Why software should NOT be ported to Windows

I did not write this myself but I believe it is true:

Please do not port software to Windows!

At least, do not port my software to Windows.

While the GNU General Public License expressly prohibits me from denying you the freedom to port software protected by it to Windows, I feel that you do great damage to the world if you do. Let me explain.

Windows is a proprietary environment. They don't give you the source code, and they do anything in their power to limit your freedom. They even try to limit what you can do with the software you rightfully bought from them. So, supporting them in any way is bad for the world, because it encourages others to try to limit others' freedoms (it worked great for Microsoft, so it must be a good idea, right?).

I don't want any of my work to give anyone a reason to support companies like Microsoft who try to limit people's freedoms.

That's why I develop my software on a completely free platform. So I know it works on a completely free platform. Many people using Windows don't care about their freedom. They do care about quality software and for that reason try to replace all the user space software from Microsoft with better free alternatives. This is the sole reason for the existance of cygwin.

However, giving people a way to work around bugs in Windows makes them stay longer with Windows. That's why I consider porting software to Windows sabotage. It does not help people under Windows, in the contrary. It makes them stay longer with Windows. And while they stay, they will put pressure on others to also use Windows. It only helps Microsoft.

While this text singles out Microsoft, other companies are equally evil. For example, porting the diet libc to Solaris would help Sun, noone else. Don't do it.

In the same line of argumentation, I will not modify any of my software so it works better with proprietary development platforms like Visual C++, even if I sacrifice great amounts of performance by not exploiting their features. And I ask you to do the same.

Taken from --- http://www.fefe.de/nowindows/

Seems like the best way of boycotting the MS. Sounds really fair. Transferring the actual applications to another environment does significant damage to its original platform. It's like creating a new kind of engine in one country and taking the idea to another one immediately. The creators and people in their environment won't benefit from it and the profit will go to those who paid a lot of money just to prevent the development outside their own organisations.

Doesn't matter it the application works better on linux, apple or win. I agree with the author that will only increase the nu8mber of users forced to use one and only windows keeping them in ignorance when it comes to knowledge about alternative sources of information technology.

Then again decoding isn't the problem here. The most dangerous thing is ignorance itself. I know a lot of people who won't use any other OS just because of the fear it causes. "I do not know programming" - who has never heard that as an argument against using linux? The propaganda containing information of treating windows as the only user friendly operating system has got under people's skin and it is hard to fight without proper campaign promoting the usage of alternatives as a way of creation and self-realisation when it comes to knowledge itself. People have turned to consumption much than they did years ago and are not interested in learning anymore. Comfort and easy access is much more valuable than creation and innovation. Fighting it may the first step to stopping the backwardness of the programming industry.

A long time ago, developers of unix started campaign towards promotion its products as an alternative to expensive software produces by huge corporations. Seems like it didn't work too well or we have to wait for the effect much longer. I just hope it is the second one. We shoulodn't stop in finding new ways to receive and create needed information. Not only for money. The author of the text above has made his point.

Yeah, but I'm one of people who are afraid of any other thing (operating system? I don't know :D ) than windows (Windows XP at the moment).

Well, I need only Firefox, Google Chrome, Foobar 2000, Alcohol 52%, MIcrosoft Office Word and some games (mostly Arcanum, Morrowind and Oblivion). Nothing more. I don't know if my games would work on Linux or sth like this. I don't even know, how Linux works, because only one operating system I know and I'm sure I can use is Windows.

It doesn't need to be the best or the quickest, it needs to work, and cause no trouble. Because this is what I use computer for... Creation and innovation may be a value in itself, but not when you really don't know how to use it.

samspam wrote:Yeah, but I'm one of people who are afraid of any other thing (operating system? I don't know :D ) than windows (Windows XP at the moment).

