You know things are changing with open source when...

[murderslastcrow]

When Canonical is finishing up tweaking Ubuntu to be flawless on the entire range of Dell products due to explicit hardware support.

When Nokia buys Qt and keeps it open.

When Samsung starts paying the guys who made Enlightenment so they can use the libraries more efficiently on their mobile devices.

When HP, Lenovo, Dell, and Intel all start using mainstream open source software on their commerical, non-experimental, consumer-ready hardware.

When Google pays Wine and even employs a distribution's employees to help with their own software.

It's funny, it seems like these companies hated Vista, and they were holding out until Windows 7 to make it obvious how they've always felt about being forced into using one OS.

It seems like none of these companies ever wanted this in the first place. They want to give consumers options, to make cool computers and not be held back by one greedy company trying to compete on familiarity as opposed to merit.

I think one thing is obvious- no matter where Linux, OS X, or any other operating system goes, if Microsoft doesn't start reinventing the way people use their operating system in three years time, they're screwed. Even if they don't lose any money, people will probably feel jipped.

I don't mean to sound angry at Microsoft or anything, but they have a good chance to become equals in three years. I really do hope they come up with something great, just for the sake of things being fair to the people who spend their hard earned money on it.

And maybe soon everyone will be able to go into a retail store in the US and UK and choose for themselves, hands on, what they want to use on low to mid range hardware.

What do you feel about open source today? It's already pretty popular, although it's not perhaps as frequently used as it is well known.

To me, that's good enough.

[crlang13]

I don't mean to sound angry at Microsoft or anything, but they have a good chance to become equals in three years. I really do hope they come up with something great, just for the sake of things being fair to the people who spend their hard earned money on it.


People don't need to spend their money on it. I think if Microsoft release an inferior product people won't buy it; that's what's fair.

But I think open source is moving along well and becoming more and more prominent. It's not quite as popular in the mainstream to have an open source operating system, but other programs, most notably open office, and firefox and gaining alot of steam, and I think that's a good thing.

[ad_267]

You forgot Nokia buying Symbian and then open sourcing it. Considering the majority of the world's smartphones run Symbian, this is pretty huge :)

[Kai69]

I think the way the world is going with ressesion in US/UK China getting done for piracy on OS. Its turning around FOSS is going to start big time the UK has said it is going to look into OSS China has adopted Linux, just think how many programers there are in China so I think OSS has a very bright future ahead..

[murderslastcrow]

Yeah, it'll be a day where program availability isn't what determined which Operating System you use, and it'll be more about what the OS does for you, the hardware, and everyone will have access to wonderful technology.

That's actually already kind of how it is with all the distributions available. It'll just be nice when no one has to mimic anyone else and all the software can just be new, modern, and evolutionary. Then again, I guess that's already happening with open source, too.

I mean, really, if we're already at the point where we have a suitable replacement for all the proprietary programs, even CAD stuff and audio production... like, where do we have to go from here? If we just continually refine and perfect this stuff and keep going like we are with the Desktop Environments growing so integrated and feature filled... like, what's to keep free software from pulling a Linux and being better than the commercial competitor? It's only a matter of time, it would seem.

Synfig is a good example- a lot of professional studios are using it in place of Flash and other animation software simply because it does the job and adds incrementally more useful features.

All I can say is that I'm more than satisfied with how far we've come, and I hope and pray it will only get better and not be squelched by anything idiotic. XD It's not as fragile as I feel it is, of course. Go open source- to a brighter future! :D

[cprofitt]

When Microsoft is sued for copyright infringement and forced to admit it used OpenSource code.

link 1 (http://www.withinwindows.com/2009/11/06/microsoft-lifts-gpl-code-uses-in-microsoft-store-tool/)
link 2 (http://news.cnet.com/8301-13860_3-10397607-56.html)

[thatguruguy]

When Microsoft is sued for copyright infringement and forced to admit it used OpenSource code.

link 1 (http://www.withinwindows.com/2009/11/06/microsoft-lifts-gpl-code-uses-in-microsoft-store-tool/)
link 2 (http://news.cnet.com/8301-13860_3-10397607-56.html)

I see that they made an admission that a tool developed by a third-party developer contained GPL code. I also see that once it was brought to their attention, they released the code to the public. I don't see where they've sued over the issue. Do you have more information than you provided?

[undecim]

People don't need to spend their money on it. I think if Microsoft release an inferior product people won't buy it; that's what's fair.

Then why are people still buying Microsoft's products? Windows is littered with bugs that make it slow and let hackers and malware right in.

