I honestly don't see what's wrong with that, as long as it's not the dumbing down of *all* computers.
Car analogy time: I can't fucking stand manual transmission, but do I understand why people like it. They can have it. But the people who like manual transmission look down upon automatic transmission and complain "it's the dumbing down of cars."
Oh, and as for "freeloaders" not being beneficial, consider this:
Firefox was established to end IE6's reign of terror on the web, and bring web standards back into play, benefiting everyone. Would they have accomplished that without the millions of "freeloaders" who eagerly downloaded and installed it, slowly chipping away at IE's numbers?
I realize that doesn't apply to every case, but it certainly does in some.
So basically what you're saying is that in order to have any right to complain about open source software you have to have knowledge, experience, and skill in programming? Because when you say "Why don't you submit a patch?", that's what you're implying.
Newsflash: Not every user of FOSS software knows how to program. Nor should they need to know. Unless you want it to turn into some sort of exclusive little club, in which case the worldwide share of Linux would drop by a good 99%.
Users aren't complaining because they want to be whiny or difficult. They're complaining because they see a flaw. If you want your software to be widely accepted, listen. If your software is just coding for self satisfaction, and you don't care about user adoption, then don't listen.
Play something she may find interesting, and see if she lingers watching, showing interest, then offer. Or maybe she'll even ask to try. But if you push it too hard, she'll end up resenting gaming.
I can get my girl to play Mario Kart sometimes, but other than that I just let her enjoy her own thing.
I had horrible blue LEDs inside and on the front of the case. I couldn't sleep if I had to download something big. I eventually completely disconnected them.
How many of those licences are installed on computers currently sitting in warehouses and on the shelves at Best Buy? They're in the channel (on all new PCs, whether people want it or not), not necessarily in the end user's hands.
I used a Nokia 5800 until about 10 months ago. I kept with it for about 2 years. It was my 5th Nokia phone. So no, it's not a knee-jerk reaction. I know what's up.
Can we compare Stallman to a rather unsuccessful Stalin, then? "Free the Software! Software belongs to the people! Death to the bourgeoisie!" Here, I'm imagining lines of starving programmers waiting for their bread ration, and clunky, Soviet-esque software running on oversized computers.
Unless you just got onto some crazy ghost train that you are forever doomed to ride, I'm fairly certain most trains have multiple points of disembarkation.
I use my iPhone to make calls, send texts, take and send photos, connect through social media. As a pocket communication device, that fits the meaning perfectly.
I use my MacBook to do graphic design and digital photography.
I use my Apple TV to stream media to my TV, which is what it was designed for.
The collectors market will certainly disappear, but Lego won't (unless they're foolish and bank on the collectors market.)
Parents will always buy their kids Lego, because it's a fun and creative toy with universal appeal. Your average parent doesn't give a damn about the collectability of Lego, just that it will keep their kid occupied with something constructive.
Some people appreciate industrial design. Some people don't. It's like how the ugly "beige box" ruled the industry for decades, and some people still have them and say "it works just fine."
This is not a put-down, just a statement of fact.
In any case, it's not putting form over function, it's a matter of form complementing function.
Ya, China's probably not the best market to compare to.
In North America and Europe similarly spec'd phones run in the same price range, which means everyone loves making a healthy profit off their customers.
Android outsells Apple 6:1 in the "I use a smartphone like a featurephone and don't know what apps are, oh and this phone is only $79 on prepaid" area.
There's one more component that differs from back then: Content is king.
Users adore their apps, but at the end of the day it's all their media and what they have stored "in the cloud" that matters. All your media will run on pretty much any platform effortlessly now, and web content is generally universal, whereas in the '80s getting content from one platform to open on another was extremely difficult. (Simply *moving it* from one platform to another was equally difficult.)
So, platform lock-in isn't quite as rigid as it was. Dominant platforms can change in the blink of an eye. (BlackBerry, anyone?)
Slashdot Mirror
I honestly don't see what's wrong with that, as long as it's not the dumbing down of *all* computers.
Car analogy time: I can't fucking stand manual transmission, but do I understand why people like it. They can have it. But the people who like manual transmission look down upon automatic transmission and complain "it's the dumbing down of cars."
Oh, and as for "freeloaders" not being beneficial, consider this:
Firefox was established to end IE6's reign of terror on the web, and bring web standards back into play, benefiting everyone. Would they have accomplished that without the millions of "freeloaders" who eagerly downloaded and installed it, slowly chipping away at IE's numbers?
I realize that doesn't apply to every case, but it certainly does in some.
Many FOSS developers put donation links on their websites. Many users donate.
Friendliness and openness towards users leads to donations. Hostility doesn't.
I don't know what software you write, but:
a) Do you even have a donation link?
b) Are you hostile towards users? (I think I know the answer.)
