[TriLUG] MacOS X and free software

[Thomas C. Meggs]

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Hi John,

~  I think that the bottom line is that people are going to do what they
are going to do. Over all, I would suspect it may actually be better for
free software in general:

- - The underlying system is based off of Unix, which will over all
increase Unix literacy since a lot of people who wouldn't have touched
Unix otherwise will have a chance to or be forced to. Unix is definitely
the home of free software at present.
- - Free software enhancements which are completed on the Mac can be
integrated back into the source tree for people who use the software on
other systems.

~  The biggest problem with free software right now is the lack of
addicting entertainment software which appeals to the masses at large
and also the lack of good, solid "business" productivity applications.
This is why I have not only a computer running Linux, but also a
computer running Windows. (And don't worry, on my Windows computer I use
Mozilla Mail and only plain text wrapped at 72 characters is allowed to
leave it. :)
~  This is why Mac OS X shines for the Unixy people that like it. They
have a system which is Unix at its core, that you can actually go in and
tinker with. You have a myriad of free software thats out there that you
can download and build with minimal trouble. And above and beyond this,
you can walk down to Electronics Boutique on your lunch break and buy a
game and run it at home. And if someone emails you an excel file you
know you'll have no problems reading it.
~  The fact of the matter is the world doesn't change over night.
Granted, I love free software, and I wish everything used open
standards. But a lot of the ideologies which come along with Free
Software are incompatible to the core of our present day society,
weather we wish that they were or not.
~  This is not to say that I don't think they are good ideologies, and
that they shouldn't be promoted. Personally I think the ideas behind GNU
and the GPL is more in line with what the founding fathers of the USA
had in mind then our present state of national/global affairs. Our
governmental system was supposed to be improved upon over time and
protect itself, but needless to say instead its just gotten bought out
time and time again.
~  There are a lot of people who argue that nothing short of being
extreme gets you anywhere. I don't think thats right. I think extremists
are unfortunately too often labeled and their ideas are readily written
off, even if they have a lot of good things to say. But maybe on the
other hand, it's just that not enough people are extreme about their
feeling and beliefs to actually put force behind their ideas. Apathy is
the nature of the day.

Just my two flattened pennys. :)

Regards,
Tom

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$Id: .sig,v 1.17 2002/08/21 13:12:32 tom Exp $

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"It was funny with coffee.  Sometimes it did nothing for
him, and actually made him weak. But sometimes it really
made him feel like God."
	- from "Miguel", short story by Dan Bern


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