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RANT: High Software Prices!
app103:
Wordpress, best bet. <-- super simple PHP
-2stepsback (April 26, 2007, 10:41 AM)
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How many <?php include('whatever.php'); ?> do they need? That's the only php I know. :-[
XUL next best. <-- only markup in XML
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Still trying to get a grasp on the finer points of XML for scripting a bot for my chatroom. (not doing too well on that) Here is a sample that someone gave me to learn from:
:huh:
Non-FOSS:
XAML <-- M$'s version of (Java+XML) for GUI
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I don't know a lick of java and see above XML comment.
1. People with those skills are gonna be in demand when Redhat and sourceforge.net start their FOSS exchanges. Keep a watch.
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Will do. ;)
2. You should try your hand at Google and Yahoo! Answers
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I currently have a 54% best answer rate on Yahoo Answers. And that site is too addictive...I am going to get in a lot of trouble with spending too much of my time there if I am not careful. :D
(psst.... if you make good money, pass a few Donation Credits here as well ;) ;) )
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Unfortunately I am broker than broke and might just have the worst income/expenses ratio on this forum. :(
Total household income, supporting a family of 3, is about $300/wk...rent $955/month for a 4 room apartment (and that is cheap where I live). I think after doing the math you will see the financial predicament I am in. (yet I do still manage to pass a few credits around when I can)
...and now you know why this rant about software prices really hits me close to home.
leland:
Yes, prices are way too high. I manage a network at a small company and we don't get much for breaks on the prices. And the ones I do I have to search out. With Microsoft and Adobe charging such high prices I'm almost feeling the open source and free software route is the best. and App103, you are so right about the need for money being evil. I can't believe how much prices just seem to keep going up. I think much of the problem is corporate greed. The corporations (notice I did not mention people) are trying their best to take over. In some ways it seems it's time for "we the people" to fight back, and I guess one of the best ways is running free software and giving up on software from Microsoft, Adobe, etc... Yes, you have some very good points. Thanks for this interesting topic.
Leland
:D
Renegade:
One of the problems that's been echoed so many times in this thread is about "money" and "evil". For as long as money and making more at any cost (the greedy capitalist thing) is merely viewed as evil or hold some kind of fascination, it will continue. The change that is needed is for people to view that greed not as merely "bad", but as much worse - as vulgar. Then it will no longer be fashionable to charge more simply because you can.
zridling:
To this day, Microsoft encourages piracy of its products. The more users the merrier. Why? The only reason you'd want piracy is lock-in. Lock-in grows the user base and is achieved by none other than proprietary formats. If I can't see the code, then I'm helpless to myself and to others, and soon, a victim of things like WGA and hyper-expensive upgrades. There is no real name for the philosophy of "because we can." That's part of the reason for the success of the biggest software companies, Adobe, Microsoft, Autocad, heck, even SAS. Its very vagueness makes it hard to attack. In actuality, it is not a single entity. It is made up of three main parts.
(1) Corporatism, which is based on the belief that whatever makes money is good — and should never be restrained;
(2) Autocracy, which is the belief in unlimited monopoly. Around the globe, many nations do not bow to Microsoft like we do, nor do they want Microsoft's software. But that doesn't stop Microsoft from wanting its software on every computer, even if they sell Vista for $800 in Denmark and $3 to developing nations;
(3) Open Source/FOSS people are dangerous idiots. And between lobbying, lawsuits, and self-sustaining relationship between helping large corporations make huge profits in return for campaign contributions and support for DMCA, DRM, Patent law, and other policies designed to suffocate and frustrate competitors play a role in the — for lack of a kinder term — Fuck-the-user business strategy (because they can). Open Source software is the biggest threat, period, because it levels the playing field for interoperability and competition. (God forbid we have either of those!)
Renegade:
Open Source/FOSS people are dangerous idiots.
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Hahahahaaha~!
Then there's the gorilla with tits!
Zaine! You're killing me!
But as far as open source is concerned, MS has joined the open standards camp, and that's where they are fighting a winning war. They can do standards better than the FOSS community and are proving it. Things like MONO are proving this. The CLR was a BRILLIANT move by MS.
They're attacking again with open standards for MS Office as well. Open standards are a very good thing, and MS knows where things are going. They're fighting back in a very serious way. I certainly am glad that they are doing so, but the reality of the situation is that they are creating standards that are difficult for anyone to meet unless they are very organized.
We'll see how it all plays out though.
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