[BadVista Advocate] "Free" software

[Russ Karlberg]

"I, personally, don't support non-Free software."

Well, then you're missing out on a lot of great stuff.  How about games?  I
enjoy computer games, as do millions of other people.   Those companies
invest millions in them, do you expect them to give everything away?

"With cars and houses, I'm free to take them apart, do my own repairs or
modifications (or pay someone else to do it for me), sell them, give them
away, whatever. So why would I have a problem with cars or houses?"

Do you really do your own car repairs and modifications?  Modern cars are
very complex and you need specialized training to work on each model.  Plus
they now come with a lot of proprietary hardware, and yes, software.  So I
am betting you do actually pay for non-free software in devices like your
car and cell phone.

"But I do have a problem with non-Free software, because its users are
prevented from studying/fixing/modifying the source code (or hiring someone
else to do it for them). And there are obvious security and privacy
implications, when you run software you're intentionally prevented from
fully understanding."

There are many proprietary products in the world.  Companies invest a lot in
creating them, of course they need to protect their intellectual property.
In many cases, giving away the source code would allow competitors to steal
your ideas.  Don't you think competition is a good thing?

Obviously we have a big difference in philosophy.  I don't want to be a
chef, mechanic, electrician, cook, etc., etc.  Have you heard of division of
labor?  I specialize in one thing, and trade my efforts for those of other
experts.  I pay people to do my taxes, car work, lawn mowing, house
cleaning, etc., thus leaving time for me to enjoy my life.  Even though I am
a programmer, I don't want to recompile my O/S!  I had to specialize in one
area of programming to become an expert, I can't also know about video
drivers, security, media players, etc.  I can't imagine that more than a
handful of people really do that.  How many Windows users can we convert by
saying "Hey, you can modify and recompile your operating system!"  I think
most people just want to buy something that works.

"The world will always need new software and people to write, maintain and
improve it. Those are services for which people/businesses are willing to
pay."

Ok, so are you just saying that software should be freely distributable and
include all source code, but companies can still charge for it?  That's
better, but there is still the problem of intellectual property.  I don't
see why just the software industry is being singled out for this treatment.
The computer you're using has lots of chips in it with proprietary and
non-free software.  I don't think Intel and AMD are going to give you their
code and trade secrets.

I don't see the appeal of your message to 99% of the population who use
computers.