On Sat, 02 Mar 2002 10:58:18 MJ Ray wrote:
- I've been saying "let's promote Free Software rather than Open
Source" ;)
Perhaps someone who has studied this field in more detail could comment on the distinction between the two. I have just tried reading a couple of documents to brush up on this and found to my surprise that the "Open Source Software Definition" [http://www.opensource.org/docs/definition_plain.html] reads as a slighly edited version of the "Debian Free Software Guidelines" [http://www.uk.debian.org/social_contract#guidelines].
I'd always regarded open source as a wider field with Free Software being the purer core, but where is the line to be drawn.
Moving on to promoting Free Software:
1. Some of the benefits of free software (e.g. customisiing it) only accrue to those who have the skill to work on it, or have the resources to hire someone who does have the necessary skill.
2. Other benefits (cheap copies and free redistribution) are more valuable to the honest. What can we offer someone who says "That's all very well but I can get a copy of Win2KPro from my mate". The answer, of course, is a clear concience.
Of course, the clincher is if people can see that there are high quality applications to do the kind of things they want to do with their PCs, so the list of applications to demo is definitely a way to go.
Steve.
Hi Steve
The killer linux app that I'm looking for is a decent 3D CAD/CAM package. Qcad and it's sidekick, Qcam are passable for 2D, but hardly what I would call a top quality package.
If I could find a CAD/CAM package worthy of being called such, I could convert a whole group to linux instead of just a handfull of daredevils.
Regards, Paul.
On Saturday 02 Mar 2002 6:42 pm, Steve Fosdick wrote:
Of course, the clincher is if people can see that there are high quality applications to do the kind of things they want to do with their PCs, so the list of applications to demo is definitely a way to go.
-
Paul -
Steve Fosdick