From:	Lehlan Decker <decker@****.FSU.EDU>
Subject:	Re: "Free" Software (was: Euro question) [semi-OT]
Date:	Fri, 1 May 1998 15:22:24 -0500

>
> Lehlan Decker wrote:
> >>
> >Guys the problem also is that a free product, doesn't have the
> >same investments behind it, because there's little to no money
>
> I dunno about that - there are several companies making plenty of
> money off of Linux. Caldera and Red Hat to name two obvious ones.
>
True. But look at the problems Microsoft caused Caldera.
And when you compare volume of sales? Linux has come a long way, but
its fighting an uphill battle. Besides have you seen a linux commercial
on TV yet. :)

> >being made. I love linux (and no my x-windows, doesn't look like Win95:))
> >but I still have to have a copy of Win95 for games, and MS Office.
>
> You should try grabbing a copy of StarOffice (well, if you've got
> a decently fast connection). It's got the full suite (word processor,
> spreadsheet, database etc) all bundled into an easy-to-install
> package. The best part is that it's free for Linux users. :-)
>
> Of course, I use HTML for all my word processing needs (vi
> forever! :-), so I haven't used the word processor much. I have used
> the spreadsheet to draw up graphs of dice combos though... :-)
>
StarOffice is nice. But how does it compare to Office 97?
(I haven't messed with it in a long while, something for me to mess
with in my free time :)).
Vi ick! Give me emacs any day. :)

> >Linux has come a long way (although their NFS support still needs some
> >work), but its not the same. I haven't seen anyone writing huge mass
> >market games for it, etc. Free software is wonderful, and it provides
>
> Well, apart from Doom, Quake, Quake II, Abuse and Golgotha. Yeah,
> it's pretty much all id guys, but the situation's improving.
>
True. Id is ahead of their time. But once again, look at the sheer
number of companies. Do you think Id makes more money off their DOS
based version or their linux versions?


> >a challenge to the megas, but it would most likely always be seen
> >in the hands of the "intellectuals" who liked to fiddle with their
> >OS, didn't mind things breaking, or writing it themselves. The masses
> >want somebody to call when it breaks, and to be able to wonder
> >down the store and by their programs. I don't see this changing even
> >by 2050. This is all IMHO of course.
>
> No, they don't want somebody to *call*, they want somebody to *blame*
> when they have to explain to their boss why something broke/isn't
> on schedule.
>

Same difference. Besides why else do people actually buy software vs
"stealing" it? So they can call the company complain, and ask questions.

I suppose this Topic is wondering fairly far. But I guess you have
to see the parallels today, if your going to draw the conclusions
forward to 2050. I see the crash, and the resultant "standards" as FASA's
way of leveling the playing field, and leaving out the tech details.
It may or may not have a basis in reality. This is all IMHO of course.

--
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Lehlan Decker 644-4534 Systems Development
decker@****.fsu.edu http://www.scri.fsu.edu/~decker
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The universe doesn't have laws, it has habits. And habits can be broken.