[Liverpool] Linux Installation

[Simon Johnson]

>
>
>
> While I agree that it's 100% about the end user, I don't agree that
> software freedom is incompatible with this. Software freedom empowers
> users. One specific benefit for a school is that it allows pupils to
> take home copies of the software they use at school (no more need to
> shell out for a brand new pc and MS Office). It also allows them to
> share the 'cool' programs they find with their friends, rather than
> being told it's wrong. Obviously there are more benefits, but that one
> is good to start with.
>

Obviously freedom two is a great sales tool!

When we talk about *free software* we usually define that term as having all
four of the freedoms protected.

I think that is wrong to try and promote freedom one and freedom three to
users. Very few users really want to modify and redistribute the software.

For example, the popular windows program Paint.NET is free in the sense of
freedom zero and freedom two yet is unfree with respect to freedom one and
freedom three. Other popular programs such as the chat client mIRC are free
in this limited sense, but not free in the full-blooded sense.

This was the sense in which I disagree with talking about the political
manifesto of the free software movement when trying to sell users free
software. Trying to explain to a user why they should run GIMP over Paint
.NET is confusing and totally counterproductive. They just won't get it.

At the end of the day, Linux *is* a competitor to Windows 7 and OSX. It has
to win that battle on merit. Linux won the battle for the server room
entirely on merit. Now it needs to conquer the desktop too.

It should compete, pound for pound, feature for feature with these
operating systems and by sheer technical excellence it should come out on
top.

We should not give it a free pass simply because it has a trendy political
philosophy! The software has to deliver for the *users, *first and foremost.

Cheers,

Simon Johnson
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