And it's NOT fair. Microsoft uses its near-monopoly to beat down the competition and spends much of its money on marketing to keep the non tech-savvy users on their side. Even if open source advocates wanted to do that, they couldn't because there is no open source monopoly and there is no marketing budget (aside from a few companies and manufactures that support it)

And what's REALLY unfair is that EVERYONE is hurt by this. If Microsoft would stop spending so much money on hurting other companies and actually fixing all the problems that let viruses run rampant, we wouldn't have nearly the amount of spam we have on the internet, nor the number of botnets. Every time that a website goes down from a DDoS attack, it's because thousands of Windows computers were rooted and then used to attack other hosts, and that's all because of a mistake by Microsoft, which is only made worse by their anti-competitive nature.

[crlang13]

@undecim - I couldn't agree more! As you said, there is a myriad of problems with Windows, and that's not fair. But I do think consumers are beginning to see that and there is a slow move away from them.

From a idealist future perspective, I would like to see people have the ability to make an educated decision on what software and operating system they're using (which, granted, is not happening correctly at the moment).

[Kai69]

From a idealist future perspective, I would like to see people have the ability to make an educated decision on what software and operating system they're using (which, granted, is not happening correctly at the moment).[/QUOTE]

+1 I would love to see more stores sell pcs without an os on it then you could chose which os you want to use.
And then again costomers want to see a pc working with all the flash and bang, And no store ive been in will sell a pc without an os on it ,shame really

[crlang13]

I would love to see more stores sell pcs without an os on it then you could chose which os you want to use.
And then again costomers want to see a pc working with all the flash and bang, And no store ive been in will sell a pc without an os on it ,shame really

it is a shame. I think the main problem as well is they don't realize what they're actually paying for. They assume when they buy a new computer that Windows is somehow part of that computer and it's all a package that can't be changed. What retailers really need to do is show customers where their money is going to make a more informed decision.

For example, you see advertisements for a computer, monitor, Windows, mouse, keyboard etc for say $2000. People think GREAT! But you don't know what aspects of the computer you're paying for, and that's where Microsoft makes its money.

I'd really like to see adds for "Great computer package for $1700 - or $1800 with Windows"

This, I think, would help consumers see where their money is going.

[Kai69]

it is a shame. I think the main problem as well is they don't realize what they're actually paying for. They assume when they buy a new computer that Windows is somehow part of that computer and it's all a package that can't be changed. What retailers really need to do is show customers where their money is going to make a more informed decision.

For example, you see advertisements for a computer, monitor, Windows, mouse, keyboard etc for say $2000. People think GREAT! But you don't know what aspects of the computer you're paying for, and that's where Microsoft makes its money.

I'd really like to see adds for "Great computer package for $1700 - or $1800 with Windows"

This, I think, would help consumers see where their money is going.

The main problem with this is most pc users have never installed an os before they buy a pc run it when it goes wrong buy another one job done, its only users that have had a problem with a pc and thought ok im going to sort this out myself.
In my case on our 2nd pc running vista when sp2 came out and messed up our internet the only option I had was to reinstall Ive only really been useing a pc since 2000 this was all new to me but it sorted the problem and also sped up the pc. Now I have no concerns when a friend asks for help. Ive lernt a lot since last year :D

[Viva]

You know thing have already changed when more then half of a trillion dollar industry like the Internet runs on open source software.

[tgalati4]

Citrix bought xen (virtualization) and wants to keep it open source.

HP was at SCALE, pushing how well their laptops run linux. Though you can't select linux on any of their laptops through their online configurator. At least with Dell, you have to search for it.

But yes, there seems to be a growing critical mass in open source. Just waiting for Skype to go open.

[johnb820]

Common, practical, software should have been open and free from the start. Everyone is only realizing it now that when you make a common tool proprietary, it holds back progress. Most proprietary software out there, with windows being the most widely used, is obsolete. Maybe people think open source is evil, but one thing is for sure; it moves a hell of a lot faster. I also can't see how someone could justify open source projects being a negative presence when countless projects have not only been the source of innovation but also adapt to the needs of the industry. Open source shouldn't be an option, it should be the standard.

[crlang13]

Common, practical, software should have been open and free from the start.

+1 - Computers are needed by everybody these days and with that the OS, internet browsing software (and dare I say the internet itself), as well as word processing software should be free.

I'm happy to pay for games or software that will directly help me make money however. Games because it's really a luxury item, and money making software because, hey, I'm making money from it!