Re: [Fsfe-uk] Mac OS X refund

[Kevin Donnelly]

On Thursday 24 January 2008 13:51, Chris Croughton wrote:
> I will reiterate my offer, which didn't get any takers last time.  The
> best music scoring and composing software I've found is Sibelius
> (http://www.sibelius.com/, Windows/Mac).  It costs around 600 pounds
> (and is proprietary), so what I actually use is Noteworthy Composer
> (www.ntworthy.com, Windows, also proprietary) which is not as powerful
> but which has the best user interface I've come across.  I will offer
> the cost of Sibelius, 600 pounds, to anyone who produces a program with
> the functionality and ease of use of Noteworthy Composer as free
> software (I don't insist on it being identical, I do insist that it must
> have all of the functionality and have an interface which is as easy to
> use with both mouse and keyboard).  I am happy to work with them to test
> the features and interface.

If you mean a feature for feature copy of Noteworthy (which I've never used), 
I doubt you'll find that.  But Noteworthy is supposed to run quite well on 
WINE (http://appdb.winehq.org/objectManager.php?sClass=application&iId=831).  
Have you explored that?

Have you tried using Rosegarden, one of the unsung heroes of free software?  
The latest version of this has dealt with a lot of the notation issues 
earlier versions had.  I've just entered a 5-page piano piece, and that went 
swimmingly - I found the interface quite easy.  You also get output in 
Lilypond, widely recognised (even by some Noteworthy users on their forum) as 
providing very good music typography.  Try it and see how you get on - if you 
have difficulties getting it running, email me offlist.

I'm sure the remarkable Chris Cannam (also responsible for DSSI, Vamp, Sonic 
Visualiser, etc) and the guys would welcome a £600 donation, provided it's 
not accompanied with a request like "completely redo this functionality to be 
like NWC's, and can I have it by next month, please?".

> Any takers?  Anyone else want to join in sponsoring it?

I've donated in the past, but one of the problems is that there are only a few 
people working on it, and £600, while a lot, is not enough if you want to do 
major development.  This really comes back to the earlier threads - unless 
people are encouraged to use free software, even if it's not quite there yet, 
it's makes it more difficult to get it there.  If free software could get 
some of the shareware or license revenue currently going to closed software, 
things would be a lot healthier, but of course that won't happen 
if "advocates" don't actually advocate - with friends like that, who needs 
enemies?

> Let me ask the "everything must be free software" fanatics (I don't know
> whether you count yourself as one, but feel free to answer): Do you use
> any of the following?
>
>     A computer using proprietary hardware (like a CPU?)
>     A car with a proprietary processor doing engine management?
>     A TV set using proprietary software?
>     An airline whose planes use proprietary software?
>     Roads with traffic and pedestrian lights run by proprietary
>     software?

Well this is complete baloney!  The difference between a PC and these is that 
the PC is predicated on the assumption that you can change bits of it, and 
that applies especially to the OS - that was the big advance of the PC over 
the 80s model, where if you wanted to use the Amiga OS you had to have Amiga 
hardware, and if you wanted to use the Commodore OS you had to have a C64.

If you want to use this sort of daft analogy, I could ask why people argue for  
closed software being allowed to retain a privileged position when they 
wouldn't stand for:
- using Citroen-branded petrol because that's all the manufacturer of their 
Citroen car allows them to use;
- only being allowed to upgrade their drill bit when the manufacturer of their 
Bosch drill releases a new one;
and so on.  

-- 
Pob hwyl / Best wishes

Kevin Donnelly

www.klebran.org.uk - Gwirydd gramadeg rhydd i'r Gymraeg
www.eurfa.org.uk - Geiriadur rhydd i'r Gymraeg
www.rhedadur.org.uk - Rhedeg berfau Cymraeg