good reliable software developers,your opinions.

[the gaffer]

one of my favourite software developers is ashampoo.com have tried many of their titles and my opinion is they are great value and seem very stable and reliable,who is your favourite developer and reasons why.

[locustfurnace]

There are probably way to many to state here. I'd have to state as I have many times before. The most used and most useful app I rely on is,
Konqueror from the KDE team.
It's the best file manager / web browser I have used.
Even though I am a GNOME user, i still do all file management via Konqueror.

As for reliable. Lets just say I recently upgraded my system with Slackware 11, which came with KDE 3.5.4. No sooner had I got the system all updated when a new release came out. Lots of improvements and bug fixes.

I just started using this new music manager - AMAROK. Since I could not get the mp4 plugin to compile for XMMS. So I tried Amarok.
Even from within Konqueror, the filemanager / web browser. I already have a toolbar for Amarok.

There are far way too many goods for Konqueror.
Download manager included, Console, CVS frontend...

[me2]

Never been asked that before...

In my experience with nowadays computers, the only developer that I'd return to to purchase the latest version, if desired, is Jasc, which is now out of business. (This ignores extremely expensive engineering software, for example, which must work 98-99% or the company is gone by next year.)

I thought about your question and I, honestly, have had problems with everything, so much so that I hesitate to buy software (which I can afford!), and, with viruses as they are, I carefully examine anything said to be "free" also. Nothing is free -- all has a price. I'd rather pay for software that works and that supports after the sale. In my experience, those days are gone, and I see no evidence that they'll ever return -- the people buying this free and very inexpensive (money-wise) crap are just too stupid now. Hence we're destined to have either extremely expensive or free (if you sell your soul) software.

The same goes for electronics. You can buy extremely expensive or you can buy junk. There is no in between, even if the pricing seems such. And the numbers keep increasing by the day, even as the politicians and the press are saying it's freeing the consumer.

I can't stress it enough. The products that we are consuming today are crap; crap, crap, crap. ...so we consume even more crap ...there could be a plot there... Money, in fact, does grow on trees ...now... ...and, it's been progressively moving towards sand... Then we'll really be free ...to clank our chains.

But I'd bet that's not the kinder and gentler response you wanted to such a simple question.

Pff! Now the gov's trying to force us to buy! You will buy a digital television! ...so's for that consumer-driven marketplace hooey...

...but then, I realize it's a lie and has been a lie for some time. I'm just waiting for others to come around.

No, I won't run for President. Why? Because I'd be murdered on live tv and the people would buy the lie that it wasn't murder and then, still, "vote" for the Republicrat who promised them the largest cut of the looting of my kids!!

Oh, but wait a minute. The subject was software, wasn't it? My bad.

[locustfurnace]

I thought about your question and I, honestly, have had problems with everything, so much so that I hesitate to buy software (which I can afford!), and, with viruses as they are, I carefully examine anything said to be "free" also. Nothing is free -- all has a price. I'd rather pay for software that works and that supports after the sale. In my experience, those days are gone, and I see no evidence that they'll ever return -- the people buying this free and very inexpensive (money-wise) crap are just too stupid now. Hence we're destined to have either extremely expensive or free (if you sell your soul) software.

Lets consider that MS Windows costs big bucks. I've paid for MS DOS, MS Windows, BeOS, OS/2. Then I stopped paying for Operating systems.
Considering that the router I built is running a FreeBSD, a UNIX OS. Which is completely free and it has been running my LAN for the past 6 years without a single reinstall. Considering that the system has an uptime in years without a reboot. Thats pretty good for a "free" OS

My box I am on right now as I type this is Slackware Linux. Another FREE OS, Free as in Free Speech but also no money.
The "Freedom" comes from getting access to the source code. So I can examine the code to look for malicious code, which is no there anyway.
When I install Slackware, I can first, Download it for FREE. I can install it on any computer hardware I own. No license needed. So stupid setup, activation or ask for permission before hardware changing loophole.

As for the quality of this FREE software. Considering that Microsoft has used various pieces of the FreeBSD code. Considering that Apples's OS X makes ample use of FreeBSD useland code as well as the MACH kernel.
Apples also used code from the KDE team, which I mentioned above, for this Safari web browser.
Firefox is gaining much ground in the web browser market. It is a Free, as in no money and open source development.

If you look at MS Windows, a costly OS. which is very buggy to being with. Open to so much malware it's not funny. Reinstalling your OS to fix an issue is unacceptable!

Now, considering that the OS's I run, those free ones. I can upgrade the entire system without rebooting. Virus's, malware, spyware do not exist. Not because there is none, but because of the design of the OS renders those headaches powerless.

All those new improvements touted to come with the new money costing Microsoft Vista, already exist in all those other Free OS.

Probably the most interesting and exciting GUI comes not from Microsoft, but from the Enlightenment developers. For their new E17 desktop. This is free.

Why does one believe only good dependable and innovative software come from company's? Yes, as I have stated already, you need money for reseach and development, but you also get tangled up on politics.
Most of the Free software comes from users who understand how people use software, as they themselves use the software.
Company's, such as Microsoft, only think of ways they want to force users to adapt to their ideas of how a ui should be.

There is more community support and understanding in the OpenSource software world than in the commercial one.

