Linked by Eugenia Loli-Queru on Thu 16th Jun 2005 08:54 UTC
The Mac platform was always considered a premium platform, hence much of its software is shareware or commercial. In the recent days more freeware applications have emerged, but the majority are small utilities and not full scale applications. Enter the world of GNU which can not only provide "free" applications as in beer, but most importantly, "Free", as in Freedom.
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Defining myself as a compromise between a Linux weenie (and reading some of the reactions, one can understand the usage of this word) and a Mac-Joe-User, I can only support the writer's point of view. We do lack some basic applications that are free (as in beer) on Mac OS X. All free (dom) softwares are not free (beer) but GPL naturally implies free (beer), most of the time.
Those who think Mac-users should just install Linux to enjoy these programs should really consider spending a bit of time thinking about what freedom is and why they defend it. All I hear is "You're free, but only if you install Linux". No thanks. Mac OS X is my choice of OS and I don't wan't to have to install anything more than a bundle to use an app. Is that too much for OSS developers ? Maybe but they're not concerned in any way. Eugenia's request is directed to Mac developers.
When I establish a free software project, I am not founding a charity network, I'm building a community; a community of contributors if you will. OS X users fail to grasp this concept. So much so that they can't differentiate between free sotware and freeware.
If your project only targets Linux, you'll be fine, although I really doubt all Linux users can recite the GPL by heart. Some I know only know Linux "is free" but have no idea about what this really means and what it implies. If you intend to port it or let it port to Windows or -crazy- Mac OS X, I bet you're going to have to get familiar with all kinds of people who don't have a clue about software freedom.