Modern parable about FreeSoftware, the computer industry etc

[aRTee]

I just put up this story, hope you like it:

 

http://make.your.recipes.free.fr/

 

Enjoy, and post comments here.

[johnnyv]

You missed out a poll option:

Not my cup of tea, im just pretty indifferent to it.

 

Not that others wouldn't find it appealing, i can only speak for myself.

But i can appreciate your making a contribution to the cause.

[aRTee]

Well, couldn't make you happy with the story, at least I can make you happy with the poll options... ;)

[johnnyv]

hehe done then.

 

I like my reading to be tech related and non abstract, or fantasy fiction.

So if you add some dragons and wizards..... :wink:

[DragonMage]

I gotta agree with johnnyv on this one.. this is not my cup of tea.. I mean.. parable about cooking just makes me hungry, so I cannot concentrate on the real lesson of the story.

[Guest JaseP]

It think it's too convoluted and long to get across the point you are trying to make. I would attempt to shorten it.

[Guest Adriano]

I think it is a nice story to polish your own thoughts, but not something "useful" to spread the word... A comparison between a kitchen and a personal computer (not a comparison of F/L/OSS, though) has been made here (mikey-san.net); a translation to spanish by yours truly is available here (moranar.com.ar).

In a nutshell: I do not understand who are you trying to address with the story. I think it's not badly done, but it's not really original as a concept, and is too long to be a good advocacy element.

[aRTee]

Okay, I figured it 'd be easy to get the point,...

 

Anyway, the story is more aimed at not-so-technical computer users (or non computer users) that have no idea what the importance of Free Software etc could mean to them.

 

Start about the FSF and they really don't care. Too many people put too much importance in LinusT, and not enough in GNU/FLOSS.

Then the toe-twisting comments that 'we computer users should be thankful to MS, because without MS we wouldn't have all this nice stuff'. Well I'm not, and we should not be. This is one of the points of it all.

(IMO the only big company we may have to thank for certain things in computer land is IBM for allowing IBM-compatible pc's. All other stuff could (and would) have been done by others. Even the pc might have been done by others...)

 

Same about the eurolinux anti e-patent stuff. People don't care because they don't see any relevance to them. Same about TCPA, Palladium etc.

 

So my point is, if computers (hard- and software) are vital to our existance as food is (which they are, if you don't look at individuals but companies), how can you really think it is good if you make unnecessary restrictions?

I.e. software patents, tcpa, palladium etcetc...

 

 

But I guess technical folks really don't care much about this kind of story.

 

On the other hand, my girlfriend found it a good read (which means quite a bit to me) and to her it made many things much clearer. She did have to ask me some things (didn't know Richard Stallman for instance), but that's ok.

[Guest Adriano]

Yes, yes, I know, but what I tried to say was "I think it's a bit too long for that audience." The punchline takes too long to get at...

Just my $0,02, though.

[Gowator]

This is just MHO (I couldn't do it better! but you asked for comments)

Its kinda cute but takes too long to get to the point.

You can tell it isn't written by a mother tongue English speaker although the grammer and words are correct (Its way better than my French though) they are obviously translated from French. This is a comment not a critique so I won't start quoting them. Its like a motherboard manual from Tiawan. You've read them ? What I mean is the company in question (insert MB manufacturer of choice) has all the technical ability to put together a pretty complex piece of equipment yet the English reads like its been written by a techy who would prefer to be tweaking part of the board.

 

A cultural observation, Non latin cultures might not put so much emphasis on food quality and view it as not only important but critical. Personally I love food but try discussing 'the food' as a subject with most Norwegians! (No offense meant on this, specially to any of my norwegian friends who might read it)

This is a bit like a car/gas analogy that might work in the States !!

 

You chose a very difficult subject to explain to non techies but as commented earlier its a good attempt to put your thoughts on paper. The problem is plenty of techies exist who don't see the importance of FSF and OpenSource. What seems obvious to you and me seems to have been impossible to get across the American legal system.

 

Don't be put off, writing is not meant to be an easy art and writing in a second language (or third) is incredibily difficult to get the nuance. Practice, criticism and more practice are the only way, even if you are writing in your mother tongue.

 

Anyway, nice site. (Although I'm not sure about Boycot WineX)

IMHO Wine just is..... Its partly good and partly bad for Linux....

[aRTee]

Guys, thanks for your comments, and yes, I realise it is a bit long,..

 

Gowator,... no it is not translated from French, even though the website is in France, I wrote it directly in English and am a native Dutch speaker with English as a quite close second language (as in: english and american people have more than once believed I was a native english speaker after talking with me person to person for some time; however, I do believe that my written english is very likely not the same as the written english of a real native english speaker; on the other hand I get complaints from my dutch friends that I don't speak that properly anymore, and a translation of the switchsuccess story got me the remark that my dutch writing is 'very oldfashioned and germanic' -- so english is a close second language also because my native language is getting watered down). And French as a third, although it's being pushed to fourth position by my German which I get to practise more since moving to the German speaking part of Switzerland.

 

As such I am from a non-latin culture that has a mere mention of 2 (two) noteworthy additions to the worlds cookbook, haring (raw fish) and boerenkool/farmers cabbage; with a honorary mention for french fries with mayonaise instead of ketchup (see: pulp fiction).

 

But anyway, it seems that to raise awareness the story is too far fetched and too long, people who may understand it and would enjoy it probably already know, without having to resort to fuzzy parallells...

 

Guess my time is better spent working on my mdk website...

 

[edit] about the boycott wineX,... it's just to educate people if they really want to have linux games at some point, that's the best thing to do, and just buy linux native games. I'm not a real gamer, but recently purchased 3 games; the choice is not so good yet, but there are enough interesting titles...

And I won't hold it against anyone if they use WineX, it's just a choice and you have to realise that it's one that in the end still empowers MS in some ways...

 

By using linux, no wine(x), no MS programs, setting your browser to identify as itself, not IE, not buying any MS products, you are in no way supporting MS, so any bad thing MS does, I am not partially responsable for. All others who do any of the aforementioned are. Although the blame gets spread very thin, so it's not necessarily a measurable thing -- like I said I won't hold it against anyone, all it means to me is I won't have part of this blame myself.

I have done all the possible that I can do. Others get to make their choices.

[Gowator]

Hey, I didn't mean that you should stop the creative writing, just that the only way forward is through writing, getting criticism and then improving.

 

The main point is as you identify the length for someone who wasn't interested in the first place. :wink:

 

It doesn't matter if you can tell if it was a native speaker or not really but its just a few odd phrases here and there.

I'm constantly laughed at by friends for putting something another way in French when I speak. Its perfectly valid, its just people don't say it that way or its archaic. Your English is much better than my French anyway....

 

My written French is usually at the level of a 10 year old or whatever which isn't good for a written report!

 

For your interest, take a look at Eric Raymods creative writing:

http://catb.org/~esr/writings/

 

Keep it up anyway whether in ABN or English ...

[aRTee]

Thanks for the encouraging words, and yes, if I get creative I will have a go at it again for sure. (and try to improve of course!)

 

O/T are you in France?