Why do you use open source software? This could be anything from Linux through to using Firefox for your browser. Why is it important that you use that specific piece of software?

Or don't you use any open sourced software? If so, why not?

It's free, both in terms of speech and beer.

FOSS gives me everything I need for free whereas proprietary software merely costs more and provides features I didn't need at all.

If I want software, I refuse to buy it when there's a gratis alternative.

FF cos it's the best out there in my experience, and I haven't had a virus with it yet

I use what does the job best, sometimes it is open source, sometimes it is proprietary... The philosophy behind it doesn't bother me much.

FOSS doesn't always mean free, as in beer. I've paid several hundred quid over the years for open source software and support and donated a lot of time and energy to help develop projects, but I've earnt more money writing proprietary software - and spent more money buying proprietary software...

Personally its a balance between open source and commercial that I use.

I don't rule either out and use the appropriate software for my or my clients needs.

And then I read Dave's comments. As usual same as him

I think the main point of sale for me is (generally) the price of open source software, especially while I don't require support.

Open source doesn't always win for me though. I feel that some proprietary alternatives are more polished and work better. Though on the whole I use what I believe is best for me and for the job.



Opera is proprietary, but is free (now) and some would say it's as good/better than open alternatives...

i use programs like firefox and winamp because they are better and more customisable (thanks to community support) than the windows alternatives

i use programs like GIMP and openoffice because i dont use them enough to warrant shelling out for the (perhaps better) proprietary alternatives, but like to have a play around once in a while

Err, exactly that.

For one example I'd love to use Adobe software, but since I don't make any money from what I produce I simply can't justify the expense. If there wasn't a free alternative, I simply wouldn't do it. You'd all miss out on my creative masterpieces.

The biggest problem for me is companies that insist on using proprietary formats. Open Office simply does not work reliably enough with the old MS formats, and I'm still angry that many companies insist on CVs being sent as a .doc rather than rtf or pdf. Unfortunately, only the most aloof and wealthy can afford to tell a potential employer or paying customers to f' off no matter how tempting it is...

But .rtf and .pdf are also both proprietary formats

I know pdf is, but at least there's plenty of good free stuff out there and you always know exactly what it's going to look like. With a doc, it might well look totally mangled on the version of software used to view it.

I always thought rtf was some kind of open standard, but a quick look at wiki shows I'm wrong. Maybe I was confusing it with Rich Text. Oh well, at least Open Office doesn't usually mess it up and pretty much everyone can read it.

So what is the best editable rich text format which is guaranteed to be readable without installing any extra software and looks the same on every platform?

I would say that with open source software, there is no incentive to develop it or fix bugs - no commercial pressure. I find a bug and expect it to be fixed, what happens? I don’t know how to write code, and it’s not my job to fix bugs in software written by other people.

I tend to pay for my software for this reason.

Like with commercial software, you register the bug with the developer and it gets fixed - often quicker than with commercial software.

The problem is projects which get "retired" and don#t have an active developer community, but that is the same with commercial software, if the company goes bust or the software is upgraded - you have to pay for the upgrade to get the bug fixed, some companies are better than others and will support old versions for a couple of years after the new version is released, but in the end bug fixes will cease at some point.

And I would have to agree with both of you.

Support shouldn't really be an issue these days, as there are so many forums out there you'll usually find an answer to whatever your problem is. Unless it's a really bizarre problem, with a piece of software that nobody uses and is no longer being developed. But isn't that also the case for older versions of paid for software?

I've tried open source, but I found it lacking........ in drivers to be specific.
I had no way to get either my print server or external sound card to work on it.