use OSS because it is better?

Message

MADcow · Post by **MADcow** » Wed Nov 12, 2003 10:29 pm

http://slashdot.org/articles/03/11/12/2 ... 187&tid=99

We haven't talked to a single user who has said they're using [open source] because it's better.

damn. maybe i'm the only one...
no, i'm not going to list all of the reasons that i use OSS, but one of them is definately that it is better (in many ways).

abracadaver · Post by **abracadaver** » Wed Nov 12, 2003 10:52 pm

Bah...more Microsoft anti-Linux propaganda. And, yes, "because it's better" is one of the many reasons I use open source software. "Better" is such a vauge word though. Also, as far as the moron who said

some random microsoft employee wrote:
At least if Linux takes off, their viruses will propagate and we won't be seen as the bad guys any more.'

I know there are viruses for Linux, but wouldn't it be extremely difficult to make a virus that propogates itself in the Windows patented "even motion to Outlook express and get f'd" method because there are such a wide variety of servers, kernels, patches, hacks etc etc etc that make almost no two installs identical?

guy at slashdot wrote: I use Free software because it's better; they just didn't ask.

This about sums up Microsoft's argument...of course if MS does a survey about oss they are going to poll like-minded people.

meh...at least Linux is getting more publicity

Oopsz · Post by **Oopsz** » Wed Nov 12, 2003 10:59 pm

haha, i thought this was going to be an OSS versus ALSA debate.. n/m

fp2099 · Post by **fp2099** » Wed Nov 12, 2003 11:00 pm

I'm not liking this "new" M$ approach... [mommy can i kill them?]

kwiqsilver · Post by **kwiqsilver** » Wed Nov 12, 2003 11:33 pm

They're getting desperate. They've found an enemy that they can't buy out, price out, or defeat with any other shady tactic they're used to. They're coming up with anything they can think of, and so far from the halloween docs to shared source to bogus TCO reports, they can't win.

The city of Munich (Muenchen auf Deutsch) chose an IBM/Suse based solution for it's PCs over MS even after MS offered to beat IBM/Suse's price!

IDG (or one of those groups) reported that in 2004 MS' share of the server market will decline. It's a company based on expanding revenue, when the revenue contracts, they'll implode (think Supernova that's reached it's peak diameter).

Oh, and I use Free Software because it's more stable, runs faster, more configurable, doesn't force me to conform to their way of doing something, has more features, easier for me to write apps that I want (like my RPN calculator and car ogg player), allows me to tweak the code when I want to, and is free (as in $0). Does that count as "better"?

Ian · Post by **Ian** » Thu Nov 13, 2003 12:41 am

No, I use OSS because it's worse than Windows.

What kind of fucking moron would bother to use something that's worse, if there's a better alternative?

Of course I, and I'm 99.999999% sure everyone else, who uses OSS uses it because it's better in some way, shape, or form. From being free to being faster/safer/etc, there's at least one reason.

If OSS sucked, I'd still be using Windows, no doubt, because there wouldn't be much else to choose from. Of course, I wouldn't be paying for Windows, cause I'm a high school senior, and have no money. But that's besides the point

.

Please, Microsoft, you did great things to computers (everyone has to admit that computers are so commonplace now, at least in part, to Microsoft), but just stop trying now, cause you're just fucking yourself in the end. Sheesh, and I thought that I never knew when to quit.

ciaranm · Post by **ciaranm** » Thu Nov 13, 2003 12:55 am

Definitely. I stopped using Microsoft * over a year ago because:
* the constant crashes were getting on my nerves
* linux got hardware support for the last thing I was having issues with

Being able to tinker is nice, too, but not the reason I use linux.

SavageMindz · Post by **SavageMindz** » Thu Nov 13, 2003 2:05 am

Yeah I would defiantly say that it is better. But, not being a programmer, the things that make it better are some of the silliest things, like middle click pasting and having many different options on what desktop look I want this month.

I also like the control affored and the not being forced to do things in one certain way.

The final two clinchers though are ssh, so I can login to my box from work when I'm bored (probably shouldnt admit to that one

) and the stability so it doesnt crash while I'm out. I also got v.pissed off at the crashes when I used windows and from a stability point of view oss software is miles ahead. At least for an everyday home user like me.

Savage

RedBeard0531 · Post by **RedBeard0531** » Thu Nov 13, 2003 2:37 am

sorry to burst your respective bubbles, but OSS isnt always better. for example, show me one OSS word prosessor with grammer check. I know that it isnt perfect, but it picks up a lot more typos than just spell check. Also, M$ has a good deal of money to throw into research. There interfaces are quite good, IMO. Think of how handy the start menu and its derivatives are(not sure if that a MS thing but they sure made it popular) Granted my cutom KDE setup is nicer, but it took a lot of tweeking. For users that are unable to or just plain dont want to go through that, windows XP is a great product that i found to be quite stable. you have to consider that target audiance. Not everyone want to trick out thier box. A lot of peopl us the computer for two things: word prossesing and email.

To sum it up, I dont use Linux b/c it is better, I use it because it is more fun. Really gentoo has made the computer fun again, but i still think MS does some stuff better, allthough KDE is ketchen up. 3.2 will be a great release.

AlterEgo · Post by **AlterEgo** » Thu Nov 13, 2003 8:57 am

OSS is morally better. Period

Lovechild · Post by **Lovechild** » Thu Nov 13, 2003 9:50 am

No I use OSS because it's worse.... it's much worse... all this damn freedom and liberty...

Really people shouldn't have rights, they should be governed by the big friendly corporation which monitors everything you do on your computer and decide what you can do with it... Enforce their products using monopoly as the levrates rather than innovative design and ideas.

