4 ms·

Free software is more important than ever

by lta 1y ago

pikuseru 1y ago
Free healthcare as well
- worldsayshi 1y ago
  As a citizen of a country with free healthcare, Sweden, I wonder how we deal with these issues. We dont exactly have a stellar record when it comes to software procurement in the health sector.
  - noir_lord 1y ago
    Neither do we in the UK. The most expensive IT failure in our governments history was healthcare related. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NHS_Connecting_for_Health https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NHS_Connecting_for_Health
    - worldsayshi 11mo ago
      That sounds eerily familiar to what happened in Sweden.
  - BurningFrog 1y ago
    Swedish healthcare is pretty cheap, but not free. It's typically $10-$50 per visit. Maxes out at $130 per year. This probably weeds out a lot of frivolous visits and keeps the system healthy.
tjpnz 1y ago
As is regulation of medical devices.
devinprater 1y ago
Accessibility of free software is more important than ever.
- pxc 1y ago
  The freedom of users of accessibility software is more important than ever. Blind people in my family rely on proprietary software for dealing with visual impairments. It's painful and offensive how exploitative these tools often are. The thought of installing something by a similar company into one's body is frankly dystopian.
  - jeroenhd 1y ago
    The problem right now is that there's a financial incentive for software to remain proprietary. As a user, you get to pick between "no help" or "proprietary help". I would gladly pay big money for proprietary tools if it means regaining some of my sight until libre options exist. Looking at the rather sorry state of accessibility on libre software, I'll be dead and buried before the first digital eyeball with free software comes out.
    - throwway120385 11mo ago
      In the US you'd have to get any implanted solution past the FDA, which is going to require a decent amount of money and probably a QA engineer and someone responsible for reading the regulatory documents and articulating their requirements for the team and the QA engineer.

Free software is more important than ever

by lta 1y ago

Free software is more important than ever

pikuseru 1y ago

Free healthcare as well

worldsayshi 1y ago
As a citizen of a country with free healthcare, Sweden, I wonder how we deal with these issues. We dont exactly have a stellar record when it comes to software procurement in the health sector.
- noir_lord 1y ago
  Neither do we in the UK. The most expensive IT failure in our governments history was healthcare related. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NHS_Connecting_for_Health https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NHS_Connecting_for_Health
  - worldsayshi 11mo ago
    That sounds eerily familiar to what happened in Sweden.
- BurningFrog 1y ago
  Swedish healthcare is pretty cheap, but not free. It's typically $10-$50 per visit. Maxes out at $130 per year. This probably weeds out a lot of frivolous visits and keeps the system healthy.

tjpnz 1y ago

As is regulation of medical devices.

devinprater 1y ago

Accessibility of free software is more important than ever.

pxc 1y ago
The freedom of users of accessibility software is more important than ever. Blind people in my family rely on proprietary software for dealing with visual impairments. It's painful and offensive how exploitative these tools often are. The thought of installing something by a similar company into one's body is frankly dystopian.
- jeroenhd 1y ago
  The problem right now is that there's a financial incentive for software to remain proprietary. As a user, you get to pick between "no help" or "proprietary help". I would gladly pay big money for proprietary tools if it means regaining some of my sight until libre options exist. Looking at the rather sorry state of accessibility on libre software, I'll be dead and buried before the first digital eyeball with free software comes out.
  - throwway120385 11mo ago
    In the US you'd have to get any implanted solution past the FDA, which is going to require a decent amount of money and probably a QA engineer and someone responsible for reading the regulatory documents and articulating their requirements for the team and the QA engineer.