On Saturday 05 June 2010 13:19:07 Siddhesh Poyarekar wrote:
On Sat, Jun 5, 2010 at 9:44 AM, shreekant bohra
skbohra123@gmail.com wrote:
So the statement gnu/linux not being good for design is very subjective and has to be put into context.
In the latter context it is probably true to an extent, since there are no big spenders using (and hence contributing to) it.
No it isnt. The closed apps have fenced in their users minds through the UI and via patents. I am quite sure that one would be able to do everything that the closed apps do.
Eg. ecad. I know of innumerable engineers who continue to use closed tools. We switched over 2 years ago, with the same mental blocks. It took some effort to change our work pattern and discover the "lack of features" were actually a blessing in disguise that actually uncovers subtle design issues. The power of scripts within the application slashes development time enormously. The textfile storage format actually allows you very precise and complex shapes and cutouts, a very painful task in closed apps. And the icing is freedom from the forced upgrade treadmill. Of course everyone would have loved to port their old designs, but from a developer viewpoint, a translator is a waste of time given the sheer number of ill documnetd ecad formats.
It also makes me wonder about the motives of companies using such formats, and the daftness of customers working hard to pay an extortion racket.