[CS-FSLUG] Macs and Linux use in CD Vol 80 - Issue 11

[Josiah Ritchie]

>
> For one I am deeply saddened every time I see not-for-profit groups, and
> churches in particular, flushing donations down the tube to Redmond and
> Cupertino. Why or why do not seminaries not lead the way out of the
> "Windows wilderness"?
>

I entirely agree. As you reference, the simple fact is the software
most desirable in running a mission agency is not available under linux.
Decent tools to help manage donations and finances start in the $10,000
range for small offices. There are groups who are working on this; see
Centrallix and Kardia on sourceforge. These require more resources
(especially human) to assist in getting that to a point that it can be more
broadly used. If you have the ability, please help them.

Rather than shipping costly Apple hardware to assorted mission fields
> would it not be better to develop software that could freely be shared
> and run on whatever hardware is available in the local country. As for
> North America, could not non-profit dollars be put to better use than
> buying shiny Apple devices?
>

I entirely agree again, but what we have is another case of the software not
being up to par. My last foray into the world of video editing under Linux
was well behind the strengths that iMovie brings. That part of FOSS has
grown a lot over the last few years and is becoming better, but it still
isn't great like iMovie. Missionaries are using video to communicate far
more frequently because our culture appreciates that. They are also looking
for the ability to quickly make things look good. They have limited time and
the Mac focuses on putting tools in your hands with very well styled
templates that are attractive and updated with each new release of the
software. The FOSS world typically ignores that. Design takes either a lot
of money or a lot of time (or for people like me, just money because it
doesn't matter how long I try). In the end, you save a lot of either money
or time on design when you choose Mac as a missionary. If the FOSS world
(Scribus, Open Office, Gimp, PiTiVi and all the rest) focused on design the
way Apple does (including usability) and were able to provide that level of
value, or if someone just provided well integrated templates for $$ to go
alongside these tools, I'd be able to more regularly recommend them, but the
reality is a missionary's communication is fighting for eyeballs and if you
design looks old and tired, it's hard to get people to pay attention to what
they've written.

In short, the failure of FOSS to meet the needs of missionaries (and
business professionals) over what Apple offers is offering is the fault of
the individual projects and an unfortunate financial reality that the
missionaries must deal with. I'd encourage you not to look down upon those
who are left having to make daily decisions about how to use their time and
money to accomplish the call God has put on their lives. I could not in
good conscience, despite my desire to do so, recommend Linux in the majority
of situations simply because the time expended in putting these tools
together in a workable and beautiful fashion is huge and ends up taking away
from the missionaries time to spend on what God has called them to do.

So I think the challenge then turns back on us as Christians with abilities
in IT. I know that Centrallix is looking to get a deb package built for
their software. I've spent many hours trying to make it work, but it is
beyond my skill. Someone who can handle a more complicated deb build could
be very useful. They also have plenty of other opportunities for people to
get involved in making this tools more flexible to meet the needs. I've
heard a lot in relation to JavaScript lately. I think they're making a move
to jquery. Join the mailing list and you'll see opportunities. If your
skills are in design, jump in and help put together easily usable templates.
If you have skills in usability, see if you can't encourage projects of
interest for missionaries in that direction. If you are a good teacher, jump
in with screencasts and tutorials that help someone go from no Linux skills
to being able to make use of these tools in ways that allow them to
communicate with support teams in a way that makes them "look" good. Don't
think lowly of the screencast's strength. The reality is many churches and
missionaries are far from the skills needed and must get these somehow.
Everything else can be in place, but if some form of support isn't available
then it's all pointless.

Until we can decisively solve these issues, Windows is going to rule the
mission agency office and Apple will continue to take over the missionary
laptop market. The expenses associated with these decisions will continue to
drain money from other areas. Meanwhile, Linux will remain a curiosity in
the server closet, relegated to the responsibility of file serving and web
site delivery.

If you want to shoot me some thoughts on what skills you have to offer, I'd
be glad to use my knowledge of the field to try to match you with someone
who could use whatever excess of time you have to offer these skills.

JSR/

-- 
Our Mission
Technology and Hospitality for God's Workmen
http://missions.ritchietribe.net
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://ofb.biz/pipermail/christiansource_ofb.biz/attachments/20101031/ee5e14e0/attachment.htm>