In any case, from the sounds of it in this thread, you don't seem to care if another person on earth uses your software.
So basically what you're saying is that in order to have any right to complain about open source software you have to have knowledge, experience, and skill in programming? Because when you say "Why don't you submit a patch?", that's what you're implying.
Newsflash: Not every user of FOSS software knows how to program. Nor should they need to know. Unless you want it to turn into some sort of exclusive little club, in which case the worldwide share of Linux would drop by a good 99%.
Users aren't complaining because they want to be whiny or difficult. They're complaining because they see a flaw. If you want your software to be widely accepted, listen. If your software is just coding for self satisfaction, and you don't care about user adoption, then don't listen.
Play something she may find interesting, and see if she lingers watching, showing interest, then offer. Or maybe she'll even ask to try. But if you push it too hard, she'll end up resenting gaming.
I can get my girl to play Mario Kart sometimes, but other than that I just let her enjoy her own thing.
I had horrible blue LEDs inside and on the front of the case. I couldn't sleep if I had to download something big. I eventually completely disconnected them.
Alright, if that's not a good enough example: I bought someone in my family a Nokia 500 with Belle on it last year.
It's an excellent phone (which is its primary purpose), but I wouldn't call it a good smartphone.
If you charge me a fee to send a message, then guarantee me the person receiving it will see it.
Depending on how consumers react, Apple may be pushed into the touchscreen world.
Then my boss will have to learn to stop pressing his fat finger against my screen when he's pointing at something on it.
How many of those licences are installed on computers currently sitting in warehouses and on the shelves at Best Buy? They're in the channel (on all new PCs, whether people want it or not), not necessarily in the end user's hands.
I used a Nokia 5800 until about 10 months ago. I kept with it for about 2 years. It was my 5th Nokia phone. So no, it's not a knee-jerk reaction. I know what's up.
You actually want Symbian?
Eww.
BTW, MeeGo had already flown the coop. You do know that, right?
Seriously? You're comparing Jobs to Hitler?
Can we compare Stallman to a rather unsuccessful Stalin, then? "Free the Software! Software belongs to the people! Death to the bourgeoisie!" Here, I'm imagining lines of starving programmers waiting for their bread ration, and clunky, Soviet-esque software running on oversized computers.
Unless you just got onto some crazy ghost train that you are forever doomed to ride, I'm fairly certain most trains have multiple points of disembarkation.
Define "meaningful".
I use my iPhone to make calls, send texts, take and send photos, connect through social media. As a pocket communication device, that fits the meaning perfectly.
I use my MacBook to do graphic design and digital photography.
I use my Apple TV to stream media to my TV, which is what it was designed for.
Strange. I've never encountered that problem on my Toshiba. I have all my inputs into the TV's HDMI, and digital out from the TV to my receiver.
The collectors market will certainly disappear, but Lego won't (unless they're foolish and bank on the collectors market.)
Parents will always buy their kids Lego, because it's a fun and creative toy with universal appeal. Your average parent doesn't give a damn about the collectability of Lego, just that it will keep their kid occupied with something constructive.
Some people appreciate industrial design. Some people don't. It's like how the ugly "beige box" ruled the industry for decades, and some people still have them and say "it works just fine."
This is not a put-down, just a statement of fact.
In any case, it's not putting form over function, it's a matter of form complementing function.
Ya, China's probably not the best market to compare to.
In North America and Europe similarly spec'd phones run in the same price range, which means everyone loves making a healthy profit off their customers.
Android outsells Apple 6:1 in the "I use a smartphone like a featurephone and don't know what apps are, oh and this phone is only $79 on prepaid" area.
"The Web We Lost", which I indeed missed, required effort. You had to build your own presence on the web.
When the effort was taken away, with the added bonus of being linked directly with your friends, the old ways were unsurprisingly dropped.
So yes, the hobbyist web went away, as it was bound to. No one should be shocked or surprised by this.
One of humanity's greatest flaws is the general inability to see in anything other than black and white.
He's not exactly wrong, but he's not exactly right either.
There's one more component that differs from back then: Content is king.
Users adore their apps, but at the end of the day it's all their media and what they have stored "in the cloud" that matters. All your media will run on pretty much any platform effortlessly now, and web content is generally universal, whereas in the '80s getting content from one platform to open on another was extremely difficult. (Simply *moving it* from one platform to another was equally difficult.)
So, platform lock-in isn't quite as rigid as it was. Dominant platforms can change in the blink of an eye. (BlackBerry, anyone?)
He must have the same advisor Toronto Mayor Rob Ford has.
That guy wanted to use prime waterfront property to build a giant ferris wheel *and* a monorail.
"Want to take a photo. Just look at the scene and blink one eye."
In normal human world that is called "winking". It can be taken several different ways. Use extreme caution around human subjects.