Re: Lets talk about GUI and sound libraries

Jack Unrue wrote:
On 31 Aug 2006 07:37:14 -0700, "Bill Atkins" <batkins57@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

You [referring to Javier] mentioned earlier that you use free software
because you're able to "modify it" and not because it's distributed free
of charge. I think this is baloney. How often have you had to modify a
free software package? If it was simply to fix a bug, ask yourself if
that bug would have been fixed more easily by a company than by a
user - or whether that bug would have been there at all. What kinds of
modifications are you looking to make?

OK. I'm a CLISP user, and I have modified CLISP, not to fix a bug, but
to integrate a patch for a feature that I needed. Am I disqualified
from your argument, because I'm also a "developer"? Is Javier a "developer"
or a "user"?

But even with all that handy freedom, CLISP still doesn't have threads.
Threading is nontrivial to add, but certainly not inhumanly possible.
But it hasn't been done because a lot of work for people to take on in
their free time. This is, in my opinion, simply the nature of open
source.

IOW, don't conflate the meaning of user in the context of what Javier
wants to do just so you can try to make this argument. The fact that
most end-users don't have the expertise (or the interest, frankly) in
fixing software problems themselves is not the point -- the point is
that someone else can establish a business for themselves to serve
that market -- but only if the source is available.

Also, there are many, many examples of companies allowing important
bugs to go unfixed for long periods of time. The commercial nature
of a software package confers no advantage to users when the vendor
lacks motivation. For example, when two companies merge, reducing
competition in their market, prices tend to go up while service and
quality tend to go down.

And don't get me started on the claim "would the bug have been
there at all?" Commercial developers aren't super-heroes; their
company infrastructure often impedes the good people from getting
work done as much as help ensure quality. That claim is patently
ridiculous.

YMMV. In my experience, except for a few big-name projects (like
Linux, Firefox, or Emacs), open-source software has been consistently
buggier than the commercial software I now use (I don't use Windows).
If you find a difficult-to-kill bug that's not likely to affect a lot
of people, I'd say you're in the same position with OSS or commercial
software. With open-source software, you have to convince some wizard
to figure out what the problem is or become intimately familiar with
the code. Neither of these are very practical. With a commercial
company, you still have to convince them to take care of the bug -
except now they stand to lose your business if they ignore you. You're
of course correct that companies can still choose to ignore bugs.

--
Jack Unrue

.

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