Pradeepto Bhattacharya wrote:
On 10/14/07, Rony gnulinuxist@gmail.com wrote:
On 10/12/07, jtd jtd@mtnl.net.in wrote:
You can switch now and save yourself a load of pain 2 yrs downhill or not at all and sink in the lake with the millstone firmly tied to your head.
We keep hearing this every year and life just goes on smoothly in the CSS world. (Closed Source Software) Doomsday gets an extension every year.
Thats still better than "reinstalling" system every few daysbecause of an virus attack and worm attack and such random foo of life.
Again a miss-conception about Windows. It is vulnerable but with proper protection and company usage policies, it takes a few years between reloads.
Moot question. Oo exports in all open formats and several closed ones too. So does inkscape.
Inkscape is the libre equivalent of Corel Draw and the industry uses the .cdr format, which is not recognised by Inkscape. There ends the FOSS presentation. CDR files are regularly exchanged between suppliers, vendors and customers.
Industry uses closed .doc format even, so? How does that makeit right?
It is not about right or wrong but catering to industry's needs instead of simply pushing semi-functional libre software on them.
Industry does not use libre file formats.
Really? Which industry? And which file formats are you talking about?
Doc, xls, ppt, cdr, aie, dwg, max, (photoshop and its allies, can't recollect the exact extns.) Lets not start the OOo thing again. If it was so good, it would circulate like pirated software.
That's imagination running wild. You are mixing between a finished product and manufacturing / upgradation process. A finished product has to work and do what's expected of it. Libre software has not reached that stage for many industry level data formats. Libre software can overtake CSS in performance and functionality but currently not many want to sit behind the wheel to do that. Till then CSS will hold a strong presence in the market.
Will you consider real life examples of Govt and Pvt bodiesusing Libre software? Do you want Indian or non-indian examples? In which pvt bodies and govt institutions have moved to Linux and FOSS completely - say for Groupware, Office stuff etc?
Agreed. That's what I have said in earlier mails too, that libre software is well suited for big organisations. Small orgs need proper finished products.
CSS is paid software so the software company always has the sword hanging over its head and users can criticise it, curse it, holler at
What makes you think that the FOSS software that I write [KDE PIM in this case ] doesnot get fixed when there are bugs?
Bugs part comes later. First, it should work.
What makes you think that nobody reports bugs in those products? What makes you think that we don't reply to bug reports? What makes you think that we don't make timely releases? What makes you think that the FOSS software product that I am involved in is not being used by thousands of people and not just random people but by people who consider their data very important and call the shots in their domains - be it govt or private institutions?
Govt. and moneyed institutions can make FOSS dance to their tune.
What makes you think that they are only with big money and not people with little or no money?
What is the percentage of such users in the commercial sector?
the makers till they come up with better upgrades. Libre software is like free accommodation in an Ashram. Life in the ashram is dull and placid, with no social interaction but those who cannot afford their own accommodation have no choice than to live there. The ashram authorities feel they have already done a great job so no improvisation is needed and they punish anyone who complains. When libre software comes out of its ashram mentality and caters to the industry, it will automatically become popular and leave CSS far behind. Till then at least lets accept facts as they are.
No social interaction? Define Social interaction please.
FOSS users have to be content to make sacrifices as they cannot do everything that can be done on CSS platforms. It is a conscious decision one has to take before migrating to FOSS. Just yesterday, I wanted to copy some video CDs but K3B in Kubuntu 6.10 and 6.06 threw up errors that it cannot read disks with multiple tracks. Finally I had to use my Windows XP to do it using Nero. There are many such instances where one is compelled to use the Windows platform to get their work done.