> " It's just someone choosing to submit to someone else and taking on > the title "slave". Because it's not actual slavery, you can back out > and otherwise assert your right to freedom." > > proprietary software fits perfectly to this description. You _can_ > back out of the "slavery" of a proprietary program anytime, without > being whipped. Once I　install microsoft office on my computer, that > doesn't mean I will get punished if I decide to get rid of it - I can > just delete it.
For some proprietary programs it might be true that a free replacement will allow you to stop using the proprietary program. For many others, this is not true. If you are use Cisco Packet Tracer to simulate a network, for example, there are probably aren't any free replacements for that program available that can read the proprietary format. Sure, you can just delete the program, but your files effectively become useless. You are essentially a slave to the program for as long as you need that particular function using those particular files. At least that is until you find a free replacement and manually recreate the network simulation, or someone spends the time to build a free replacement that will read your files, both which could take a long time. Andrew.
