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From: "Bruce Byfield" <bbyfield -at- axionet -dot- com>
Quoting Bonnie Granat <bgranat -at- granatedit -dot- com>:
>
> > -What's the economic model, here?
>
> There's not one. OpenOffice.org is open source software, and economics has
> nothing to do with the project's intentions.
>
Really? Don't open source applications exist so that people can use them as a
basis for programs that they can sell?
> To be more specific, OpenOffice.org is open source software. You can install
it
> on as many computers as you like, make as many copies as you like, and give it
> to as many people as you like - all perfectly legally. In fact, the project
> encourages you to do so.
>
Yes, I understand that, but I'm wondering what is lacking in this program if the
intent is for other people to use it as a basis for their own products that they
will then sell.
>
> > -Why should I trust that this program won't mess up my computer?
>
> Why should you trust that any program won't mess up your computer? I mean,
> think about it for a minute.
It is thinking about it that makes me ask the question, Bruce.
>
> If you look around the OpenOffice.org site, you'll see that this is a massive
> project, with over ten thousand contributors and a very high profile. Its code
> is available for anyone to inspect. Under these circumstances, what do you
> think the chances are that it includes any malicious code?
>
Why do you assume that I had "malicious code" in mind?
> Or perhaps you would prefer an endorsement? If so, have a look at the Techwr-l
> web site for my article on OpenOffice.org. Or look at Solveig's web site. For
> myself, I can say that I've been using OpenOffice.org for 18 months, and that
> is generally equal to MS Office in functionality and superior in some aspects.
>
Yes, I've noticed that it receives a lot of accolades on this list.
> (Of course, how much this endorsement convinces you depends on what you think
> of me. I won't ask ;->)
>
> However, I suspect that underneath your question lies a suspicion that open
> source software is inferior to proprietary software. If so, all I can say is:
> have a look.
I might download it at some point and have a look. What is the motivation for
using it, though?
And consider, too, that open source software is probably in your
> life already without you knowing it. For example, Apache runs about two-thirds
> of all servers. And I know for a fact that Techwr-l runs on Linux. Open source
> software, like any software, ranges widely in quality, but the best of it is
as
> good as any commercial software you can name. In some cases, it's better.
>
So nobody gets paid for supplying Apache?
> The only way that OpenOffice.org might "mess up" your computer is if you
> install under Windows and absent-mindedly set the file associations so that
all
> your MS Office documents open in it when you click on them from the Windows
> Explorer or desktop. However, you have to deliberately choose these options.
If
> you somehow do set the file associations, it's easy enough to reset them.
>
Yes, I read something about this on the Web site. I have to say that the Web
site does not seem to be attempting to attract new users. If it were, it might
have addressed the questions that I currently have.
> If you (or anybody else) have any questions, please feel free to ask me on the
> list or privately. I've made some minor contributions to OpenOffice.org,
> reviewed it several times, and am currently writing a book on the subject, so
> I'd be happy to answer questions.
>
Thanks, Bruce. I would like to understand what the motivation for using it is
and how it benefits people, especially at a time when people are seeking ways to
earn money. At the bottom of my questions, really, I think is another question:
is the suite as it exists so basic as to be less desirable than products that
developers create that add to it?
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