Quote:
Originally Posted by skreutzer
Quote:
Originally Posted by Doitsu
OTOH, by not providing Windows binaries programmers are also effectively preventing 90% of potential free software users from switching to free software, because if end users cannot test free software solutions under Windows, they're not very likely to replace their commercial software products with them.
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But the idea of educating people to switch largely failed (except for formats, which is a different issue), because people don't look at the ethical, legal and technological reasons for free software, but only for convenience. |
No, it largely failed, because most free software solutions still don't offer some features of commercial software products that end users depend on.
Sigil is one of the exceptions, because, IMHO, there's no commercial product with a similar feature set for advanced users.
Quote:
Originally Posted by skreutzer
Quote:
Originally Posted by Doitsu
While it does make sense to distribute software targeted at programmers and advanced users in source form, it doesn't make any sense at all to provide GUI-based software targeted at average end users in source form only. In doing so, software developers are basically discriminating exactly against those users who stand to benefit the most by switching to free software solutions, which also in a way flies in the face of most free software concepts, because, AFAIK, most definitions also include non-discrimination clauses.
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There are things called “automated build systems”, so there isn't any difficulty or “discrimination” at all. |
Yet none have been set up for Calligra Suite and Abiword, which is usually an indicator that building these software products is not a trivial matter, even for programmers.
Programmers who claim to provide free software, which actually only 10% of end users can use, are effectively discriminating against 90% of all other users. Saying that the other 90% are free to build the software themselves is akin to saying that millionaires are free to sleep under bridges.
It would be more accurate to define such software as "free software for Linux/Unix users and experienced programmers only."
If you want to provide a useful software product that helps both authors and ebook producers, you'll have to get off your high horse and drop your very unproductive holier-than-thou attitude, because it'll get you nowhere.