Open Source is Not a Democracy | Linux Today

Open Source is Not a Democracy

Written By
Web Webster
Web Webster
Mar 21, 2010

[ Thanks to An Anonymous Reader for
this link. ]

“Design and themes have been a key part of the Linux
buy-in for as long as I can remember.

“In fact, once upon a time, the look and feel of application was
actually used as its primary selling point to me. Back in 2000, at
the LinuxWorld at Javitts, I made a comment about some app being
very buggy (I don’t recall which), to which the enthusiastic
developer actually replied, “yes, but look at how cool it
looks!”

“Yes, well, DeLorians looked cool, too.

“While I never thought looks should be the main reason you
should try something–and thank $Deity my wife subscribes to that
view, too–there’s no denying that the design of Linux
distributions and their component apps play a role in attracting
users. We’re human beings, with brains wired for visual
stimulus-routines. Pretty->acquire is a very base reaction.”


Complete Story

Web Webster

Web Webster

Web Webster has more than 20 years of writing and editorial experience in the tech sector. He’s written and edited news, demand generation, user-focused, and thought leadership content for business software solutions, consumer tech, and Linux Today, he edits and writes for a portfolio of tech industry news and analysis websites including webopedia.com, and DatabaseJournal.com.

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