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I am optimistic about it. I think the frustration with the situation will keep building, until it reaches a point when developers have had enough, and things st

I am optimistic about it. I think the frustration with the situation will keep building, until it reaches a point when developers have had enough, and things start rapidly improving again. I think the software world is large and complex enough for these cycles to take a while, but it's very much a case of the old saying: Bad software creates strong developers, strong developers create good software, good software creates weak developers, weak developers create bad software. This pattern comes in macro and micro cycles. A good example of the micro cycle can be observed in Windows releases, which generally have alternated between solid and weak starting with 3.1 (counting 95b and 98b as separate releases from 95a and 98a.) The macro cycle seems to take much longer, and we're just now starting to swing the other way. The beauty of the software world, as this article illustrates, is that it's feasible to freeze your environment at a good place and keep it there until the next solid software cycle. It's not possible with everything, but I've found that if I stick to either FOSS or emulated abandonware, I am in a pretty good place. I've abandoned Apple and Windows except for testing, and am very happy for it.

AussieWog93 6y ago
I don't think it's as simple as "use FOSS" if you want good UI performance, aesthetics and usability. If anything, I'd say most FOSS is worse than commercial software, especially compared to the native stuff on macOS.
- forgotmypw17 6y ago
  No, it's not so simple at all, but the benefit over commercial software is that I usually have choices, whereas with Windows and Apple, I've had the rug pulled out from under me with no recourse on multiple occasions. I am blessed in that I am relatively patient and technically minded, and also have relatively few and simple demands. With these two blessings working in my favor, I've been able to set up with relative ease a system which works for me and doesn't change itself around without me asking. As much as I've tried, I was not able to achieve the same experience without FOSS, and I'm forever grateful to all involved in bringing me this experience. It's not as polished, but it's also not as arrogant and disruptive, a worthwhile tradeoff for me.
fuzzfactor 6y ago
I agree that the cycles are multiple and interacting, but I do have a different outlook about the bad software. >Bad software creates strong developers In my opinion more so it allows a foothold for operators who should never get near development.

AussieWog93 6y ago

I don't think it's as simple as "use FOSS" if you want good UI performance, aesthetics and usability. If anything, I'd say most FOSS is worse than commercial software, especially compared to the native stuff on macOS.

forgotmypw17 6y ago
No, it's not so simple at all, but the benefit over commercial software is that I usually have choices, whereas with Windows and Apple, I've had the rug pulled out from under me with no recourse on multiple occasions. I am blessed in that I am relatively patient and technically minded, and also have relatively few and simple demands. With these two blessings working in my favor, I've been able to set up with relative ease a system which works for me and doesn't change itself around without me asking. As much as I've tried, I was not able to achieve the same experience without FOSS, and I'm forever grateful to all involved in bringing me this experience. It's not as polished, but it's also not as arrogant and disruptive, a worthwhile tradeoff for me.

fuzzfactor 6y ago

I agree that the cycles are multiple and interacting, but I do have a different outlook about the bad software. >Bad software creates strong developers In my opinion more so it allows a foothold for operators who should never get near development.