[Liverpool] Linux Installation

[oscillik]

Si, you are epic.
I just wish my FOSS cult member acquaintance could share your view!

2009/8/19 Simon Johnson <simon.johnson at gmail.com>

>
>>
>> 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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