> I agree, open source solutions can sometimes have the same level of 'lock in' as closed-source enterprise solutions.
Not at all. You can always hire someone to update an abandoned software you rely on or help you migrate to another alternative. Lock in would mean you have no such option.
> Most OSS software has a certain degree of 'evil' behind it (particularly as they get older and the community becomes increasingly financially-motivated).
There is nothing wrong in demanding payment. My time certainly isn't free and I will not write code for free unless it solves a problem I also have.
> I still think that OSS is better than enterprise software most of the time.
This distinction doesn't make sense. Until recently I worked for Canonical on MAAS, a physical hardware provisioning tool for data center operations. It's free (AGPL) and you don't get much more enterprise than managing hundreds of servers.
We have to be very precise with the terms we use. There is enough material here to fuel a flame war that'd outlast most stars.
Security issues are now creating a new kind of obsolescence, and therefore sane fears of lock-in (unless you want to spend immense sums keeping software fully up to date.) For example there's advice out there now to strictly avoid the original Open Office because it isn't being kept up, vulnerabilities aren't being discovered and patched. Luckily in that case you can probably jump easily to Libre Office, but that won't always be the case.
Not at all. You can always hire someone to update an abandoned software you rely on or help you migrate to another alternative. Lock in would mean you have no such option.
> Most OSS software has a certain degree of 'evil' behind it (particularly as they get older and the community becomes increasingly financially-motivated).
There is nothing wrong in demanding payment. My time certainly isn't free and I will not write code for free unless it solves a problem I also have.
> I still think that OSS is better than enterprise software most of the time.
This distinction doesn't make sense. Until recently I worked for Canonical on MAAS, a physical hardware provisioning tool for data center operations. It's free (AGPL) and you don't get much more enterprise than managing hundreds of servers.
We have to be very precise with the terms we use. There is enough material here to fuel a flame war that'd outlast most stars.