On Mon, 23 Aug 2010 10:13:33 -0700, John Smith
wrote:
On 8/22/2010 11:55 PM, wrote:
...
Well, after all, it seems that we only forgot to mention the
name of that elephant in the room -perhpas because its
advantageous name is /F/L/O/S/S/.
Best regards,
pez
Yes, the free, as in free beer is one great advantage, but an advantage
not all will be able to take advantage of.
If you're saying free isn't really free I can agree with you. I have
brewed my own beer (still do) and the realization was quickly
discovered that free isn't really free unless the hourly rate is zip,
zero, nada....
Paying consultants a kilobuck per day to support FOSS-based projects
starts looking pound-foolish very quickly. Training the in-house guy
to learn the ins and outs of a piece of FOSS doesn't work too well
either. If the guy is any good, he will soon be marketing his skills
as a $100+/hr consultant. In this aspect FOSS is just another form
vendor lock-in except the vendor is the consultant hawking his skills
and knowledge.
Since MMANA-GAL and EZNEC
have visual interfaces so similar, being able to use one is effectively
being able to immediately use the other. The learning curve into your
interface takes just a bit longer ...
Both provide immediate understanding but one immediacy takes longer
than the other? How different are skillsets for using a WIMP
interface?
but, as you say, the availability
of the source makes it highly desirable to at least one group.
The free in FOSS doesn't mean that anything is free of a learning
curve. In fact FOSS can actually present a learning wall. P2P support
tends to deal with solving specific problems rather than any abstract
interpretation of what the problem is, why it exists (aka why the tool
works as it does), and how best to resolve the specific issue.
The biggest problem with FOSS is too many freetards try to use the
tools and fail to contribute what they have learned/experienced into
any sort of public knowledge base.
I don't mean to denigrate FOSS at all. I'm just asking if FOSS is
_the_ answer what was _the_ question? Too many know-nothings assume
the tool is the answer and free means minimal effort/expense required.
Only knowledgeable consumers ask how expensive is free.