Re: Why?!
So, you think Open Source software isn't quite ready for your needs? Well, that's a valid point; it was written with some level of unconscious bias that if not the ultimate user then at least the person installing and configuring it knows what they are doing. The solution, rather than paying for proprietary software over which you have no control, is instead to spend that money employing your own local programmer to turn some existing Open Source ingredients that are almost right for you into something that's absolutely right for you. Local people with money to spend tend to shop in local stores, drink in local pubs, eat in local restaurants and take their families to visit local tourist attractions Most of the money that you pay a local programmer winds up remaining in the local economy.
If you buy proprietary software, by contrast, not only are you enriching billionaires overseas; but you are also entirely dependent upon the whims and caprices of the vendor. If it breaks, and they won't fix it, you're SOL. If Open Source software breaks, at least you get to keep all the pieces; and then any sufficiently-competent person can put it right. (And usually with the beneficial side-effect of putting it right for everybody in the end.)
Biting the hand that feeds IT
