Re: I知 a Windows user, so why do I care?
A question of concern Charles.
I really appreciate your move to open source. It's impressive and bold and I think very smart, indeed but.....
What's to stop M$ or Adobe from getting that code and stealing from it to "improve" their own products?? Or am I not understanding the definition of open source??
I know they have quote-unquote "cornered the market" but I wouldn't put it past them to do just that!! :rolleyes:
Thanks so much!!
Re: I知 a Windows user, so why do I care?
I think we should take up a collection for the legal battles. Microsux will be the first ones to steal the inner code. They have the resources to starve any other poor smuck in court costs. Adobe, might steal it. But it is a given that Microsux will steal everything they can and offer it as there own. 99% of there product line is stolen.
You have heard of organized crime.. well micosux is organized slime... :eek: The blob from redmond...
Re: I知 a Windows user, so why do I care?
Quote:
Originally Posted by RAMWolff44
What's to stop M$ or Adobe from getting that code and stealing from it to "improve" their own products?? Or am I not understanding the definition of open source??
The 'open source' release of Xara is not only open source but also Free Software - a subset of open source where anyone who distributes derivatives of the source code must also distribute their own alterations. This 'share alike' feature of the GPL licence means that if Microsoft or Adobe used Xara code, they were also have to release their own products containing the code as open source.
In any case, I doubt they would... there's no real mathematical mystery about how any of Xara's features work; the magic is in the practicality of the user interface and the efficiency of the code - and stealing those would require them to change the architecture of their existing apps.
Re: I知 a Windows user, so why do I care?
It will be interesting to see how many equivalents of Xara's features and speed benefits slither their way into competitor products once Xara's code is fully open sourced. If Adobe has been trying for many years to match Xara's speed and failed, it would be suspicious if this order of magnitude speed difference were to conveniently decrease over the next couple of years. The same applies to Microsoft's product which has rendering speed several times slower. It will also be interesting to see how quickly basic Xara features that have been absent from Adobe and Microsoft's products now magically appear - after all these years in Adobe's case - written of course in their own code.
Re: I知 a Windows user, so why do I care?
This is certainly a novel step to take, and as a Xara user and open-source supporter I hope it works out. But I've seen several products that can't compete in the marketplace (not always because they're bad products - often it's down to marketing budgets etc) go open-source in the expectation that this will somehow engage a huge pool of development talent, new users etc. It doesn't always work that way - in fact it seldom works that way.
To quote Jamie Zawinski on the open-sourcing of Netscape/Mozilla:
Quote:
Open source does work, but it is most definitely not a panacea. If there's a cautionary tale here, it is that you can't take a dying project, sprinkle it with the magic pixie dust of "open source,'' and have everything magically work out. Software is hard. The issues aren't that simple.
Re: I知 a Windows user, so why do I care?
Microsux will not open anything... They will take everything, market the piss out of it and rake in billions while they starve the competition with court costs. :(
Re: I知 a Windows user, so why do I care?
Allsion, I totally agree!
Re: I知 a Windows user, so why do I care?
I, for one, am really excited about this move!
I was pretty discouraged to hear about the Macromedia, Adobe merger. I don't think its good at all for the design community, particularly Mac users. I have used Macromedia's tool set for my design and development needs for quite some time and last year started picking up Xara's product line to enhance the tools I already have. I've been very impressed with Xara's products and don't care at all for Adobe!
I would have moved to Linux a long time ago for my design and development, but didn't find any suitable apps for my design work. I know Gimp is there, but it's not the kind of app I need. I would have also considered moving to the Mac except for the $1000's in cost for software changes. A move to Linux could be done easier and cheaper.
I do have several things for Xara's consideration though.
One, please continue with your product integration. Adding more support for X3D6 is great, but don't stop there. It can get better, and I would like to see some integration with the other Xara products, Menu Maker or Web Style. Perhaps some of this may already be in place as I haven't had much time to become an expert in all the Xara products.
Also, it would be nice for those moving over to Xara to have some similarities with what were used to. Not the way the app works, Xara is great as is, just some keyboard shortcuts that match what were using now. Like H or Z for the Push and Zoom tools. Just to make converting a little easier.
Lastly, will Xara also bring X3D, Menu Maker, and Webstyle over to the Mac and Linux platforms? It would seriously inhibit a move over to another platform if I couldn't also have my other Xara products as well!
Great work Xara! You Rock!
Red
Re: I知 a Windows user, so why do I care?
I agree that open-sourcing isn't a panacea. However it can work. A good product, preferably with a committed originating developer to steer/sustain development work, and a clear market need are all key.
A top-quality vector graphics or creative app is a big gap in the open source area at the moment. Roll-on Xara on Linux too!
As a comparison, OpenOffice/StarOffice is doing pretty well. These days OO really is good enough for most normal home and small business use. I use StarOffice all the time, I have MSOffice 97 but rarely bother to use it.
I really hope this works for Xara Ltd. and us. My nightmare is not M$ stealing code (they won't bother to steal code, although they might headhunt people, code is no good without the developers who understand it). It's Xara losing the marketing battle, and hence the money to fund future development. This looks like a critical (hopefully not emergency) move by Xara to protect against that.
Worst case, we'll all have to chip in a few bob to fund the Xara team as community developers. Then thay can move out of that castle and work from home ;-)
Regards: Colin