That great combination that can create something great (good or bad) or prevent the development of something great (good or bad).
This little phrase that I just invented is the result of a small reflection of mine, the product of browsing different websites, mostly dedicated to Linux o GNU / Linux (as the reader prefers), and to browse the application repository of my main distribution.
I kept thinking about the importance and influence of the community on free software.
You can create something big (good or bad).
I do not know bad software that has come out of the community, I don't know why I have put the word "bad" in the phrase; As for good software, if I don't say that they are all good, I will be the bad one (but not all have the same quality).
It is amazing what the community can do supporting free software or projects. It is enough for me to look at my RSS reader, every day it receives news; new projects, new versions, great improvements and other things. Reading all that makes one happy to be part of this great community.
But not everything ends well
Avoid developing something big (good or bad)
It is good to avoid the development of something great and bad, but if what is created is good, avoiding its development is bad. Why would anyone prevent something good from developing?
I have been looking for applications of different kinds in the repository of my distro (PDF readers, text editors, audio and / or video players, etc.) and among those searches I usually find some (sometimes quite a few) with a nice description that They look the best, but when I go to the author's website I find that it is no longer in development or it has not been a new version for a long time.
Someone does not really prevent something from being developed, rather they do not contribute, they do not give the necessary motivation (donation, feedback, thanks, etc.) to the developer to continue with their work and that is where a good project dies.
After reflecting on this, when I see a project being born on the one hand I feel joy and uncertainty on the other. This short post ends here, but not without first thanking the creators and maintainers of this blog for the great work done. Never be discouraged. 😉
What distro is that? The icons are really nice * - *, I guess it's part of the KDE theme?
The distro is Kubuntu.
Since I bought a Macbook Air I was fascinated and I am not going to return to Linux.
I was also a free software taliban And I liked to defend it to the death in the forums and always attacked Apple. But over the years I realized that I spent a lot of my time worrying about stupid things like licenses, software ethics and many tricks, until one day I said: «software is only a tool that is to be used, it is not a religion".
I do not understand. If you don't plan to go back to Linux… what the hell are you doing on this site ???
And if you say that, and I quote: "the software is only a tool that is to be used, it is not a religion" and you are here, I can assume that what you came here is to proselytize in favor of apple. With which you contradict yourself from the start.
I recommend you, since you will never return to Linux, that you visit apple sites and enjoy your apple world. Here we are those who enjoy Linux and all so happy.
Greetings.
PS: Android inside carries a Linux kernel, in case you didn't know. You should buy an iphone or ipad and not use an Android.
Since I bought a Chinese mini-netbook, I have been fascinated by Debian and its support for ARM architectures and I am not going to return to Windows (neither can I ...).
I was also a taliban of the ultimate widows and the suricata xp and I liked to defend him to the death in the forums and he always attacked against Linux. But over the years I realized that I spent a lot of my time worrying about stupid things like the interface skins and how the icons look, the installation from the software pointer, looking for crack and many trifles like the last tune-up, until one day I said: "software is only a tool that is to be used, it is not a religion."
I take my hat off to the pupil.
Thanks for your comment!!! XD
Well, I bought a MacBook Air and I am fed up with that computer, it crashes continuously even though it has already gone through the technical service, very friendly when there are no problems but then they back down like everyone else.
Apple is the biggest scam there is, I turn to clones and my faithful little penguin.
Free software is like that. When there is no free time or money involved, it is very difficult to continue with a project. When I read the title of the post, I thought that I was going to deal with something else which is the one that I expose below and that I would like you to give your opinion. What do you think of the freedom that exists of the software created under a license let's say GPL v3, in which (among many things) one can do whatever he wants with the code as long as what he does is free? If they force me to decide how I want my code to be used, where I use code from another person who decided to make it "free", isn't that a counterexample of freedom? I hope I don't make you dizzy. Regards.
The GPL is not the only free license they use, many others use the MIT, BSD license and many others that give them a lot of freedom about what to do with the code on which the software is based.
I understand, and I am aware. But this approach (mine, not yours) made me think that freedom is constrained by freedom itself. Something that can be incompatible in the minds of many.
It really is the difference between liberty and debauchery. As the saying goes "the freedom of one ends where the other begins"
And I thought that the most beautiful thing about freedom is "debauchery" XD
You are confused: what the GPL says is that any modification to the software code, even for a closed application, must be released. For example, the Nintendo 3DS web browser is closed, but on its website you can download the source code of the libraries used and that were modified (Webkit)
It is precisely the only freedom that it sacrifices, in order to guarantee the freedom of that software in the future. In licenses like MIT or BSD, I can simply take the code, change the name and two other things, create closed software and sell it as I please. Also, any further development would be left to me alone, and the community that originally developed this software would be excluded from any improvement.