Every single of piece of software on my dozens of computers is Free, OpenSource. From music players, XML editors, Photo Editors, video compression, audio compression, DVD Recording, DVD authoring, compilers, e-mail, Office Suites, PDF creation, hard drive tools, accounting tools, archiving, video players, SSH, cataloging, X10 automation controller.
There are about 3,000 programs installed on this machine right now, and they are all free. Oh, and they are included with the base OS installation "right out of the box".

[OldVersion.com Admin]

Never been asked that before...
No, I won't run for President. Why? Because I'd be murdered on live tv and the people would buy the lie that it wasn't murder and then, still, "vote" for the Republicrat who promised them the largest cut of the looting of my kids!!

Hm, I'm curious if Huey Long was murdered on live TV?

[me2]

locustfurnace,

I hear you. Now who will sell me a convenient, less costly (time!!), means to this? Yeah, there's loads out there, but I don't relish the time I'll spend reading the bizzilions of "free" manuals just to get to where I am now much less exceed it. My life does not revolve around my computer. No, I have other things I'd rather do. The one constant that I see in this UNIX environment you speak of is constant work on the computer. I'd rather pay and then do what I really wanted to do instead. For example, I could go dig into what you've said, bury myself in manuals, but I'd rather, Thanksgiving-fully enjoy my short holiday. I troubleshoot professionally. When I'm not at work I'd prefer to not troubleshoot. No, I'd prefer to pay for a product that works right out of the box. The environment you speak of has no box. When you create it for me, then I'll, probably, buy it.

What? You don't want to create it for me? That's the linchpin isn't it? A free software world requires you to create it. When you've created it, then give me a call and sell me your creation. You do the troubleshooting, and then I'll pay you for your labor, if I want your creation.

Nothing is free. Everything has a cost.

[locustfurnace]

A free software world requires you to create it. When you've created it, then give me a call and sell me your creation. You do the troubleshooting, and then I'll pay you for your labor, if I want your creation.

You can indeed buy boxes with Linux pre-installed.

http://www.tuxedopc.com/us/
http://www.sub500.com/mainpage.htm
http://www.dell.com/content/topics/g...555&l=en&s=biz

Laptops with Linux pre-installed

http://www.aslab.com/products/laptops/laptops.html
http://www.emperorlinux.com/mfgr/dell/tiger/
http://www.linuxcertified.com/linux_laptops.html
http://www.nextcomputing.com/
http://www.asaservers.com/showpages.asp?pid=1057
http://www.pcsforeveryone.com/article.php?art_id=158


Rack Mounted Servers (Linux, BSD)
http://eracks.com/

High-End Supercoputers, Workstations and Clusters
http://www.sgi.com/products/servers/

[me2]

locustfurnace,

I already have a machine, but that is a possibility for the next.

What it will take is to have someone who's completely left Windows for a UNIX environment to create an easy, if not turnkey, conversion package for sale for a reasonable cost. You yourself have done the conversion; hence, you could be that someone. There needs to be an alternative to the presently steep learning curve for the people who are tired of Windows but who don't want to be chained to their computers long enough to successfully make the conversion. In my opinion, that is a tremendous opportunity for some entrepreneur waiting in the wings out there who'll take advantage of it. When that happens the market will leave Windows in a big way.

The question is will doing that violate the GNU license or the Windows license?

[locustfurnace]

The question is will doing that violate the GNU license or the Windows license?

No. Installing GNU/Linux, *BSD, BeOS, QNX, Solaris, OS/2 and of the hundreds of other OS's on your machine would not violate any Microsoft agreement. Microsoft only creates the software that drives your hardware. Unlike Apple Computers who crates the hardware and the software. (OS)

There needs to be an alternative to the presently steep learning curve for the people who are tired of Windows but who don't want to be chained to their computers long enough to successfully make the conversion. In my opinion, that is a tremendous opportunity for some entrepreneur waiting in the wings out there who'll take advantage of it. When that happens the market will leave Windows in a big way.

Actually, this was already done by the entrepreneur who first created MP3.com. MP3tunes. SIPphone, Gizmo Project, and Ajax 13.
He took the freedom thats granted to you in the GNU/Linux world. and created his own OS. He took source code from the GNU/Debian Linux distribution and packaged it up and called it Lindows. This was later changed to Linspire

http://www.linspire.com/

After leaving MP3.com, Robertson founded a second technology company, Lindows (aka Linspire).

Linspire has championed an easy to use system for desktops and laptop computers and has signed on popular retailers both offline and online including Walmart.com, TigerDirect, Frys and MicroCenter. Linspire is based on Debian with a KDE interface. Linspire is most distinguished by CNR (click-n-run), a one click download and installation system which adds and updates software and is typically purchased online after the computer is purchased.

Linspire costs about $59. But there is also Freespire which is a no cost version of Linspire.

One thing you may not be aware of is that you can run an entire Linux operating system without ever installing it onto a computer, you simply boot and run it from a CD or DVD.

Lets not forget that Apple Computers OS X is built upon the ground works of the *BSD camp.
You can now run Windows on your iMac.

[me2]

locustfurnace,

Yes, I've heard of Lindows (MS sued for the name change). I've never checked it out for myself, but I may just do it. The Windows world is getting worse and worse. Maybe it's time I left it.

Thanks for all the information you've given.