successful games are based on open source code?
Urban Terror is a perfect port of Quake to Linux, while Heroes of Newerth is one of the most (if not THE most) succesful Dota-like game and it has been ported to Linux. There are thousands of other games ranging from RPG, FPS, RTS, puzzles, ... They might not be as pretty looking than the ones under Windows, but you cannot say that open source games are inexistant.
How many graphic designers use GIMP?
Here's a forum with over 5000 users.
Here's another one with over 22 000 users.

I could spend more time showing you how big the GIMP community is. If you don't know any designer using GIMP don't go and dismiss the work of thousands and thousands of daily users. Gimp can virtually do anything Photoshop can. It might not do it as well, or as easily I admit, but it is definitely worthy of any commercial product. don't dismiss it simply because it's free.
How many animators use open source alternatives?
Big Buck Bunny has been made entirely with Blender, a 100% open source 3D app.


But more importantly, animation, games, architecture, photo design, ... those are niches. What a (mainstream) computer is universally supposed to do is web browsing, multimedia, document handling and office work, data backup, information sharing, heavy calculations, cryptography and security, ... In these fields (which are much more common than the use of AutoCAD) open source software and algorithms have proven not only to provide a viable alternative, but often even surpassing their closed-source counterparts.

My point is simply that YES! open source could , and should, be considered an alternative when proprietary software is too expensive. And the reason why I get so vocal about this issue is because I have a strong belief that this could be a solution for the huge piracy problems in Lebanon.

How many people can afford a 300$+ license for Windows? Not to mention 100$+ for Office. How many businesses can afford the business license for 20 PCs? What about MS SQL? IIS server ? other M$ product? How many businesses can afford an Oracle DB? Sure some of them can, but entrepreneurs and freelancers could cut costs hugely by learning open source products (instead of illegaly getting them for free).

Open source comes from an academic tradition of passing knowledge. It has grown almost entirely in Universities. But in countries like Lebanon (or other African/Asian/poorer countries) it can prove to be a commercial solution with incredibly high potential.
rahmu wrotewhile Heroes of Newerth is one of the most (if not THE most) succesful Dota-like game and it has been ported to Linux.
It was not ported to Linux, S2 Games implemented HoN with portability in mind from Day 1 just like they did with Savage 2. Implementing cross platform games is incredibly easy and as the S2 Games vice president said, the difficulty is more in terms of a business level difficulty rather a technical difficulty.

I've tried HoN on all three platforms they support and the installation was just as easy on all three. The gameplay and graphics was the same on all three except for mac which i believe was a graphics issue on my part and a small problem with multitasking (tabbing between applications) on linux which isn't really much of a big deal.

Gaming companies and other should really learn from S2 Games and start supporting all the platforms.

On a similar note: HoN has 2,000,000 beta subscribers and 80,000 prepurchased accounts and a traffic high of 50,000 simultaneous users. Those numbers might not be supreme but S2 Games did 0 advertisement for HoN and they are still in Open Beta (should be going retail soon).
I stand corrected. I still think thought that open source feels like it is missing something. Often it lacks attractiveness or ease of use. And one thing, rahmu, I know that worldwide there are 30 000 (or whatever) GIMP users, but there are probably 100 times more Photoshop users.
The bottom line is that there are alternatives, yet people still go out and shell money for commercial software. You say alternatives are better... so what are you insinuating? Are people ignorant?
But why should they go for free when they can get the costly for free?
That's the real question to answer in the Lebanese Environment.

You will never convince a designer to use GIMP when they have access to Photoshop (when they are both for free).
rolf wroteThe bottom line is that there are alternatives, yet people still go out and shell money for commercial software. You say alternatives are better... so what are you insinuating? Are people ignorant?
I admit that when I say that the alternatives are better I am a little bit trolling (though these are my personal beliefs) but when it comes to open source being a viable alternative in poorer countries, I am talking about a issue that needs addressing.

Say anti-piracy rules start applying in Lebanon. Badly. What would happen to the Graphic Design industry? Adobe suit costs thousands and thousands of dollars. For a country like Lebanon that would mean only big companies having access to the product. That means no freelancing, no community, nothing. Do you realize what opportunity GIMP is? It doesn't feel as WOW as Photoshop and sure it easn't as easy to use. But it delivers commercial-level quality.

