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I honestly can't think of one proprietray program I've paid for (and I have bought some expensive software) that exceeds the quality or reliability of the free,

I honestly can't think of one proprietray program I've paid for (and I have bought some expensive software) that exceeds the quality or reliability of the free, open source programs I use. Sometimes I feel like I've been duped by every vendor I've paid for software. It sounds terrible to say that, but honestly the open source stuff just blows the commercial stuff away. Alas, open source is just not possible for all software needs; it only covers so much.

daliusd 14y ago
I know one you have paid for: OS. If it is Windows or Mac OS X, you have paid for it. If it is Linux you have either paid for it with your time spent for configuring it or by buying more expensive hardware that just work with Linux. If your time is cheap that's OK. If you got lucky with configuration - many people don't.
- buro9 14y ago
  I stopped worrying about the OS a long time ago. I happened to have purchased Lenovo laptops because I like the keyboards and generally believe that the reason Apple laptops are better than the majority of Windows laptops is because people are willing to spend more on quality hardware. I prefer the industrial design of Richard Sapper to Jonathan Ives so it was a no-brainer. After running Windows for a while and getting bored of using KiTTY for SSH I switched to Linux Mint. I honestly have configured nothing. It all just worked, and installation was less than 10 minutes end-to-end. I know you will say I got lucky, or that I spent more money... but luck didn't come into it and I spent not a penny more than I did for the Windows machine and good industrial design. If you just use the system, it just works. I've had zero pain in my personal computing for a long time now. I don't understand the "Linux costs you time" mantra.
  - chii 14y ago
    > I don't understand the "Linux costs you time" mantra. its because this mantra is FUD that opponants of GNU/linux often use to discredit it. If you spoke to a businessman who doesn't know his microsoft from his unixes, he might be veryeasily convinced that something which would've costed thousands could've been had for free must have some sort of catch. Because physical goods that you can get for free always has some sort of catch (whether its just for adverts, or whether the "free" month of trials automatically becomes a paid month the 2nd its over etc). Most people aren't equpped to deal with software, simply because its so new and recent, and the brain is evolved to deal with the physical and the now.
    - udpheaders 14y ago
      Like when software used to come in a box. That packaging was like some sort of tether to the world of physical goods. You might be going a little strong on the FUD thing though. I think many businesses are tapping into open source and what can be built with it, especially your beloved Linux kernel. Even going so far as companies like Wal-Mart opening an office in Silicon Valley and launching startups. Whether this is all good or bad I can't yet tell. Just as our inclinations are toward physical goods that come in attractive packaging, we have inclinations to try to make all aspects of a business proprietary and confidential with the belief it gives a competitive advantage. It just feels strange to try to sell something that was never meant ot be commercial and price it high in order to create some illusion in the mind of a purchaser. But maybe that's just me.
    - daliusd 14y ago
      Well, I'm big GNU/Linux proponent but I will never ever use on Linux on my laptop or desktop unless it will support Linux out-of-the-box. I just got fed-up after 14 years of trying to do that. There are machines that work really well with Linux (e.g. Thinkpads) but a lot of cheaper machines is royal pain in the ass.
      - udpheaders 14y ago
        This is a frustrating problem. Not only with Linux (which I'd argue has some of the best support of any open src OS). The only solution I've come up with is to steer away from hardware that is brand new on the market. Buy stuff that is a few years old. With an open source OS, it's still going to as fast (probably faster, and certainly more agile) than new hardware coming fresh off the assembly line loaded down with the latest crapware OS.
  - daliusd 14y ago
    I don't worry about OS as well. I have at least 14 years experience with Linux desktop, a little bit more with Windows and 2 years with OS X. I simply got fed up with Linux Desktop. I'm from Eastern Europe therefore I'm person who looks for cheaper machines usually. Cheaper machines (e.g. not Thinkpads) don't work properly with Linux. E.g. check out GMA500 thread in Ubuntu forums.
- udpheaders 14y ago
  But I'm not using any of those. (I have used all of them though [OSX, Windows, Linux] so I know what they're like.) Nice try. :) As I said I feel terrible saying this about proprietary software. I've worked for companies that sell commercial software. But I'm just being honest. The open source stuff is the best I've used.
- RobAley 14y ago
  In the past 3-4 years, I've never spent more time installing and configuring Linux (Ubuntu) on my PCs than I have doing the same with Windows (even where Windows came pre-installed). And I spend more time trouble-shooting Windows post-install than I do Linux. May be I've been lucky.
  - deleted 14y ago
    [deleted]

daliusd 14y ago

I know one you have paid for: OS. If it is Windows or Mac OS X, you have paid for it. If it is Linux you have either paid for it with your time spent for configuring it or by buying more expensive hardware that just work with Linux. If your time is cheap that's OK. If you got lucky with configuration - many people don't.

