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Linux Advocate Suggests Using More Closed-Source Software (techrepublic.com)

Posted by EditorDavid on from the wait,-what? dept.

An anonymous reader writes: Open Source advocate Jack Wallen is a writer for Linux.com and Tech Republic. He predicts that both Windows and OS X will be Open Source within 5 years, writing that "neither Microsoft nor Apple make serious money from operating systems any longer" (with both companies giving away major OS upgrades), but argues that smaller software companies still see close-sourced code as a profit center. So yesterday Wallen wrote a surprising column urging Linux fans to begin considering closed-source software.

"That doesn't mean, in any way, you are giving up on the idea of freedom. What it means is that the best tool for the job is the one you should be using...be that open, closed, or somewhere in between. Should you close your mind to close sourced tools, you could miss out on some seriously amazing applications. On top of that (and this is something I've harped on for decades), the more you use closed source applications on open source environments, the more will be made available."
I'd be curious to hear how many Slashdot readers agree with Mr. Wallen...

5 of 268 comments (clear)

  1. free as in libre not as in beer by cats-paw · · Score: 5, Informative

    I'm not giving up the idea of freedom, by giving up freedom.

    yeah, i don't think that word means what you think it means.

    --
    Absolute statements are never true
  2. Open source Windows in 5 years? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    I'll believe that when me shit turns purple and smells like rainbow sherbet.

    1. Re:Open source Windows in 5 years? by AmiMoJo · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Microsoft and Apple won't open source their operating systems. They rely on DRM and/or spying to make money, and an open source version without that stuff would undermine their profits.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
  3. it was never about money by Gravis+Zero · · Score: 5, Insightful

    What he seems to be missing entirely is that free software isn't about the money, it's about freedom. I admit I've used closed software when it was convenient, even one of the programs he listed, Insync. It seemed like it was a perfect solution but after a while I ran into performance issues and without being able to debug the process to identify the cause, I could only report the bug as best I could which resulted in a "can't reproduce, ticket closed" situation. So now, I have software that works kinda but I cannot fix or even say what needs to be fixed. This is the true cost of closed-source software.

    --
    Anons need not reply. Questions end with a question mark.
  4. Sounds like a fucking realtor... by Chas · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The market's up! It's a good time to buy/sell!
    The market's down! It's a good time to buy/sell!
    The market's crashing! It's a good time to buy/sell!
    The market is so fucked you shouldn't buy or sell right now! It's a good time to buy/sell!

    So this dumbshit is advocating closed source so we can lock ourselves into proprietary software, hoping that "someday" the owners of the proprietary shit MAY open source it. "Out of the goodness of their hearts."

    Dude needs to stop huffing his compressed air cans... He's delusional.

    --


    Chas - The one, the only.
    THANK GOD!!!