Stealing is good people... unless it's done to the big friendly corporation in which case it's a death sin...

Remember: "When you are coding open source you are coding for COMMUNISM !!!"

oh and btw. AlterEgo, I completely agree.

kwiqsilver · Post by **kwiqsilver** » Thu Nov 13, 2003 7:37 pm

RedBeard0531 wrote:for example, show me one OSS word prosessor with grammer check.

Show me a proprietary word processor with a functional grammar check!
Type "we on this board do not like crappy software" into MS word and grammar check it. It'll tell you that it should be "we on this board does not like crappy software". Their English parser sucks. I think it was written by the same guys who wrote their C++ parser.

shash · Post by **shash** » Fri Nov 14, 2003 7:12 am

I use free and open software because it's better - in many ways.

1) It gives me (as RMS would say) "Freedom" to do what I want with it.
2) It's usually better designed, not having to play to marketting's ideas.
3) It's fun

4) It's more cost-effective (I'd say cheaper, but I don't believe that).
5) It doesn't force c**p down my throat
6) It crashes less, and when it does, someone or the other's writing a patch. Even I could, had I the skill (hoping to get there!

)

So, of course it's better. And that's why I use it!

zhenlin · Post by **zhenlin** » Fri Nov 14, 2003 8:13 am

I use OSS software because it is conveniently available, and conforms to my philosophical beliefs.

On my Mac - I use closed source and open source software without much care for either - although it seems to be significantly more inconvenient to use UNIX-centric OSS software - which happens to be the majority of them.

I'm afraid practicality has compromised my philosophical integrity - but such is life...

stofferthebest · Post by **stofferthebest** » Fri Nov 14, 2003 11:03 am

why use Microsoft Windows 150$ plus Microsoft Office 800$. When you can get something mush better, and don't pay anything. gentoo linux with openoffice

greetings
stofferthebest

Zeitgeist · Post by **Zeitgeist** » Fri Nov 14, 2003 11:14 am

We need a decent open-source Office package that can do proper page numbers, because OpenOffice/Staroffice sure as hell can't.

HolyCoitus · Post by **HolyCoitus** » Fri Nov 14, 2003 11:36 am

With the way Microsoft PR works, I'd imagine the interviews went something like this:

Microsoft Rep: "So, why do you use open source software?"
Open Source User: "Because it's a better overall system and is free."
*Microsoft rep checks off because it's free*

zhenlin · Post by **zhenlin** » Fri Nov 14, 2003 11:58 am

Zeitgeist wrote:We need a decent open-source Office package that can do proper page numbers, because OpenOffice/Staroffice sure as hell can't.

Hmm, that's a revelation.

Try LaTeX and do some real typesetting. There's a thread on it somewhere on the forums.

If you're really into LaTeX - I recommend trying raw TeX... It should prove interesting...

kwiqsilver · Post by **kwiqsilver** » Fri Nov 14, 2003 6:25 pm

HolyCoitus wrote:With the way Microsoft PR works, I'd imagine the interviews went something like this:

Microsoft Rep: "So, why do you use open source software?"
Open Source User: "Because it's a better overall system and is free."
*Microsoft rep checks off because it's free*

Or they asked specific clients, knowing the results. Or they didn't ask anybody and just lied. I know...you're shocked...somebody has suggested an MS marketing drone might lie.

hanta · Post by **hanta** » Fri Nov 14, 2003 7:36 pm

Oh man

I voted no, since I didn't even bother to read the first message. I thought I was woting about the Open Sound System.

If I just hadn't been too lazy, I would have voted yes.

zeroK · Post by **zeroK** » Fri Nov 14, 2003 8:08 pm

I personally don't primary use oss because it's better or something but because in most cases I can just contact the author of a program and ask something if I have a problem with it. Being able to alter small things in a program is more a bonus to me. In most cases I hardly see a quality difference between oss and css. It's just that at least for me oss seems in most cases do things more the way I want it to do.

(I don't mention security/spying etc. aspects because they are quite obvious

)

Nickw · Post by **Nickw** » Fri Nov 14, 2003 8:51 pm

What you have to remember here, is not that it's better or worse (M$ do some good stuff), but really whether you wish to do what you want with YOUR computer.

If there wasn't an open source available (thank god for Richard Stallman and Linus + 1000's of others), we would be in very dire staits indeed.

I voted Yes, BTW. OSS is the best

for the World.

Nick

kwiqsilver · Post by **kwiqsilver** » Fri Nov 14, 2003 9:00 pm

zeroK and Nickw, it sounds like you two just defined "better". Better doesn't necessarily mean more features. It means less expensive, more stable, more secure, more Free (as in speech), more accessible authors, or a thousand other things, depending on your perspective.
Quite simply, if it does more of what you need and want your software to do, it's better.

aent · Post by **aent** » Fri Nov 14, 2003 11:42 pm

I'm just wondering, this question was asked to Microsoft employees to find out why they are using open source software, right?

Just making sure, because it sure seems that way based on the result...

Nickw · Post by **Nickw** » Sat Nov 15, 2003 12:08 am

aent wrote:I'm just wondering, this question was asked to Microsoft employees to find out why they are using open source software, right?

Just making sure, because it sure seems that way based on the result...

A question I have always pondered.

Why re-invent the wheel?

A proposition that could lead to closed source code having GPL in it.

I reckon this is one reason M$ fight tooth and nail to try to stop any of their stuff (read archive here) released as source - everything is always hidden.

And, alas, due to power and $$ they get away with it.

Nick

use OSS because it is better?

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use OSS because it is better?

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