incompetent marketeers

Dec 07 2008

Puppy FUD

Dries commented on Seth reporting about the puppyfud some proprietary company not understanding open source was uttering.

It was a pretty lousy comparison actually .. they compared Open Source software to a Free Puppy.. it looks nice and cheap at first but it will cost you anyhow as it needs food and shots etc so it isn't really free after all.

Now the fact is that with the proprietary stuff they are trying to shove down their customers throats, their CMS's also need configuration, updates, and styling left and right, probably just as much as the Open Source alternative out there.
Now as they have a proprietary platform the chance that they have an equally big expert group around their product is small, people don't just buy software to learn it, however they will download a piece of interesting open source software to get aquanted with it.. There probably won't be that much free examples and tips and hints a round, or even free themes to base a site on ..

So no the purebred puppy really isn't the better alternative it's going to cost you equally in maintenance and you have to pay the high cost to actually be able to play with it .. or did you think it would be your software after you payed the pricetag ?

Now there's more bad news for the purebred software buyer. He isn't free to go to any vet, no , he has to go to a specialized one in his breed, actually if he doesn't do so once.. he risks never to be helped by another one in the future either.
And no choosing which food to buy for the puppy, no ther's just 1 brand that works, or maybe 2 .. but the prices have been set .. and it won't be cheap.

So what do you want .. the freedom to go to any vet you like, and to buy dogfood where you want , or even give them some of your own leftovers. Or the heavy pricetag, AND the limited choice in vets and food.