So it is a small sacrifice of freedom that is well worth it.
In an ideal world where there are no proprietary licenses, it might be easier to publicize the code without anyone having bad intentions to appropriate it.
There is actually a misconception:
The GPL is a license that talks about the freedom of software, not the freedom to "decide" or "do what I want."
Your wish is a counterexample:
IF I program an application and I want it to be free, why would someone have the right to appropriate it and make it private?
I join, and I tell you that I am one of this crowd that I am proud to be part of.
The amount of ideas, projects and others that are brought to each of us ... everything we have and everything we 'owe' to the community, thanks to each of those people who had an idea, and decided to make it free and share it with all the rest without necessarily something in return.
It's great, let's value, take part and help each other as much as possible; this is big! 😉
To tell the truth, it happened to me to get the XMMS2 version for Windows, but since it had been discontinued, there was nothing to do anymore. Good thing they forked it and continued it with Audacious.
On the other hand, what surprises me is that Debian has not updated the Software Center that in the SID branch is still in version 5, when the most recent version is in version 6 and the changes that have been made are related according to the Ubuntu release version.
Anyway, I just hope that he Software Center put it back in Debian Jessie, because if it isn't, then it would be very difficult for ubunters to want to try Debian.
The Free Software community can do amazing things. Starting from GNU / Linux, traveling through BSD and reaching smaller communities like OpenIndiana or Haiku we can find people who are passionate about computing, collaborating to meet great and smart goals.
When I got to the community I found it fascinating. Unfortunately the little economic support, some incompatibilities in certain hardware, divisions and differences between users and developers, lack of programs and commercial projects on the platform have made it continue to lag somewhat behind more fruitful projects in the field of proprietary software.
I believe that the community should reach more common ground, organize effective financing and thus become more independent from outside and indifferent companies.
Hi, since I tried Linux, I do not want to know anything about Mac or of course Windows.
I use Linux to work and I find it great to have a complete system and my experience with free programs is good enough to keep up with other professionals using other paid programs.
Greetings and congratulations to all those who help make this dream come true
The proprietary software has its own problems: Google Reader, used by many users and with active development, one day the bosses of Google say that ending with RSS will earn more money and goodbye.
That does not remove the drawbacks of free software, but we also do not believe that the problem of private software is only that it is worth money and maybe it neglects security, it is more than that.
It is difficult to sustain a project when one does not make a living from it. Dedication time is essential so that something can be maintained and function properly, the reality is that a person who has a job becomes too complicated.
We must recognize that what the community does for the creation of applications is impressive and more, we must value that and try in some way to help as much as possible.
PS: It is my first comment, I congratulate the people of this blog that this barbarian. I have been using Linux Mint for three months, so many years of my life with Windows, and I cannot believe the desktop I achieve and the speed with which this operating system works, I feel that I got to know GNU / Linux late.
Greetings.
I just find it interesting to share this short TEDx talk with you. Daniela Busaniche raises the question, whose are your ideas? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-0tEvw1i4s If you can take 20 minutes to see it, I recommend it ...
It is true that software is a tool, but free software is a social, philosophical and ethical movement. It is not just a tool.
Worrying about licenses is not stupid. Not caring about them is. A license is a contract and as such one must abide by it. In Latin America we are used to the fact that this is not quite the case, that is why we are used to not paying for these licenses and to looking for alternative means to use these software. Later we usually justify ourselves with the fact that companies already earn enough or that the software is not worth that or that because of its flaws it is the best one can do ...
Let's not be naive either, proprietary software has many solutions that are light years away from their free software counterparts (in those cases there is a solution). But the reality is that when you end up falling for these solutions, you choose that freedom that you have, being a prisoner of the company that develops that product.
If one prefers to have a proprietary solution, go ahead with it! But then don't say we didn't warn you ... 😛
If you prefer to have a free solution, go ahead with it! But then don't say we didn't warn you ... 😉
I did not see the video (I leave it a 'must'). But I really liked the comment.
I think it's perfect that you ask yourself these questions.
I think that many of those who complain about the X or Y project should meditate a little on what you mention.
Search for the relationship between the SL and the community, to erase those ideas that projects die, or that someone blocks such a thing.
The grace of free licenses is that they prevent precisely that.
We must put aside the ideas of "developer obligation" and remember that being a free project is community and that the community is you and we are.