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The Open Source Design Conundrum
Matt Asay writes "Walk the halls of any open-source conference and you'll see a large percentage of attendees with ironically non-open-source Apple laptops and iPhones. One reason for this seeming contradiction can be found in reading Matthew Thomas' classic 'Why free software usability tends to suck.' Open-source advocates like good design as much as anyone, but the open-source development process is often not the best way to achieve it. Open-source projects have tended to be great commoditizers, but not necessarily the best innovators. Hence, Red Hat CEO Jim Whitehurst recently stated that Red Hat is "focused on commoditizing important layers in the stack." This is fine, but for those that want open source to push the envelope on innovation, it may be unavoidable to introduce a bit more cathedral into the bazaar. Without an IBM, Red Hat, or Mozilla bringing cash and discipline to an open-source project, including paying people to do the 'dirt work' that no one would otherwise do, can open source hope to thrive?"
It is only a small part of the Apple Mac software that is non-Free and you could even run Darwin which is Free. The bulk of the software on any Apple Mac is GPL.
Excuse me, but please get off my Pennisetum Clandestinum, eh!
And have you seen the compiz configuration setting manager? Worst UI ever.
I sentence you to death by options!
"Except that Apple laptops are junk. None of them have nipples"
As a true geek you probably were unaware of this fact, but most nipples are found on women.
"Long run is a misleading guide to current affairs. In the long run we are all dead." (John Maynard Keynes)
If your are oriented to gravity in any other direction than feet down, it becomes a huge pain.
I was trying to use my bbstorm to look up a spec sheet while headfirst in some industrial machinery and it "helpfully" rotated so everything was upside down.
Fail.
Actually, just over half of the nipples are found on men. Check yourself.