Re: end-user software

[Galen Boyer]

On Wed, 13 Jun 2001, fyawitz@actcom.co.il wrote:
> 
> Despite the amazing success of the GIMP programmers in
> producing a high-quality application, I still find it hard to
> imagine any professional graphic artist who would use the GIMP
> rather than Photoshop just in order to save the $600 or so that
> the commercial program costs.

Many people use free software because of the support that one
gets for their needs as users instead of their needs being placed
in some queue based on the needs of a corporations profits.

> I get the feeling that Photoshop will always stay one jump
> ahead unless they stop producing it altogether.

Maybe they will, maybe they won't.  But the Free software
movement isn't really worried about who is using the software.
It isn't "competing" with any software.  It is worried about how
good the software is and the users define what the software
should do.  You never hear conversations like, "Hey,
SoftwareMaker1 just added feature3 to its software, we need to
implement that, or we will lose market share."  You just hear
things like, "How do I make my software do such and such ..."

Look at Emacs.  In the scheme of things, very few people use it
and that probably won't change, but the software is, BY FAR, the
best anywhere, because the users defined what it should do.
-- 
Galen
I don't want to be the rock.  Yeah, okay, what do you want to be?
I want to be the piece of glass.