[OSM-talk] osm talk at local LUG

[Steve Hill]

On Tue, 10 Jun 2008, SteveC wrote:

> Isn't it easier with such a group to ask 'why not use windows?'

Quite possibly, but that isn't quite the same thing.  Windows is not free 
(as in beer), so a lot of people (even LUG attendees) often get hung up on 
the zero cost side of things, so when faced with two zero cost solutions 
(Google and OSM) they must be poked into realising that there is also the 
Free (as in speech) aspect to consider.

I consider the freedom I get from using Linux to be one of the main 
reasons for using it, but one must accept that not everyone thinks the 
same way, so being quite explicit in the explanation of _why_ to use OSM 
instead of Google is a Good Thing.  As far as Linux is concerned, there 
are other reasons to use it instead of Windows - i.e. it costs nothing, it 
is more secure, it comes with more powerful tools, it is generally better. 
Whilst a lot of these things may have come about _because_ of the freedom 
that Linux gives people, that fact may not be directly evident to a lot of 
people.

Just my 2 pennies worth...

  - Steve
    xmpp:steve at nexusuk.org   sip:steve at nexusuk.org   http://www.nexusuk.org/

      Servatis a periculum, servatis a maleficum - Whisper, Evanescence