-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 On Friday 15 March 2002 11:22 pm, you wrote: > I have a question about Opensource software that has been nagging at me. > Is it better to use the OpenSource version of an application or the > commercial program based on the OpenSource application. For instance, > should one use Netscape or Mozilla? Star Office or Open Office? Forte or > Netbeans? (the list can go on and on)!
Netscape 6 series is based on very old mozilla, and isnt any good. It was also discovered recently that some spyware was added to the netscape version also. In this case i would highly reccomend mozilla over netscape. With regards to office, i personally use Star Office over open office, and will be definately purchasing version 6 when it is released. This is for the simple reason that open office uses different fonts and is completely unusable on my laptop screen. With regards to forte, i have used both that and netbeans, and although forte feels a little faster, netbeans beats it hands down in terms of functionality, especially using the latest 1.4.0 SDK from sun. > My motive is to support OpenSource software. The question then is by using > the "official" commercial version, does that encourage companies to produce > more Opensource software or is it by using the purely Opensource version > that companies will create more? In some cases, particuarly where the commercial vendor provides alot of code to the community, it is a sensibe choice to support the commercial vendor by buying their packaged version of the product, as that can only mean they will contribute further. However, dont think that the packaged version is better than the open version, this is in fact rarely the case. Make your judgment based primarily on a basis of which version provides the functionality you require above all else, and then on principals. Personally, i dont mind paying for good software such as Star Office, transgaming's Winex, games from loki etc when they are good value, however i recently downloaded the corssover plugin demo, and felt the way it plastered messages over everything was an attempt to bully me into buying the product, and thus, chose not to buy, or use their product in this particular case. I would always reccomend trying the open version regardless, as you have nothing to lose that way, and if you are unable to contribute to the project in money terms, a contribution of code/artwork/documentation is always very welcome by any project. -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.0.6 (GNU/Linux) Comment: For info see http://www.gnupg.org iD8DBQE8ko8wXCpWOla2mCcRAiaPAJkB3xAyik4zV0JMggErECMMqiQ+HwCfQDXz evBct1EGC30qE8tqgavdrxY= =w3/Q -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----
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