If somebody can't feed their families by writing free software, they should do something else. Nonfree software is unethical so they shouldn't write that.
If company A needs bespoke software to be more productive they can ask company B to write it. Whether the program is free or nor makes no difference to the price A pays for it.
Company A can also give work to other software companies by asking them to add features to the software.
I find it hard to understand why people bash Stallman and his views on software. I get the impression they have never even tried to understand where he is coming from and simply dismiss him because he looks and sounds a certain way. He is caricatured as a loony preaching foreign concepts and people don't try to get past that.
I used to be an open-source advocate until I learned about rms and the FSF. I read a collection of his essays* and never looked back - my life has changed. Whenever I see people spout flawed arguments such as "Programmers will starve!" or "Nobody will write software!" I can't help but look upon them in a negative light.
I ask all of you, be open-minded and digest the arguments.
"The term “cloud computing” is a marketing buzzword with no clear meaning. It is used for a range of different activities whose only common characteristic is that they use the Internet for something beyond transmitting files. Thus, the term is a nexus of confusion. If you base your thinking on it, your thinking will be vague.
When thinking about or responding to a statement someone else has made using this term, the first step is to clarify the topic. Which kind of activity is the statement really about, and what is a good, clear term for that activity? Once the topic is clear, the discussion can head for a useful conclusion. " - Richard Stallman
"One reason you should not use web applications to do your computing is that you lose control," he said. "It's just as bad as using a proprietary program. Do your own computing on your own computer with your copy of a freedom-respecting program. If you use a proprietary program or somebody else's web server, you're defenceless. You're putty in the hands of whoever developed that software."
Slashdot Mirror
Way to miss the point.
If somebody can't feed their families by writing free software, they should do something else.
Nonfree software is unethical so they shouldn't write that.
"What have you got to fear (from people invading your privacy)?
People invading my privacy, obviously.
Exactly.
If company A needs bespoke software to be more productive they can ask company B to write it. Whether the program is free or nor makes no difference to the price A pays for it.
Company A can also give work to other software companies by asking them to add features to the software.
I find it hard to understand why people bash Stallman and his views on software. I get the impression they have never even tried to understand where he is coming from and simply dismiss him because he looks and sounds a certain way. He is caricatured as a loony preaching foreign concepts and people don't try to get past that.
I used to be an open-source advocate until I learned about rms and the FSF. I read a collection of his essays* and never looked back - my life has changed. Whenever I see people spout flawed arguments such as "Programmers will starve!" or "Nobody will write software!" I can't help but look upon them in a negative light.
I ask all of you, be open-minded and digest the arguments.
*http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/fsfs/rms-essays.pdf
Some of us that sell heroin to schoolchildren have families to feed.
"The term “cloud computing” is a marketing buzzword with no clear meaning. It is used for a range of different activities whose only common characteristic is that they use the Internet for something beyond transmitting files. Thus, the term is a nexus of confusion. If you base your thinking on it, your thinking will be vague.
When thinking about or responding to a statement someone else has made using this term, the first step is to clarify the topic. Which kind of activity is the statement really about, and what is a good, clear term for that activity? Once the topic is clear, the discussion can head for a useful conclusion. " - Richard Stallman
"One reason you should not use web applications to do your computing is that you lose control," he said. "It's just as bad as using a proprietary program. Do your own computing on your own computer with your copy of a freedom-respecting program. If you use a proprietary program or somebody else's web server, you're defenceless. You're putty in the hands of whoever developed that software."