Same thing goes for PHP, Apache, MySQL, gcc, emacs, the Linux kernel, etc, etc...

Do you like to be called a pirate? I was a pirate when I was 15. I used to copy illegal data. No matter what you say what excuse you give, I'll always be a pirate. And so are kids all around the world. Pirates. Bad people. You are not paying the developers work.

You don't have to pay 1000$+ in software today to have a computer up and about. It can do so for free, and independently from any company. Can you imagine the humanitarian and social revolution it is (it didn't exist until recently).

The way I see it is, the free independent thing is the basic. I will pay when I'll need the upgrade. Ubuntu is fine by me. Apache too. PHP is great. Python rocks. Vim is a treat (I have a very moody hate/love relationship with that thing). GCC is a blessing for universities all around the world (Can you imagine cutting the cost on thousands of dollars in Visual C++ licenses? How much money will universities save by not buying Oracle licenses?
Say anti-piracy rules start applying in Lebanon. Badly. What would happen to the Graphic Design industry? Adobe suit costs thousands and thousands of dollars. For a country like Lebanon that would mean only big companies having access to the product. That means no freelancing, no community, nothing. Do you realize what opportunity GIMP is? It doesn't feel as WOW as Photoshop and sure it easn't as easy to use. But it delivers commercial-level quality.
Actually I once tried GIMP, not bad at all. I was amazed by its capabilities. I actually have a copy of it for Windows, but I have to admit that ever since I got Photoshop I never used it again. But still, if I had to choose between a legal copy of PS or GIMP, I would definitely choose the latter.
Same thing goes for PHP, Apache, MySQL, gcc, emacs, the Linux kernel, etc, etc...
With all due respect to M$ but I strongly believe that PHP is the best and easiest to learn server-side language. MySQL is pretty good as well. Actually Facebook runs a MySQL database (it was a free version but now they're using an enterprise version). So yeah, open-source solutions will always be a good alternative for over-priced software in case you do not want to get pirated software.
I think facebook developed their own database, but I'm not sure. Maybe part runs on MySQL, part runs on their own code. In any case I dont really like MySQL that much and heart that PostgreSql is better, and I dont like SQL in general, it is kinda COBOL - like, unstructured and english-like. It is good to memorize things, but bad for constructing complex queries.
It is the first of May where is the promised upgrade?
yeah, I thought cyberia was gonna "improve" there internet quality, any cyberia users out there notice a change in there internet ?


just tested my internet speed... no difference :(
kareem_nasser wroteIt is the first of May where is the promised upgrade?
LOL :D

On a serious note, I doubt anything will show up before the end of the year. I just hope I'm wrong and some tiny little miniature thing comes in the summer.
At least the local fiber optics i meant not the IMEWE.

Same thing ROFL. :(


hmmm same speeds but only little latency change thats weird even though it is on the other side of the earth...any conclusions?
The internet loop here is chaotic like politics.
kareem_nasser wroteAt least the local fiber optics i meant not the IMEWE.
[url]http://www.speedtest.net/result/800666855.png[/url]
Same thing ROFL. :(
The local fiber network won't do jack shit without an increase in the International bandwidth through IMEWE or anything else.

The laughable thing is that, if the fiber optic network has been truly installed and is now operational, then why the hell can't I play a simple Coop MW2 game with someone in Lebanon without any lag or ti2tteesh? Either the fiber optics weren't installed or the cables are not operational yet. Either way, its all a big bullshit.
Or this is another conspiracy for Companies and politicians.
my question is where the hell the fiber optics are installed now??? because i keep saerching for news about them and i find nothing only that there is fiber optics comming to lebanon.
I read somewhere that Fiberoptic cables will replace the copper cables we currently have. So i dont know how they are gonna manage to route data across the country while they are installing the fiber cables.
Nemesis-301 wroteyeah, I thought cyberia was gonna "improve" there internet quality, any cyberia users out there notice a change in there internet ?
as i said in the other thread,http://www.lebgeeks.com/forums/viewtopic.php?id=6458&p=2,the new improved internet quality is a total BS.. it seems they have just updated their FUP.. They don't cap you now, instead they will disconnect you for god knows for how many nights (or until the next cycle).. By enforcing the new FUP, a lot of users (mostly heavy users )will have no connection at night and thus the other users will a "better quality internet"!