Quote:
Originally Posted by ButterCookie
I'll have to start a list for them  I use GIMP, and that's why I hate it. I did have photoshop but when I reset my laptop (Because windows is so pants, you'll be pleased to know  ) I forgot to uninstall it and I had half on my laptop and half on my external harddrive. Now it won't fix or totally uninstall. Lord knows what I've done. |
By all means, start the list! FLOSS developers live for that stuff!
Well, in some ways I'd prefer it if Windows was decent - it'd stop a fair amount of frustration in the world!
The main complaints I have with it is that they don't share the source code with anyone (except, in special circumstances, other "allies", and still only in a read-only format), and force users like myself to effectively pay for a product that won't be used by bundling it pre-installed on new computers. The fact that Windows is a bloated, unsecured OS is simply more reason to avoid it.
A useful analogy for understanding the idea behind open-source licenses (e.g. GNU GPL, as opposed to EULAs) is to think of how science develops. Scientists collaborate to create theories and test them (or have them tested, particularly in the case of physics). The theories they create are freely available to experimenters and other theorists, as well as anyone who thinks they can understand them. When the scientists' theories are bourne-out by experiment, they are rightly praised and have their names attributed to the theories. Open-source software basically works the same way. But imagine if the scientists didn't think it was enough to have their names attributed to their theories - imagine if they didn't want anyone else to see their theories! Instead, they keep the theories to themselves, but make the predictions publicly available for experimentation (often at a price), and don't allow anyone to try and derive their theories from the results! Madness?
Well, welcome to the workings of proprietary software!
They create the software behind closed doors, release the products at often great expense for people to use, and don't allow anyone to derive the code from their product (let alone that redistribution is illegal, so your friends, neighbours etc. can't get a legal copy from you).
I hope that wasn't too long - it's important reading!