[UPHPU] Theory of the DOM

[Smith, Jeff]

-----Original Message-----
From: uphpu-bounces at uphpu.org [mailto:uphpu-bounces at uphpu.org] On Behalf
Of Alvaro Carrasco
Sent: Friday, October 20, 2006 10:11 AM
To: Jacob Wright
Cc: UPHPU General Discussion
Subject: Re: [UPHPU] Theory of the DOM

Hi, Jacob,

Jacob Wright wrote:
>>
>> Well, the topic sounds great but these videos are unplayable on Linux

>> - now you see why proprietary Flash is bad for the web.
>
>
> Haha, you could make the same argument against Open Source.  "See, it 
> doesn't work on Linux.  Without the driving commercial force of 
> consumers demanding products, Flash and other popular formats aren't 
> supported as well." .
How is that an argument against open source? Is the "driving commercial
force of consumers demanding products" that made apache the most popular
web server on the internet? Even when applied to commercial products,
it's not the "driving commercial force of consumers demanding products" 
that made flash popular either. It's simply the fact that flash provided
something that wasn't available before. So, as i see it, the only
benefit of commercial product is a practical one: I need a solution,
it's not available for free, and it's worth it for me to pay for it. Not
quite an argument against open source. By the way, i don't agree with
the statement: "flash is bad for the web" either.
>
> I'm not trying to start a flame war, but I see the benefit in open 
> source AND in commercially driven software.  I use high quality 
> software of both types and have seen really poor software of both
types.
>
> Jacob
>
Alvaro


_______________________________________________

I think the #1 reason apache was as successful as it is doesn't lie in
the fact it is open source or that IIS / Netscape was proprietary, but
the fact it was better.  I won't get into the debate of which
methodology produces a better product.  I think we can all agree that
apache is a better web server.  Flash on the other hand was the best
product available at the time.  Sometimes as a company without staff
developers you need to go with proprietary software when the choices are
1) pay for proprietary software 2) pay open source developers to make an
open source product for you or hope they will do it pro bono.