RE: [suse-linux-uk-schools] Re: StarOffice
-----Original Message----- From: Paul Munro [mailto:paul.munro1@btinternet.com] Yep- if that's the site pricing for StarOffice 6.0 then I probably know a couple of sites that would take that up immediately.
It is so stupid this concept that people have that free is bad - and I think the only thing that will quash it is case studies that prove that a technology that is free can be useful. I have been developing the enterprise.kde.org site and provided a mechanism for people to add business case studies of how they use KDE - I think I will extend this to have case studies database for schools and other educational facilities that use KDE. Eventually this stupid misconception about free == sh*t should be dust when people can see others making good use of free software. Non the less, this site licence for StarOffice is a good start for those who wish to begin a migration path to Linux. Each step is a step in the right direction. :) Jono
-----Original Message----- From: Paul Munro [mailto:paul.munro1@btinternet.com] Yep- if that's the site pricing for StarOffice 6.0 then I probably know a couple of sites that would take that up immediately.
It is so stupid this concept that people have that free is bad - and I think the only thing that will quash it is case studies that prove that a technology that is free can be useful.
Oddly most people manage to do things like send email and browse the web perfectly well. At the most basic level there simply wouldn't be any "Internet" without free software. Indeed I can't think of *any* form of communications system which uses (or used) "non free" technology. -- Mark Evans St. Peter's CofE High School Phone: +44 1392 204764 X109 Fax: +44 1392 204763
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 On Monday 11 Feb 2002 10:31 am, Jonathan Bacon wrote:
It is so stupid this concept that people have that free is bad - and I think the only thing that will quash it is case studies that prove that a technology that is free can be useful.
Eventually this stupid misconception about free == sh*t should be dust when people can see others making good use of free software.
I think that the main misconception about free == sh1t is when you look at a lot of freeware Windows programs, they are sh*t compared to the expensive commercial versions. Yes, there are a few decent freeware programs around, most look like they've been coded in VB by a bored zoo monkey. I *know* that there's the difference between free (gratis) and Free (libre) software, but to the average corporate mentality, they'll think about free as in freeware, rather than a Free commercial-quality (uckk...I hate that phrase) application. If that makes any sense :) Dan - -- dankolb@ox.compsoc.net - --I reserve the right to be completely wrong about any comments or opinions expressed; don't trust everything you read above-- -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: PGP 6.5.8 iQA/AwUBPGe6+JdDUnce+EgsEQLRRgCgwF8qtTNArLg7GJaRXoGcS3FH51YAmwQS Asg3wkanASoqIHOpddgk363N =wM8E -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----
On Mon, Feb 11, 2002 at 12:37:11PM +0000, Dan Kolb wrote:
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On Monday 11 Feb 2002 10:31 am, Jonathan Bacon wrote:
It is so stupid this concept that people have that free is bad - and I think the only thing that will quash it is case studies that prove that a technology that is free can be useful.
Eventually this stupid misconception about free == sh*t should be dust when people can see others making good use of free software.
I think that the main misconception about free == sh1t is when you look at a lot of freeware Windows programs, they are sh*t compared to the expensive commercial versions. Yes, there are a few decent freeware programs around, most look like they've been coded in VB by a bored zoo monkey.
I *know* that there's the difference between free (gratis) and Free (libre) software, but to the average corporate mentality, they'll think about free as in freeware, rather than a Free commercial-quality (uckk...I hate that phrase) application.
If that makes any sense :)
Yes it does make sense. The `free' Windows software available is generally truly horrid and when I originally started using Linux I was fairly resigned to the `fact' that it would be horrid too. But then I didn't realise at the time that really it had been evolving since the end of the 60's if not before. The problem with the `free' Windows software is that it doesn't come from a culture where people would freely distribute their code, unlike unix with it's largely academic roots. Hence, it's tendency to be coded by one clueless monkey. There are a few notable exceptions but they seem to be ported unix apps or stuff that works with unix eg. putty. So you're right, `free' unix software is equated in peoples minds with `free' Windows software whereas the two are as different as chalk & cheese. -- Frank *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* Boroughbridge. Tel: 01423 323019 --------- PGP keyID: 0xC0B341A3 *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* http://www.esperance-linux.co.uk/ Succumb to natural tendencies. Be hateful and boring.
participants (4)
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'Frank Shute' -
Dan Kolb -
Jonathan Bacon -
Mark Evans