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Re: Why Aren't Open Source Tools Being Considered?
Subject:Re: Why Aren't Open Source Tools Being Considered? From:Rachel Rawlings <rachel -at- scrivovivo -dot- net> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com> Date:Sun, 21 Aug 2005 05:25:38 -0400
John Posada wrote:
>That's exactly what rubs me the wrong way. To the vocal fanatics in
>the OS camp, its a knee-jerk reaction that any criticism of an OS
>software is a criticism of the OS philosophy...and lets face it, to
>them, the philosphy IS purely anti-MS. It isn't software...it's
>religion.
>
>
There's an old joke I heard from a lesbian comic that basically goes "I
don't hate men because I don't have to sleep with them." Any hatred I
have for Microsoft is mostly left over from a crash condition I reported
in Word 5.0 for the Mac that continued to exist in 5.1 and 6.0.
I work with Debian GNU/Linux on my desktop computer, but Windows XP on
the laptop; the latter is entirely by my choice, not any desire to fit
into a corporate environment. I've simply found that XP is finally
stable compared to earlier versions of Windows, and that it has better
power management and wireless connectivity. From time to time I've
considered switching away from Debian to a distribution that was a
little friendlier to commercial software, but there hasn't been a
sufficient motivating need for me to do so.
Nearly all the important applications I have on the laptop, however, are
the best-of-breed open source and Unix-like tools: Firefox, Thunderbird,
gimp, Audacity, and OpenOffice. I do this for a combination of
philosophy, consistency, and economy. I also use FileMaker Pro and
Visio, however--two tools which have never been FLOSS and doubtfully
ever will be.
If it's religion, I'm happy to be a member of the ecumenical laity. The
evangelists from all three major OS camps tend to annoy me, open source
only least so. (And I definitely prefer the "open source" reformed
rather than the "free" orthodox church. ;)
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