Google and CodeWeavers are working together to bring Google's popular Windows Picasa photo editing and sharing program to Linux. The program is now in a limited beta test. If this program is successful, other Google applications will be following it to the Linux desktop, sources say. The Linux Picasa implementation includes the full feature set of the Windows Picasa 2.x software. It is not, strictly speaking, a port of Picasa to Linux. Instead, Linux Picasa combines Windows Picasa code and Wine technology to run Windows Picasa on Linux. This, however, will be transparent to Linux users, when they download, install, and run the free program on their systems.
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Member since:2005-06-30
Those were very nice replys that apply very well to popular programs by big companies with enough captial to take a risk. Nothing you said supports the notion of "Open source is no longuer a choice , you either use it or your company fail" That in fact is elitist. They offer free beer, you turn it down because its not your fav brand.
The fact is that lots of FOSS programmers are ready to port these apps to Linux as soon as the code is made FOSS compatible.
That may be true of the mainstream/popular apps but is it true for the lesser known and specific apps. Where will this army of coders be when I GPL my prorientary, in-house developed program? I bet I would be overwhelmed by the volume of bug fixes and public contributions I get. What happens when someone undercuts me by offering to support that app for less than me because he has not invested any r&d time/money into it and does not have a vested interest in it's success.
We won't ever be there as long as people like you go on supporting the other option (staying screwed).
None of my clients feel that they are screwed by my work not being open source. They are more than happy to pay for my work and I am more than happy to add things they want to it. I think you are confusuing open standards with open software. No one is screwed because MS office is proprientary, they are screwed becuase the files it outputs are proprietary. Standards NEED to be open, prop outputs will be the death of companies not prop software. Whether Picasa is open or not, you are not locked in to using it, and therefore not screwed.
Open sourcing Picasa and Google Earth won't be the death of Google, you must be kidding.
I repeat: Depending on your circumstances.........
Member since:
2005-11-14
That is just BS. We are not quite there yet. There is absolutely no support for "open source is the only choice" statements
We won't ever be there as long as people like you go on supporting the other option (staying screwed).
I remember people were saying the same things for a lot of Linux components in 1999. We're far past expectations on all accounts (except drivers). And you are saying BS like I will show you.
I fear for the future of OSS if this is the motto of the movement. Programmers are a finite resource, good ones even more so
This is not the motto of OSS, OSS does not even have a motto, as they want to remove every political statement that you find in Free Software. Your programmer's rant has nothing to do with the problem.
Simply open sourcing everthing will not make everything better, there are not enough programmers willing to work for free in thier free time to make everything better
What you say is pure BS. The fact is that lots of FOSS programmers are ready to port these apps to Linux as soon as the code is made FOSS compatible.
You can't guarantee that releasing source will attract developers, you can't guarantee that opening a project will cause any improvement in it's quality, you can't guarantee that the community won't just fork the project and leave you in the dust with you specific business needs unfullfilled
No we can't guarantee of course, and as long as you don't do it, we sure can't know.
And the quality of the program will improve as soon as it is ported, because it will then be native.
And I don't see how it will leave Google in the dust, this is just stupid, as they want to spread the thing.
There are not enough garantees yet for big businesses to go that route. The companies named have a vested interest in the success of the Linux desktop, of couse they want thier apps to be GPL compatable. We may get there someday, but we are not there yet
That's why some ask for the source, stupid. This is no problem for Google.
Depending on your circumstances open sourcing may even mean death for a small company with many competitors. I happen to enjoy my FREEDOM to choose whether I want to share my hard work with the rest of the world
Open sourcing Picasa and Google Earth won't be the death of Google, you must be kidding.
You have the freedom to do whatever you want, we have the freedom to ask/beg for sth. I don't understand where your problem is.
I support the open source community, but this sort of elitist crap will kill it. You should be promoting the benefits of open source, not spreading closed source FUD
Asking for a native app is "elitist" ? You are the elitist one who try to kill FOSS.
I thought the benefit of FOSS was clear : if Google don't want to do the native app, the community will do it as long as they have the code. So people at least ask for the code (instead of the pirating so common with proprietary software). Do you understand now ? What is elitist about that ?