buro9 14y ago
I stopped worrying about the OS a long time ago. I happened to have purchased Lenovo laptops because I like the keyboards and generally believe that the reason Apple laptops are better than the majority of Windows laptops is because people are willing to spend more on quality hardware. I prefer the industrial design of Richard Sapper to Jonathan Ives so it was a no-brainer. After running Windows for a while and getting bored of using KiTTY for SSH I switched to Linux Mint. I honestly have configured nothing. It all just worked, and installation was less than 10 minutes end-to-end. I know you will say I got lucky, or that I spent more money... but luck didn't come into it and I spent not a penny more than I did for the Windows machine and good industrial design. If you just use the system, it just works. I've had zero pain in my personal computing for a long time now. I don't understand the "Linux costs you time" mantra.
- chii 14y ago
  > I don't understand the "Linux costs you time" mantra. its because this mantra is FUD that opponants of GNU/linux often use to discredit it. If you spoke to a businessman who doesn't know his microsoft from his unixes, he might be veryeasily convinced that something which would've costed thousands could've been had for free must have some sort of catch. Because physical goods that you can get for free always has some sort of catch (whether its just for adverts, or whether the "free" month of trials automatically becomes a paid month the 2nd its over etc). Most people aren't equpped to deal with software, simply because its so new and recent, and the brain is evolved to deal with the physical and the now.
  - udpheaders 14y ago
    Like when software used to come in a box. That packaging was like some sort of tether to the world of physical goods. You might be going a little strong on the FUD thing though. I think many businesses are tapping into open source and what can be built with it, especially your beloved Linux kernel. Even going so far as companies like Wal-Mart opening an office in Silicon Valley and launching startups. Whether this is all good or bad I can't yet tell. Just as our inclinations are toward physical goods that come in attractive packaging, we have inclinations to try to make all aspects of a business proprietary and confidential with the belief it gives a competitive advantage. It just feels strange to try to sell something that was never meant ot be commercial and price it high in order to create some illusion in the mind of a purchaser. But maybe that's just me.
  - daliusd 14y ago
    Well, I'm big GNU/Linux proponent but I will never ever use on Linux on my laptop or desktop unless it will support Linux out-of-the-box. I just got fed-up after 14 years of trying to do that. There are machines that work really well with Linux (e.g. Thinkpads) but a lot of cheaper machines is royal pain in the ass.
    - udpheaders 14y ago
      This is a frustrating problem. Not only with Linux (which I'd argue has some of the best support of any open src OS). The only solution I've come up with is to steer away from hardware that is brand new on the market. Buy stuff that is a few years old. With an open source OS, it's still going to as fast (probably faster, and certainly more agile) than new hardware coming fresh off the assembly line loaded down with the latest crapware OS.
- daliusd 14y ago
  I don't worry about OS as well. I have at least 14 years experience with Linux desktop, a little bit more with Windows and 2 years with OS X. I simply got fed up with Linux Desktop. I'm from Eastern Europe therefore I'm person who looks for cheaper machines usually. Cheaper machines (e.g. not Thinkpads) don't work properly with Linux. E.g. check out GMA500 thread in Ubuntu forums.
udpheaders 14y ago
But I'm not using any of those. (I have used all of them though [OSX, Windows, Linux] so I know what they're like.) Nice try. :) As I said I feel terrible saying this about proprietary software. I've worked for companies that sell commercial software. But I'm just being honest. The open source stuff is the best I've used.
RobAley 14y ago
In the past 3-4 years, I've never spent more time installing and configuring Linux (Ubuntu) on my PCs than I have doing the same with Windows (even where Windows came pre-installed). And I spend more time trouble-shooting Windows post-install than I do Linux. May be I've been lucky.
- deleted 14y ago
  [deleted]