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RE: Spinoff: Using Linux for work? was RE: Why Tech-Writers Should Know About Open Source Technologies
Subject:RE: Spinoff: Using Linux for work? was RE: Why Tech-Writers Should Know About Open Source Technologies From:Bruce Byfield <bbyfield -at- axion -dot- net> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com> Date:Thu, 15 Sep 2005 13:00:28 -0700
On Thu, 2005-09-15 at 15:30 -0400, R. Armstrong wrote:
> I don't know...for me, it sounds like the whole 'Printed periodicals will
> soon be done away with' debate I heard 10 years ago.
Nobody in this discussion has said that proprietary software will
disappear. However, the argument would be more convincing if the last
five years hadn't already shown an increasing use of open source
software in businesses.
The only real question is how large a market share it's going to have.
And that's going to very depending on the application.
> OpenSource software
> will never be as widely used as commercial software,
The distinction isn't between open source and commercial software. Some
open source software is commercial. It's between open source and
proprietary.
> because OpenSource
> requires a higher level of knowledge than something right out of the box.
Not necessarily. For most apps that tech writers would use, it's more
like switching from MS Word to FrameMaker. It's more different than
difficult.
> If that wasn't true, then we wouldn't have things such as HTML editors and
> Web Templates. Everyone would write HTML in notepad and be happy with it.
This seems a non-sequitur, considering that there are open source HTML
editors, too.
> While I do use some OS 'stuff' I wouldn't feel comfortable using it where my
> job depended on it. Too many hands in the pot, and no one to blame if the
> food tastes bad.
If you're talking about security, the "too many hands" make open source
software more secure than proprietary, not less.
As for not having anyone to blame, do you blame Microsoft or Adobe if
something goes wrong with your documentation? Of course not. You might
file a bug report, but that's all. You'd do the same for open source
software.
Anyway, large scale open source projects are just as easy to identify as
a company. Moreover, with an open source project, you can probably talk
directly to the person who can fix the problem for you.
"When a person has a poor ear for music he will flat and sharp
right along without knowing it. He keeps near the tune, but is
not the tune. When a person has a poor ear for words, the result
is a literary flatting and sharping; you perceive what he is intending
to say, but you also perceive that he does not say it.'
- Mark Twain
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