I set up a website some months ago, rather similiar to this, which you can see here: www.openalchemy.com

Its all about open source - the way forward for computer software; The ultimate in re-using the perfectly good wheel, the best way to create perfect software….surely?

Not always. Humans, unfortunately are generally in need of something very important to guide their paths. Management.

We all need it, some of us can do it, some of us think they can do without it; There are a number of open source projects which I would consider exemplary examples: OpenOffice being one of them. As well integrated as M$ Office, but totally free; If I wasn’t already so irrevocably entwined with the Microsoft products at work, I would be using it myself. It was clearly a well managed project.

But the there is the Gimp. Its an open source alternative to Photoshop, and its incredibly powerful. It also has the most appallingly variant user interface I have seen. Ever. Every single window looks slightly different, each function appears and curiously, functions in a different manner; The windows appear to be untethered to the main program window, almost as if they don’t need gimp, they just use it for their own satisfaction.

Using it is like wrestling three monkeys having a poo fight - it just gets messy.

 Then there is Paint.NET - not strictly open source, but freeware all the same, and it clearly had a managed team (or there was only one or two people), which dictated that the interface should follow Adobe Photoshop’s good example. As a result, the software feels solid, feels robust, and feels familiar. It is nowhere near as powerful as photoshop, but I would use it in a moment over the GIMP.

 But the real point of my post - does anyone care? I am an advocate of open source, and yet I use photoshop. I use Microsoft Office. I use Adobe reader, and a wealth of other softwares with open source alternatives. Is it because I am scared?

Yes. Iam concerned that using an open source software is a lesser alternative which it generally is - not always, but often. The best programmers only code for money, just like anyone else who excels in their given field.

 Should I continue to lie to the general public about my open source affiliations? No.

Should I use my little website to come clean?………..

No - it won’t help the scene. Perhaps I should just continue my merry way through the world, adding my thoughts here and there - the trouble is, I am finding myself using more and more proprietary commercial software. What validity will my posts have these days?

 I will strive to deliver more reviews in the future…I will certainly try.