Et �a commence tr�s fort, puisque la question soulev�e est ni plus ni moins que: "avons-nous envie d'un syst�me Libre ou d'un syst�me simplement bon march� et stable?" �a devrait en tout cas inspirer ceux qui n'ont pas encore (/pas toujours) bien compris la dimension de ce que nous avons � port�e de la main, m�me quand beaucoup beaucoup reste � faire...!
URL: http://www.freebsoft.org/article [1]Home [2]About [3]Projects [4]Mailing Lists [5]Contact [[6]en] Do we want Free Software or only a cheap and stable environment of Linux? I would like to share a few of my thoughts that worry me lately. There are many of us - visually impaired - who use a computer as a great technical compensatory aid. It is a tool for everyday life, for the activities which others can do without a computer easily. Since it is quite a common situation that computers don't always do what we nexpect or wish, we have been searching for different options and alternatives. We have finally found Free Software, namely GNU/Linux, which is very friendly to us visually impaired. It is free of numerous barriers that can be found in so-called proprietary software. We can find here many disposed people who don't think of money first of all, but rather of creating something useful or helping someone else. Free Software also gives us, visually impaired, the invaluable chance to make ourselves useful and help the others. It is, of course, not so, that GNU/Linux offers us a smooth and easy way to work with a computer from the very beginning, however a lot of work has been done and there are many things being continually improved. However I have a growing feeling that we very often don't care about Linux as Free Software. Let's not forget that the reason why Linux can help us is that it is Free Software. It is not only a better technical aid, but a natural way how to integrate into the "healthy" society. We would like to have everything working perfectly immediately. We would like to have all the features we can see in the world of proprietary software right now. We simply don't want to wait anymore, especially when the Linux versions of the proprietary software begin to appear. Free Software is no more important for us, the most important thing is our convenience. It is, of course, a different situation when there is no Free Software alternative for a given piece of software, however even then we can ask ourselves a question: "Do we really need it?". We often forget to ask what we, as visually impaired, can do for Free Software. And there are wide possibilities. Of course, when someone visually impaired is a programmer, he can do a lot. I know many of them and I thank them for their work. Programmers are not enough, however. Those, who use the software, must be ready to go through a certain amount of inconvenience and contribute to the process of improvement by their effort to learn something new, by being able to report the bugs properly, by being able to help the others, less experienced, and at last, but not least, by trying to help those, who develop the software, install it, distribute it and do all manner of support, so that they do not sustain themselves on bread and water, but they are able to do it under usual conditions. In order to do it, they need time and it is well known that time is money. Free Software today cannot rely just on volunteers, who devote their spare time to its development. There is so much to do and the work requires very concentrated effort of highly skilled developers. What are we - visually impaired - ready to "pay" for that? I don't think of money. There are, after all, many ways to pay. Do we search for the ways to support such activities? Are we helpful to the developers? Are we ready to stand the temptation of the offers of proprietary software even if it promises quick and easy solution of our problems? Or does Free Software serve us only as a repository of interesting programs which are thrown away as soon as we find a "better" solution in proprietary software? Is it really necessary to use many of the pieces of proprietary software, even though it is often interesting and may give us better quality? Don't we weaken the very existence of Free Software by this? Don't we weaken the motivation for development of better Free Software? Let's not think that it will get solved without any assistance. Although we may not feel it so, the future of Free Software is in our hands and is directly affected by our attitude to it. We must try to be economic, efficient and we must be able to come to an agreement with each other. What we now need is money, disposed and qualified developers, willing, daring and non-selfish users and first of all patience and naturalness. Jan Buchal - director of non-governmental, non-profit organization Brailcom, o.p.s. See also [7]http://www.freebsoft.org and [8]http://www.brailcom.org. Free(b)soft: [ [9]Home | [10]About | [11]Projects | [12]Mailing Lists | [13]Contact ] Copyright (c) Brailcom, o.p.s. 2001-2004 If you have any suggestions, please let us know at the address [EMAIL PROTECTED] Last update: Mon May 31 2004 [15]Valid HTML 4.01! [16]Valid CSS! Powered by [17]Debian [18]GNU/[19]Linux References 1. http://www.freebsoft.org/index 2. http://www.freebsoft.org/about 3. http://www.freebsoft.org/projects 4. http://www.freebsoft.org/lists 5. http://www.freebsoft.org/contact 6. http://www.freebsoft.org/article.en 7. http://www.freebsoft.org/ 8. http://www.brailcom.org/ 9. http://www.freebsoft.org/index 10. http://www.freebsoft.org/about 11. http://www.freebsoft.org/projects 12. http://www.freebsoft.org/lists 13. http://www.freebsoft.org/contact 14. mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] 15. http://validator.w3.org/check/referer 16. http://jigsaw.w3.org/css-validator/validator?uri=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.freebsoft.org;warning=1;profile=css2 17. http://www.debian.org/ 18. http://www.gnu.org/ 19. http://www.linux.org/ _______________________________________________ CarrefourBLinuX mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://lists.freearchive.org/mailman/listinfo/carrefourblinux
