[Heh, I could be slightly drunk writing this one, so I ask for your pardon in advance ;p but don't worry, no expletives (save one, I think) here:]
Dean Michael Berris <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: > It can be shown that in urban areas, computer shops are easily > substituted for gaming arcades -- in that almost all the people that > pay to play in computer shops would want to play games more than surf > the net. Hmmm... so *games* is the magic word when it comes to this business, eh? Well, it is not unexpected; indeed, Linux/FOSS has a bit of a Waterloo in that area. Nevertheless, there's much effort from both the hardcore gamers/libertarians and the pragmatic porters to advance gaming as a potent and exciting area for free software development. Projects such as Wesnoth[1] and Planescape[2] have been very successful in advancing Linux multimedia support (Wesnoth uses SDL, and Planescape, IIRC, uses the Crystal Space 3D engine) for one, and ports of popular games, both free and nonfree, are common. I was pondering on the deployment of free-as-in-freedom games on our hypothetical Linux café (over a bit of lamb stew, Caesar salad, and French red wine, since it's St. John's Fiesta here in Daet ;), and here's what I came up about what such games need to click [in my opinion, and in no particular order]: - *Someone to make them*. I know there's a *lot* of hackers out in the world who are willing to spend some idle time after (and during) office hours working on FOSS projects just for kicks, but I also observe that only a few among these well-esteemed folks are busting their guts out for working on a free software game or two. Why? Perhaps it's because we need... - *Someone to pay these game devs to make these games*. (Professional) game designers are perhaps (again, in my opinion, and that of Computer Gaming World in one of their issues ;) of the most overrated positions in the game development industry, and for FOSS developers, that's doubly emphasized. One could say that Larry Wall's Perl virtues would find a perfect home among these hackers... - *Someone to market and promote them*. Especially if said FOSS game developers, being the 1337 few they are, are well busy attending to their Frankensteins (or work ;), what FOSS games need are publicists. But I don't necessarily say they need *professional* publicists; rather, I'm hinting at the more adept Blogging Republic that is the true guerilla (or gorilla) news channel of the modern, internet-savvy world. Blog drives, flash mobs, memes: bloggers could practically turn the tides over this ``Hello, Garci'' thing, but that's another story... - *Someone to play them*. Yeah right, that sentence seems so obvious. But the thing is, reviewers and game devs prattle and prattle on and on about how cool this FOSS game X is, but when average Juan gets to play the Windows port on his bootleg Windows machine he is greeted with a general protection fault, whatever from Adam that is. Which leads us to... - *Someone to beat the fscking crap out of FOSS game devs when something goes wrong*. > Although there are specialty computer cafe's that cater to the netizen > -- someone who communicates, shops, and lives a life in the digital > divide -- where Linux/FOSS *might* thrive in but is still a long shot. Care to name them? If there are such cafés out there, maybe the SFD organizing team could invite them over to SFD and see what this `long shot' will take them... > Business-wise, it's even better to invest on non-free software to > offer the most familiar and most "user friendly" (not to mention > popular) software titles out there. And it's always better to show > your investors/partners and maybe shareholders a bottom line that's > positive due to sales volume -- and not because of low maintenance > costs and very little sales. True. Capitalists will always like to be on the receiving end of a windfall, not on the trailing side of it. Also, sticking to the `sure' brand, a.k.a. `inertia', is a contributing factor. > Maybe there are avenues where Linux is better for business -- perhaps > mail servers, DNS servers, and server markets. However a detailed > study should be done for better analysis of a system within a given > context. Yeah. FWIW that's a good subject for a thesis. But talking about Linux for business is a rather sleepy (though needed, unfortunately, and hey, it's midnight as I'm writing this! ;) prospect; and I, for now, am not one to take part on it. > It boils down really to where the money is -- and right now (AFAIK) > Linux/Open Source and Computer Shops do not mix well, and that's not > where the money is. Huh? I thought all the money's in Garci's bank account :P > However, I still like Linux and it's place in the market -- only not in > computer shops. I think only of Extremadura, Spain, and while schools were served with a Penguinista smile at that place, I think that instance should speak for itself if Linux can surmount Newtonian barriers... -- ZAK B. ELEP <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> -- <http://zakame.spunge.org> 1024D/FA53851D 1486 7957 454D E529 E4F1 F75E 5787 B1FD FA53 851D -- Running Debian GNU+Linux testing/unstable. GnuPG signed mail preferred.
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