On Tue, Dec 11, 2012 at 07:40:15AM -0500, VA wrote: > If there's one think I'm beginning to learn about FOSS, it's that > forks are an inevitable part of the game. I'm just starting to > dabble in Linux and there are so many flavors and forks of that > operating system, it's no wonder that the free OS has never become a > serious Windows challenger.
On the contrary, FOSS has made a number of inroads in various municipal situations, to say nothing of entire governments mandating it. Pres Obama is pushing it for the US. http://www.ipwatchdog.com/2009/01/22/obama-wants-open-source-it-solutions-for-us/id=1733/ > > The open source defenders tout this as one of the benefits of open > source software. Anyone can take the program and improve it for > their particular needs. I agree, that is a real FOSS benefit. But, > then, that person gathers a group of people and they send their > unique version out into the world. Then someone else inserts a new > killer feature and sends their version out into the world. Add to > this dynamic the human element of people just not getting along, and > pretty soon you have scores of versions of the same software. There > are so many Linux versions out there that software makers no longer > even try to maintain versions of their programs for all the > different flavors. > > I love the concept of open source software, but I hate this > inevitable side effect. There are people who aren't comfortable with many choices. That's not to denigrate them, that's just a fact of life. Windows users, especially, are used to having Microsoft dictate their choices. When they make the leap to open source they get a shock. Those that stay with FOSS learn to experiment with a few of the choices until they find one they like and ignore the rest. -- Bob Holtzman If you think you're getting free lunch, check the price of the beer. Key ID: 8D549279
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