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Scribus 1.0 Released
McShazbot writes "Graphics.com has this article about the release of Scribus 1.0 (homepage, mirror) desktop publishing software. Check out some screenshots. If it can even marginally compete with the industry leader, this is a big deal -- I know a lot of people for whom Quark is the killer app that prevents them from moving to Linux, and most of them are tired of paying a grand for the privilege of using it."
I remember a couple of really *great* DTP programs on the Amiga, they were killer apps, but they didn't survive.
Being a killer app doesn't mean you won't be crushed and killed...
Anyway, nice to see some free good app in the DTP arena under linux.
No offense to the wonderful people creating the Scribus software. It's great to see options other than pay-your-left-nut-for-software.
l ), I bet many, many more OS X boxen will be sold, averting any "Great Migration" to Linux anytime soon by the DTP folk.
However, this is mostly pie-in-the-sky. With the new release of Quark for OS X (http://www.quark.com/products/xpress/mac_osx.htm
This is great! Right now, we have plenty of good software to compete on the desktop.
Programs like OpenOffice, Mr. Project, Evolution, Mozilla, GIMP and Scribe really give us the strength to do so. Now we only need a good visio-like tool to be complete.
And, of course, if you are a web developer, we still lack a good dreamweaver-like tool. I hope we'll have one soon...
This kind of stuff will make a difference in Linux winning desktop market.
What is the availability of type faces on Linux? Part of the Mac's dominance in the DTP arena is that the type collection is so massive, and most converters don't do the fonts justice (in previous experiences, this held true, not sure if it's like that now). A strong offerring of type face compatibility as well as image capability (scanning/editing), would help users move to Linux for their DTP needs.
Will it be able to open quark and/or MS Publisher files for compatibility?
Actually, is there an existing (native) open-source linux program that can open MS Pub files?
Like many other Linux applications, this product is probably good enough. Is quark better? Almost certainly, and you'll pay $1000 premium for that improvment. Is Office better than OpenOffice. Yes. But most people don't need everything that makes Office better. Is Photoshop better than Gimp? Yes.
If your livelihood is dependent on it, then it may very well be worth $1000. But if you are just doing some amateur work or you have a small home business needing some DTP, then this is good enough. Programs like this change the game because it allows people to dabble in whole new areas without having to shell out a premium price.
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I noticed that they seem to be in inches. That may be OK for people stuck in the early 20th century, but what about the rest of us?
Even if so, Scribus has one feature I don't see Quark matching: It's free as well as being Open Source.
I know a lot of people for whom Quark is the killer app that prevents them from moving to Linux, and most of them are tired of paying a grand for the privilege of using it.
You have to be joking. Anyone who whines about the prices of these products probably uses it as a convenience, and not for critical work. If they did they wouldn't complain about the $1000, or the $3/day a year -- you know, that StarBucks latte they have every day -- to use it. I'm always amazed by software organizations that try to skimp on paying for tools because things "cost too much", and then make that tool an integral part of their process. Alot of programs fall into this arena of specialized software with high price tags and great at what they do (or at least some people find them great at what they do, I have no interest in debating what you or I think are great software): math software like Mathematica and MathCad, IDE's and other development tools for programmers, RoboHelp, PhotoShop, and on and on. These programs are NOT meant to be cheap programs for Joe Blow, they are meant to be specialized and essential tools for professionals, researchers, whatever, and due to how successfully they perform their task have very wide acceptance.
Sure it's great when a free tool shows up that is just as good as another product. I love free tools. But if your work with such a tool doesn't justify the $3/day, you probably aren't the market they are shooting for.
So why should Scribus be held to a higher standard? If Adobe and Quark decided not to waste their time reverse-engineering the other's file formats, why should the OSS community? DTP requires such precision that a less-than-perfect conversion is useless.
So if the developers are reading this, don't waste your time on import or export filters for other DTP file fomats!!!!!!
Everything is relative, including the impact of prices. If you are earning six figures or even high five figure sums $1000 may not seem to be much, but for most of the world $1000 represents one hell of an investment.
We use Quark at our newspaper, naturally. There's a few hundred licenses in the company. It is a damn expensive app. But consumables are even more expensive. We print directly to negatives, and film costs a good chunk of change. If there's a problem, we have to re-print the negs. If we have to re-plate, that's a bunch more money. If we don't know there's a problem till the press starts, there'll be hell to pay. Some papers are using new technology that lets them print directly to the printing plate. The materials for that are even more expensive. With Quark, we know what we're getting when we click "Print." $1000 may be expensive for a program, but we use more than that in film and plates every day. Quark Inc. isn't a very well liked company - but when you know what you're getting for sure in your finished product, that makes all the difference.
Well, because lots of folks don't have the $$ to drop on every quality proprietary application that they might like to. Quark may be really, really good, but at close to $1000 bucks, I have looking around for an alternative. I'm not sure where In Design gets priced at, but Free is probably less expensive.
I don't think anyone equates Free + Open Source with good all of the time, but Free = Affordable on any budget.
Open Source can mean lots if things, but if an app takes off it often means that someone with better programing skills than myself who may end up solving some of my problems beoire I can get around to it.
Eschew Obfuscation
A mechanic's tools are worth thousands.
That's true (very true), however, that doesn't mean I'm going to run off to the machanic every time I need an oil change. It's not that my time isn't valuable, it's more like picking up oil and filter on the way home and changing the oil on Saturday afternoon takes less time and money than driving to the mechanic, waiting around, and driving back home (plus the amount of time I have to work to make the money I paid the mechanic).
In the same way, someone who want's a nice document 1 or 2 times a year probably doesn't want to spend $1000 on software. A student who wants a really nice presentation probably doesn't have $1000 to spend on DTP software, and doesn't have the money to pay a professional either. As in the case of the oil change, if I have 1 or 2 pages I want laid out nicely, I can probably crank it out myself a lot faster than I can contract someone else to do it for me.
Then there's simple economics. No matter how professional you are, all else being the same, free beats $1000 every single time. Scribus may not be up to that standard yet (or perhaps it is, I haven't installed it yet), but it has to start somewhere.
Speaking philosophically, all else being equal, FREE software beats proprietary every time. From the standpoint of evolving human capability, all proprietary software, no matter how useful it may be at the moment, is a dead end.