Planesdragon's Journal: The right cliche for OSS

(Why oh why isn't there an F/OSS icon?)

It occurs to me, after reading CyranoVR's latest jorunal, that the right axiom (or "cliche") for OSS isn't "you get what you pay for" or "beggars can't be choosers", but rather the following:

Scavengers must make do

So, the right guidepost for free computing is "scavengers must make do." Or, to translate: if you're not paying for it or writing it yourself, make do with what you find.

No...

[jawtheshark]

OSS is more like "choose, right, choose wisely". What you have chosen will come to haunt you.

I only chose OpenBSD and it never came to haunt me. That is because it is a popular and well supported OSS project. For example: I deployed OpenOffice in my family and I get complaints, but I do offer solutions, if they ask the correct questions.

Open source, is not just about free, it is about what you are willing to invest. Alas, depending on the product, your investment must go beyond "installing and test

Re:No...

[arb]

Open source, is not just about free, it is about what you are willing to invest. Alas, depending on the product, your investment must go beyond "installing and testing".

Which is why F/OSS is far from ready for prime time. While off-the-shelf commercial software has bugs and security issues (see Microsoft) it pretty much works out of the box. Mom and Pop can usually figure out how to install and use the software with little hassle. In the corporate world, IT departments don't want to futz around with re-comp

Re:No...

[cyranoVR]

Alas, depending on the product, your investment must go beyond "installing and testing". That is what our dear CyranVR hasn't understood yet.

And what is one supposed to do, "dear" JtS, when use of said half-baked OSS software becomes a business requirement for reasons beyond one's control? I'm open to suggestions.