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> We expect faster improvements by using open source software. As a long-time consumer and contributor to open-source, I would caution one to temper their expe

> We expect faster improvements by using open source software. As a long-time consumer and contributor to open-source, I would caution one to temper their expectations when it comes to velocity. Glaring problems (like CVEs) get immediate attention, but features are another story - remember that open-source projects are a democracy and the loudest guy in the room often gets their way...

PyroLagus 7y ago
If you're not paying for it, sure. But even in open source, money talks.
deleted 7y ago
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opencl 7y ago
Feature velocity is all over the place in open source. GIMP is glacial. Blender is pretty good. Just a few weeks ago in 2.80 they added: totally revamped UI, brand new realtime renderer, hugely improved grease pencil, etc etc. And if you really want a specific feature you can hire someone to write it for you and upstream it.
frankharv 7y ago
Yes but think of this. With Blender at least they can make the modifications themselves and use it while waiting for it to be up-streamed. They could even keep the work in-house. On the other hand Autodesk has no open source. So this studio would have to make a request to Autodesk to include this feature. Then wait for Autodesk to make the change and then wait for a version to include this change. With Blender they can create their own fork and Blender will merge their work if they like the code. One business model they wait for Autodesk and the other they make their own modifications to Blender. I would conclude they are on the right path. With all the money they save on licensing fees they can hire developers. No more dongles.
jrockway 7y ago
I don't think anyone switches from proprietary to OSS with the expectation that asking for features will cause the new features to come into existence. Rather, they expect to hire software engineers to write those features, which is not possible with proprietary software and is merely "very difficult" with OSS.
- zaphar 7y ago
  Indeed, animation and special events shops are along the most likely to do so. They often create custom add-ons for the commercial software they use so they have the in house skillsets already for this in many cases.
magicalhippo 7y ago
Blender has a solid history of having paid development. If they need a feature really bad, they can pay someone to implement it. This is not an option when using closed-sourced applications. Instead of paying X dollars per year in licensing costs, you can spend that money on getting features you really need. Check out https://www.blender.org/press/industry-support-for-blender/ https://www.blender.org/press/industry-support-for-blender/ Several companies have paid devs working on specific areas of the program that they want improvements in.

PyroLagus 7y ago

If you're not paying for it, sure. But even in open source, money talks.

deleted 7y ago

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opencl 7y ago

Feature velocity is all over the place in open source. GIMP is glacial. Blender is pretty good. Just a few weeks ago in 2.80 they added: totally revamped UI, brand new realtime renderer, hugely improved grease pencil, etc etc. And if you really want a specific feature you can hire someone to write it for you and upstream it.

frankharv 7y ago

Yes but think of this. With Blender at least they can make the modifications themselves and use it while waiting for it to be up-streamed. They could even keep the work in-house. On the other hand Autodesk has no open source. So this studio would have to make a request to Autodesk to include this feature. Then wait for Autodesk to make the change and then wait for a version to include this change. With Blender they can create their own fork and Blender will merge their work if they like the code. One business model they wait for Autodesk and the other they make their own modifications to Blender. I would conclude they are on the right path. With all the money they save on licensing fees they can hire developers. No more dongles.

jrockway 7y ago

I don't think anyone switches from proprietary to OSS with the expectation that asking for features will cause the new features to come into existence. Rather, they expect to hire software engineers to write those features, which is not possible with proprietary software and is merely "very difficult" with OSS.

zaphar 7y ago
Indeed, animation and special events shops are along the most likely to do so. They often create custom add-ons for the commercial software they use so they have the in house skillsets already for this in many cases.

magicalhippo 7y ago

Blender has a solid history of having paid development. If they need a feature really bad, they can pay someone to implement it. This is not an option when using closed-sourced applications. Instead of paying X dollars per year in licensing costs, you can spend that money on getting features you really need. Check out https://www.blender.org/press/industry-support-for-blender/ https://www.blender.org/press/industry-support-for-blender/ Several companies have paid devs working on specific areas of the program that they want improvements in.