Why Are Open Source Alternatives So Bad?

Key takeaways:

Open source alternatives to popular software often lack features and have confusing UIs.
The quality of open source software can vary greatly, with smaller projects often being more successful.
The lack of monetary incentives and the difficulty of contributing to open source projects can hinder their development.
The development of open source software can be improved by having a clear vision, dedicated teams, and better support for non-programmer contributors.
Successful open source projects like Blender and Thunderbird have adopted some practices from proprietary software and prioritized user feedback.

open source software and its shortcomings #

Open source alternatives to popular software (e.g. GIMP vs Photoshop) often lack features and have confusing, outdated UIs.
- This makes them less appealing to professionals and results in longer work times.
The issue is not solely the different workflow, as tasks often take longer and are less efficient.

Open source software is software with publicly available source code that anyone can contribute to.
- It is part of the free software movement, which emphasizes user freedom.
The quality and scale of open source software can vary greatly.
- Smaller, simpler projects like Git are often more successful.
- Larger, mid-sized projects for end-users (e.g. GIMP, Kdenlive) face more challenges.

It has become easier to make money with software, reducing the incentive to contribute to open source projects.
The UI of open source software is often poor due to the lack of dedicated designers and accidental, incoherent design.
The contribution process can be difficult for non-programmers, as services like GitHub are built for developers and require bug reports and feature suggestions to be made in specific ways.
- This can result in developers prioritizing their own needs over those of end-users.

For larger, user-facing projects, some level of organization and management is necessary to rival proprietary software.
Open source projects can benefit from having a clear, coherent vision, as well as dedicated teams for programming, design, quality assurance, and leadership.
Blender, a successful open source 3D modeling and animation software, has a dedicated design committee and a high standard of polish.
- Its founder emphasizes the importance of working with artists and incorporating user feedback.
The open-source email client Thunderbird has also improved in recent years due to dedicated team efforts and user donations.

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