity apps on a computer?
No Photoshop, no video editing, no music creation, no iTunes? I
just never thought of those things as ethical issues.

There are legitimate ethical issues in computer software. You are
aware, perhaps, that you do not own any of the Apple software you
have paid for? Or any of the Microsoft software? Or Photoshop?
That the purpose of the EULAs employed by Apple and Microsoft and
Adobe, et al, is to limit your use and deprive you of ownership of
software? That those EULAs prevent you from modifying, adapting or
improving the software you paid for so that it meets your needs
better and is more productive? (Imagine, for a moment, submitting
to an agreement by fiat from General Motors that you could not
tinker with or adjust your car to make it operate better- or even
repair something that is broken. That's what you agree to when you
click "I Agree" to the EULA in the Installer).

It's possible that somehow you are not aware that there is a model
of licensing that protects rather than limits your rights, that
treats you as an intelligent equal, that wants you to modify,
improve, fix and share those developments with the rest of the
world to mutual benefit. It's the GNU Public License. Under the
standard licensing agreements, the protection and benefits are
primarily for the software maker- any benefits you get are
incidental.

As for productivity software, there is far more of it in the public
domain under the GPL than is provided by Apple, Microsoft, Adobe,
etc. Image processing, video editing, music creation, video
playback, music playback, etc. The improvements in the past 5
years, in particular, have been dramatic.

Most of them will run on a Mac, too.

The problem is, most of these applications aren't actually reasonable
substitutes for their mainstream commercial counterparts. Which means
that using them rather than their mainstream commercial counterparts
is the virtual equivalent of dropping out of society to live on a
commune in the middle of nowhere because you have moral objections to
the Federal Reserve system, or something. Even for most people who
actually hold that opinion, the trade-offs inherent in that course of
action aren't worth it.

Well, since I use a Mac I am obviously willing to trade off on the
freedom issue for convenience. I'm aware of what I am doing with that,
and generally I find that I can use FOSS software that's released under
the GPL or similar licensing with great results.

For example, I use NeoOffice about 6 hours a day at work for all my
report writing, spreadsheets and presentations. It works as well or
better than Microsoft Office, which my wife uses, and I have never had a
problem with sharing files with Office users. I send them some money
every so often (come to think of it, I should do that again) to support
the development of the software. It's great stuff.

Some of the FOSS software is better than what's available from
proprietary sources, such as comparing MPlayer to the QuickTime Player.
Or Emacs versus just about any text editor (ooh, religious war coming
up); the Aquamacs version (some would call it a fork) of Emacs brings
very good OS X integration to Emacs.

Some FOSS stuff is, of course, much worse to use than proprietary
applications. On the average, the user interface end of FOSS tends to
be lacking since most of those developers don't have the means to do
extensive interface development- or possibly the skills. Some of them
are even hostile to the idea of interface development. Programmers tend
to be taught how to code, not how to design a good interface for a good
user experience. This is the area in which Apple has tended to excel.
.

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