Does open source make life easy??????

Tue Nov 13 15:56:42 UTC 2007

Sibongile,
>From my experience over the last few years I would have to kindly disagree
with most of your post.  And I will go paragraph to paragraph.

Open Source is still good to give older machines a new lease on life.  There
are many distributions out there and among them there are subs that are
designed to run on older hardware.  Ubuntu is a prime example of that.  Just
look at the different flavors within the Ubuntu family.  Let alone what can
be done with old hardware running from and Edubuntu Server hosting LTSP
images.

People run into problems everyday, for many different reasons.  Could be
hardware error, user error, or coding error.  The source is open so no
matter what the error is there is a pretty good chance that you will have to
tools to fix the problem.  As for compatibility with MS.  I have yet to have
a problem with anything general with a MS product.  Everyday office tasks
and communications have yet to be compromised.  OpenOffice.org and MS Office
problem seems to be a user error rather than a Open Source problem.  MS
Office is proprietary, if you want to be able to send a colleague a document
to open  in MS Office then you need to save it as a .doc file.  Which you
can set as a default setting.

You think Open Source Software is the only one that was a thorn in one's
flesh?  Everyone is more proficient  with what they have learned with.  And
during that learning time there was many times that there was a  thorn in
someone's  flesh just cause they had to learn what they wanted to do.  There
is a little bit of a learning curve on most things but I spend more of my
time supporting MS products.  If it wasn't for MS I would have trouble
putting food on the table.  Very rarely do any of my clients that are
running Open Source System have problems.  Majority of the time those
clients just want more open source solutions brought into their
infrastructure.

Help and Open Source.  I really don't know where or how you are getting this
feeling.  The help is only a few clicks away to maybe a phone call away.
Documentation and howto's are all over the internet.  There are also many IT
providers that support Open Source Systems.  As far as coding, the internet
is full of sites to teach you to program so that you can work with the
source code that you want to change.

Open Source developers are just like you and I, we have different tastes and
impressions on how things should work and look, let alone just the
differences in opinions.  With that can you really call that a competition?
I'm sorry but I don't see the problem here.  I find what suits me best and
that is what I enjoy.  Why would I buy a Volvo Sedan when what I like and
needs is a Ford Truck.  The Distributions are basically the same.

Glad to hear that the fact you are frustrated you still manage to stay in
love with Open Source Software.  The frustrations will subside in time.

You ask how all this has made my life easier.  Instead of easier let me
change that to better since the easy way rarely gets you anywhere in the
end.

Me personally:
Open Source Software has filled a niche in me where I enjoy learning more
and not getting bored with things.
My Family:
Open Source Software has given them the tools to for a better education.  It
has also given them things to waste time with but learn and think at the
same time.  Not even going to cover the cost savings on the monetary side of
this.
My Business:
Open Source Solutions have give me the tools needed to compete with larger
companies.  It has also given me systems that I don't have to support like I
do my clients.  I know that when I buy a system that is all that system is
going to cost me.  There are no hidden costs.  Example - Anti-virus
subscriptions, productivity software applications, and upgrades.
My Clients:
Those that have brought in Open Source Solutions have quickly seen that
there is a real cost savings.  Everyone of them are researching if it is
possible for them to go completely with Open Source Solutions.  They aren't
charged for the Software but they are asked to donate to the project of the
solution that they use.  This has seemed to work for them the best and they
do enjoy donating to the different projects.  Donations seem easier to pay
than an invoice.

Sincerely,
Joe Gedeon

On Nov 13, 2007 5:47 AM, CET <cet at africaonline.co.sz> wrote:

> Dear all
>
>
>
> When I first heard about open source and the explanation given I thought
> that was the way to go. We were told open source is good for refurbished
> computers, it enhance the performance of older machines. But if you look
> at
> the way new versions come out then you see that new computers should be
> used
> now. Then what is the difference between Microsoft and open source? In
> both
> software, you need better machines or even the top of the range machines.
>
>
>
> Since I joined this list I read people saying the many different problems
> they encounter when trying to do something in open source and I am a
> victim
> of that. The lack of compatibility with Microsoft is the most serious
> challenge, which I plead with the developers to do something about it. For
> example if you write a document in Open Office you can't open it in Ms
> Word.
> That on its own does not encourage anyone to continue using open source.
>
>
>
> In my own thinking I would expect open source to be friendlier to all both
> novice and gurus. As it is right now open source is a thorn in the flesh
> and
> it frustrates, it stresses and it does all the sorts of negative things
> that
> you can think of.
>
>  If you need help there is nowhere you can get it, you search in the
> internet for help but nothing, nothing. You can spend the whole day and
> tomorrow searching but you can't find anything. Someone was trying to help
> me, I was surprised that it was all about knowing the source codes, but
> where do you get a programming manual to learn the source codes?
>
>
>
> Another thing for concern is the numerous types of Linux, are the
> developers
> competing among themselves? These different Linux are confusing to the
> users
> or people who want to get into Linux.  How do you choose the right one?
> You
> end up spending money buying CDs that don't help at the end.
>
>
>
> I am not writing may be because I hate open source, I love it, in fact I
> want to put it in all the schools in my country, in my laptop I am using
> open office its only that I want to voice my suffering.
>
>
>
> I wish somebody could correct me and tell me that open source makes life
> easy.
>
>
>
>
>
> Cheers
>
>
>
>
>
> Sibongile Kunene
>
> cet at africaonline.co.sz
>
>
>
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