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What I've learned about open source community over 30 years

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Re: What I've learned about open source community over 30 years

#11

Post by transpute »

bruce511 wrote: post #9
transpute wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> we don't really need it - it serves no practical purpose FreeDOS is used by PC OEMs for tech support, e.g. https://support.hp.com/us-en/document/ish_9586495-9586656-16 You can create a DOS-bootable USB flash drive by downloading and saving a FreeDOS operating system image. The bootable USB flash drive can then be used for testing and troubleshooting any component on your PC. FreeDOS helps sell PC hardware without t…

As I pointed out the "uselessness" is a generalization, although perhaps your suggestion of use cases rather proves my point. Firstly "selling pcs without Windows". If you want to sell a machine without windows feel free to ship it with Linux or indeed nothing. Yes, FreeDOS is an option, but it's not unique. Sure, some techs find it useful as a bare-metal hardware diagnostic tool. Presenting that micro niche as a use…

> feel free to ship it with Linux

That requires the OEM to support Linux on the device. This has only been done for select devices, e.g. Dell XPS, and was a major undertaking.

> Presenting that micro niche as a use case kinda proves the point

Everything is a niche until you need it, e.g. installing a BIOS update from FreeDOS USB drive, without needing an OEM-certified Linux or Windows install for firmware distribution.

Re: What I've learned about open source community over 30 years

#12

Post by xarope »

peter_l_downs wrote: post #3

Extremely anodyne — given that the author has maintained FreeDOS for longer than I've been alive, I was hoping for slightly more interesting ideas than "have a website and be nice to people." Not that I disagree with his advice!

“If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up the men to gather wood, divide the work, and give orders. Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and endless sea.” ― Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Re: What I've learned about open source community over 30 years

#13

Post by spookie »

bruce511 wrote: post #4

Congrats to FreeDOS for 30 years. This is perhaps a good example of a project being more than the product. By which I mean, we don't really need it - it serves no practical purpose, and yet it continues. Of course I generalise, but the original premise ("I liked the command line") is amply served by Linux, Mac or Windows. The other original motivations are similarly obsolete now. All of which is irrelevant. It remain…

I still need to use it to update certain firmwares

Re: What I've learned about open source community over 30 years

#15

Post by sufehmi »

"Maintain a Website" - this really means "publish" (your works)

Because even if you do tons of very good work - if you don't publish it, then it's as if you're doing nothing.

This is where a lot of non-profits fail.

A lot of them are doing very, very good work - but because they suck at documentation & publication ; then people doesn't know about it at all.

Re: What I've learned about open source community over 30 years

#16

Post by skydhash »

transpute wrote: post #6

FreeDOS can be used for offline word processing, e.g. reducing information leaks when writing the next "Game of Thrones". (2014) https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2021/07/dos-b... > Twenty years ago this week, as Microsoft announced that it would end support for the MS-DOS operating system, James Hall announced to the world that he intended to create a public domain version of the OS in order to keep the…

I've installed Asahi on my Mac and so far have been happily computing with the following

  Emacs
  Firefox
  foot (terminal)
  swaywm (and the associated utilities)
  KeepassXC (password management)
  mpd (music)
  calibre (ebooks)
  mpv (for the few local videos I still watch on my computer)
  evince (for pdfs)
  various cli utilities
What I like about these is how consistent it is. No sneaky updates that shuffle things around (I don't mind learning new stuff, but I don't like to have my workflows break for no sensible reason). If WordStar was everything I needed, I wouldn't want Office 365 either.

Re: What I've learned about open source community over 30 years

#17

Post by zzo38computer »

bruce511 wrote: post #4

Congrats to FreeDOS for 30 years. This is perhaps a good example of a project being more than the product. By which I mean, we don't really need it - it serves no practical purpose, and yet it continues. Of course I generalise, but the original premise ("I liked the command line") is amply served by Linux, Mac or Windows. The other original motivations are similarly obsolete now. All of which is irrelevant. It remain…

FreeDOS has a benefit: in case you do not need or want a more complicated operating system than DOS. Another benefit is in case your intention is to run DOS programs on the computer.

Re: What I've learned about open source community over 30 years

#18

Post by arp242 »

There's a whole bunch of ways to run a project. Some of them don't really involve "running a project" in the first place and are just the work of one person. Others have very different social dynamics than FreeDOS. If you want to be an asshole to everyone you perceive to be an idiot, then ... you can do that. You're allowed. I'm not saying it's the kind of project I'm very likely to contribute to, but not everything needs to suit my preferences.

Besides, many social conventions "exclude" people. I was once reprimanded for using the phrase "getting shit done" because any profanity, no matter the context, is forbidden, apparently. I felt that was childish and infantile enough that I didn't really feel like being part of that.

In the end all that's needed is publishing the code. You don't need to care about community or anything. You can, but don't need to.

Re: What I've learned about open source community over 30 years

#19

Post by DaoVeles »

bruce511 wrote: post #4

Congrats to FreeDOS for 30 years. This is perhaps a good example of a project being more than the product. By which I mean, we don't really need it - it serves no practical purpose, and yet it continues. Of course I generalise, but the original premise ("I liked the command line") is amply served by Linux, Mac or Windows. The other original motivations are similarly obsolete now. All of which is irrelevant. It remain…

Funnily enough the Permacomputing folks call out the use of Freedos as a form of Bedrock platform.

https://permacomputing.net/bedrock_platform/

That freedos will run on almost any x86 PC built in the last 43 years it a testament to software that truly transcends obsolescence.

Just because it isn't the latest and greatest doesn't mean it doesn't have use.

Re: What I've learned about open source community over 30 years

#20

Post by DaoVeles »

paulryanrogers wrote: post #8
peter_l_downs wrote: post #3

Extremely anodyne — given that the author has maintained FreeDOS for longer than I've been alive, I was hoping for slightly more interesting ideas than "have a website and be nice to people." Not that I disagree with his advice!

Nostalgia. Many FOSS projects feed on collective or obsessive nostalgia. I should know having contributed to some and following many. DOS is also sister project to retro gaming, a deep well for those fuzzy feelings. That said, Hall does offer good and sensible advice to keep the community together and civil.

It is astounding just how much gets done via nostalgia, especially in the gaming space. Just look at the emulation scene to see the best of this.
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