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Evolution of a 100% Free Software-Based Publisher

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the cutting-a-trail dept.

NewsForge (also owned by VA) has a quick and interesting look at the evolution of a 100% free software-based Italian publisher. From the article: "Today, Sovilla acknowledges that choosing a 100% free software workflow complicated his working life. He also notes, however, that a great part of his troubles came from an early start, at a time when programs such as Scribus weren't mature enough yet. Today, he says, the situation has improved considerably, and publishers who are willing to experiment with an alternative software platform can, and should, try it without fear."

7 of 210 comments (clear)

  1. Scribus & Other Open-Source Software by johnthorensen · · Score: 4, Insightful

    He also notes, however, that a great part of his troubles came from an early start, at a time when programs such as Scribus weren't mature enough yet.

    This comment shows a little wishful thinking, IMO. I recently tried Scribus, and it's nowhere near mature. This is typical of a lot of open-source software I think; might work good enough for light 'hobbyist' use but nowhere close for real professional work. Probably because it's hobbyists writing the stuff for the most part.

    Another good example is Sodipodi/Inkscape. Lots of potential there, but I only used it for about an hour before I 'hit the wall' so to speak and became frustrated with its lack of capability.

    Not a dig on open-source, just an observation...

    1. Re:Scribus & Other Open-Source Software by unavailable · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Next time you try out an opensource app and find its features below your standards, go compose a detailed wishlist, with proper argumentation and detailed description for every missing feature.

      Nobody is asking for patches, but some feedback from professionals is always appreciated. Implementation hints are also welcomed, even if you are not a programmer.

    2. Re:Scribus & Other Open-Source Software by johnthorensen · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Some questions:

      Did you use the latest version ?
      Yes. Note that I used the word "recently" to describe when I tried it out. I tried Scribus 1.3.3.1 on both Windows and Linux.


      Define "immature" ?
      Not having many features that most professionals take for granted. Palette windows that don't resize correctly and other goofy UI bugs. Lack of solid, professionally written documentation. No text box margins. Broken PDF exporter. Broken PostScript importer. Opening even moderately-sized documents takes forever. Would you like me to continue?

      Scribus is admittedly usable for some projects but it's not yet qualified to be a mission-critical application. I certainly wouldn't stake MY job on it.


      What is your professional qualifications to make such a judgement ?
      Besides knowing how to conjugate the verb "to be" you mean? How about 10 years as a graphic designer? That enough for you??? That sort of accusatory question really grates on me, and doesn't exactly invite me to come over to Scribus.

      Incidentally, the Scribus bios make my point nicely. I see a lot of things like "DTP/IT Consultant", "pre-press and software engineer", et cetera but I don't see much in the way of experienced designers. Scribus is what you get when engineers try to design software; typical of most open-source applications.

  2. There is such a thing as pragmatism... by Jeff+DeMaagd · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Even the OSS advocate/comic writer Illiad admitted to not using GIMP and he had an amusing little comic last week or so explaining some of his reasons. Commercial software isn't necessarily evil, it is a different development method. If the tools fit, use them. If you can use OSS, then good for you! Not everyone can do that, and I think it is good that OSS advocates admit what the stumbling blocks are. The hurdles show where the developers can improve the software.

    1. Re:There is such a thing as pragmatism... by Kjella · · Score: 4, Insightful
      Commercial software isn't necessarily evil, it is a different development method.

      And most of all, it's the #1 method to get stuff developed where there's more money than "scratch an itch" developers. Granted, there's some commercial OSS developers too, but for the most part closed source is dominating in areas like:

      • Create software for newbies, where if you can develop it yourself you're pretty much disqualified from needing/wanting/liking that tool.
      • Create software for specialized user groups where there's just too few OSS developers to get a usable tool off the ground.
      • Create software that only corporations need, which are typically really dull. And as companies go, they don't like OSS because they're in a competition. If you and I both have a great office suit, great. If my company and the competing company both have an excellent logistics system, not so good.
      • Once-off applications such as games, where you pull something together, release it, people use it, then shelf it. There's some classics that "live forever" though. Another good example would be tax software.
      • Applications with serious server-side resources, such as MMORPGs.

      I don't think OSS will be able to adapt to every possible form of software development. In fact, I would be happy if it could corner the market for "basic" desktop use, so that commercial software would get written for the Linux platform. For me personally Oblivion is right now (and other games to come) a huge hook to Windows, and I don't see OSS developing anything like it any time soon.
      --
      Live today, because you never know what tomorrow brings
  3. Re:nothing to fear... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Well, when you're building a business around these workflows, is it better to go with a proprietary solution that's known to work, or is it better to go with something that will eventually work, providing you put a lot of effort into it to make it work? In the end, yes, both work. But when money and time are on the line (as is the case with a business), you generally tend to go with the one that's been proven to work time and time again. I'm not dissing OSS here, I'm just explaining the rationale as it currently stands. As more companies build themselves around FOSS solutions, they'll make more inroads into various corporate worlds. This has already shown itself to be the case regarding server software. Publishing, as in the example, still has a ways to go, however.

  4. GIMP! by christurkel · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The only exceptions were the manual checks and corrections needed to work around the absence of direct four-color management in the GIMP
    Welcome to the world of a fustrated GIMP user. How long has this been a "must have" feature that hasn't happened?

    --

    CDE open sourced! https://sourceforge.net/projects/cdesktopenv/