The first time I reviewed Mac OS X, I was impressed by the migration feature — I didn’t actually try it out, because I didn’t have a Mac to migrate from, but I thought it was quite impressive all the same to offer users an easy and no-nonsense way to move their data from one machine to another.
As a Linux user, I do two things before each upgrade — whether it’s a fresh install, or an apt-get dist-upgrade — I back up my home directory to a different machine or external drive, and I always have /home on a separate partition that isn’t overwritten during the install/upgrade.
But, if you’re moving from Windows to Linux — as I hope many people are — it can be a bit more complex. That’s why I wanted to check out Versora’s Progression Desktop. It’s a program that allows users to move data from one system to the other, with an eye towards preserving features and so forth.
My review is up on Linux.com. As usual, someone had a negative comment about the fact that Versora isn’t open source. It seems every time I do a review of a product that’s not fully open source, at least one reader has to complain about it.
While I think it’d be great if all software was open source, that’s not reality, and it’s not likely to be reality anytime soon. Many Linux users are all about open source and free software, others are more interested in the Linux because it’s a stable, best-of-breed Unix-like OS.
That’s the Linux.com and Newsforge.com audience. Some folks are interested in reading about programs like Versora that aren’t open source — and are willing to pay a few bucks for a program that meets their needs — and some aren’t interested.
That’s cool — but I’m not going to stop writing reviews of proprietary software just because a few purists get their knickers in a twist when they see a review of a proprietary program. (Nor do I plan to stop reviewing and using FOSS-licensed software, either, though the proprietary folks don’t carp when they see reviews of open source software…) For Linux to succeed, it’s going to have to make inroads with users who don’t care about licensing issues, the same users who would probably want to use Versora’s program.
Refusing to write about proprietary software isn’t going to serve any useful purpose, except to ignore a lot of software that a large portion of the Linux audience is interested in. If proprietary software offends you, then go ahead and ignore the stories and reviews about proprietary software. Better yet, rather than wasting your valuable time leaving snide comments, start working on a free software alternative to the proprietary software. As far as I know, “evil” license or not, Versora is the only program around to help users migrate from Windows to Linux. I’d gladly review free software that does the same thing, if it exists.
Absolutely right. I am a Linux user since 1996, I’m not what you might call a “proprietary software fan” but I’ve used (and bought) some great proprietary software for Linux over the years (including the controversial conexant modem drivers which actually allowed me to work with my favourite OS while on the road).
The issues raised by the free software fans are serious and must be kept in consideration. I think about issues like patents, intellectual property and the like. These are darn serious issues. But this doesn’t mean I’m not willing to use proprietary software if I can’t find anything free that fits the bill or just allows me to do my work.
Don’t be upset by comments. Comments are a great way to understand what other people think and, sometimes, they should be thought of as such and nothing more.