Well, I need only Firefox, Google Chrome, Foobar 2000, Alcohol 52%, MIcrosoft Office Word and some games (mostly Arcanum, Morrowind and Oblivion). Nothing more. I don't know if my games would work on Linux or sth like this. I don't even know, how Linux works, because only one operating system I know and I'm sure I can use is Windows.

It doesn't need to be the best or the quickest, it needs to work, and cause no trouble. Because this is what I use computer for... Creation and innovation may be a value in itself, but not when you really don't know how to use it.

I really don't see what's so different between the two, Linux is more stable, more secure, and just as easy to use. There are many free and open source replacements for MS Office. Linux GUIs are pretty much the same as Windows GUIs, just the window buttons in the toolbar are on the left rather than the right.

Porting software over to Windows, not only supports closed source and restrictions; but it also sacrifices security and stability.

As for games and other applications requiring windows as the environemt we got simulators that can help running those like Wine (freeware) or Cedega (shareware). From what I saw Cedega is much better but Wine with help from the users as well as developers will be on its top too.

Thanks to those project soft like Photoshop and other useful programmes and also a lot of games can be run on Linux.

OS1366 wrote:As for games and other applications requiring windows as the environemt we got simulators that can help running those like Wine (freeware) or Cedega (shareware). From what I saw Cedega is much better but Wine with help from the users as well as developers will be on its top too.

Thanks to those project soft like Photoshop and other useful programmes and also a lot of games can be run on Linux.

Or you can use open source alternatives, for example GIMP rather than Photoshop.
I personally prefer GIMP to Photoshop anyway :p

Danneh wrote:I really don't see what's so different between the two, Linux is more stable, more secure, and just as easy to use.

Well, that is what you say. I have never seen Linux. I don't know it.
Perhaps it's failure of educational system - 9 years of learning how to make a Word document. One more thing they should teach us in schools - Linux :D

Maybe I'll try it, next time when my computer requires format :D but the thing is - people are afraid of programs they don't know. Most of us is just computer n00b ;) and don't want to make a mess in computer. As long as it works, it's fine for us.

samspam wrote:

Danneh wrote:I really don't see what's so different between the two, Linux is more stable, more secure, and just as easy to use.

Well, that is what you say. I have never seen Linux. I don't know it.
Perhaps it's failure of educational system - 9 years of learning how to make a Word document. One more thing they should teach us in schools - Linux :D

Maybe I'll try it, next time when my computer requires format :D but the thing is - people are afraid of programs they don't know. Most of us is just computer n00b ;) and don't want to make a mess in computer. As long as it works, it's fine for us.

Yeah, my school teaches us nothing about computers. I've mainly taught myself and me and a friend still teach each other stuff the other never new before. To be honest, we spend our whole life learning something new! :)

Danneh wrote:

samspam wrote:

Danneh wrote:I really don't see what's so different between the two, Linux is more stable, more secure, and just as easy to use.

Well, that is what you say. I have never seen Linux. I don't know it.
Perhaps it's failure of educational system - 9 years of learning how to make a Word document. One more thing they should teach us in schools - Linux

Maybe I'll try it, next time when my computer requires format but the thing is - people are afraid of programs they don't know. Most of us is just computer n00b and don't want to make a mess in computer. As long as it works, it's fine for us.

Yeah, my school teaches us nothing about computers. I've mainly taught myself and me and a friend still teach each other stuff the other never new before. To be honest, we spend our whole life learning something new!

Yes, I know that our schools are not so good as they must bee. As I said in another forum, my daugter is a computer engineer and when I ask her about "visiting" some another url, she said she does not know. In the college they learn how to make program, not to looking for its mistakes and how are they secure. Then i took my computer 186, 15 years old and start to try. I did not believe that i will succeed but I did it!!! In this moment I was feeling as Galileo "epur si muove" and I was so exciting I can't say!!! What a feeling, can not describe it!!! I found a little secret doors in windows to walk where I want to. For my luck I went to my work and my office, it was sunday morning, I called a director, he called admin and they saved me by subscribe me as administrator in the base!!!