Subj : Re: GNU Public Licences Revisited (again)
To   : comp.programming
From : Joe Butler
Date : Sun Sep 25 2005 09:58 am

Perhaps you could give an example of a closed source application that "makes
it a lot more difficult to switch [to another] vendor [compared to the open
source version]"

I have no experience of this, but imagine, for a typical business with no
in-house software engineers, that the total cost of dealing with a major
problem due to a less-than-ideal closed-source vendor would not be
significantly different than dealing with a similar problem in an
open-source alternative (particularly one that required the sourcing of
3rd-party support).

If you get software from a closed source vendor that becomes problematic,
you probably still have the option of moving to another system.  There are
likely to be very few systems where a transfer of data is impossible.  If,
instead, you are using an open source system that becomes a major problem,
you are now reliant on the 'community' still being around and giving your
problem a high priority on the fix list.  If the project is dormant, you've
now got the problem of finding a developer that can fix the problem (at a
cost - that's one of the OSS 'community' dogmas, remember) - perhaps the
company with the problem don't have the source to the version they are
using, perhaps they've already had some mods made that are now lost, not
spec'd out and would need to be re-implemented if the baseline source could
even be located via some Internet archive.

"Willem" <willem@stack.nl> wrote in message
news:slrndj8hvp.2il2.willem@toad.stack.nl...
> Joe wrote:
> ) No, you loose if you were dumb enough to pick such a product when it
didn't
> ) fulfill all of your needs from the outset - particularly if there were
> ) alternatives.  This would be the case if you choose open source or
closed
> ) source - remember that the vast majority of sotware users have no idea
how
> ) to program (or even how to use a product to its full potential).
>
> This comparison lacks, because in the case of open source, you can find
> another company willing to support the OSS you bought from one company.
>
> In the case of closed source, the only company able to give you support
> is the company you bought the CSS from in the first place, and if that
> company turns out to be bad in whatever way, you're screwed.
>
>
> SaSW, Willem
> -- 
> Disclaimer: I am in no way responsible for any of the statements
>             made in the above text. For all I know I might be
>             drugged or something..
>             No I'm not paranoid. You all think I'm paranoid, don't you !
> #EOT

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