Author: Micheal Cummings
Date: 00:12:30 10/31/99
Go up one level in this thread
On October 31, 1999 at 00:13:17, Pete Galati wrote: >On October 30, 1999 at 22:44:17, Micheal Cummings wrote: > >>On October 30, 1999 at 17:42:36, Robert Hyatt wrote: >> >>>On October 30, 1999 at 16:12:12, Pillsbury wrote: >>> >>>>Hi >>>> >>>>I must appreciate the programmers who do a fine job of creating a grandmaster >>>>who waits for me round the clock, ready to play chess anytime. I even deside how >>>>strong he can play depending on my mood! The price I paid is very small. I must >>>>appreciate the commercial programmers. There is competition to make sure that >>>>there is contribution, improvement etc., This is the way nature works. The >>>>fittest will survive. >>>> >>>>I do not believe in 'free stuff' especially when I want the best! >>>> >>>>karthick >>> >>> >>>Sorry you feel that way, because you are going to miss Linux, Xwindows, gcc, >>>and a zillion other things that are as good or better than anything you can >>>get commercially. >>> >>>However, there is always someone willing to take your money, so you won't >>>be disappointed on that front. :) >> >>From my point of view I have nothing ahinst free stuff, I have found some handy >>free programs. >> >>But when it comes to chess I have always had the impression that freeware chess >>programs are not up to standard of commercial. This is clear in the interface, >>but from tourmaments that people have run, commercial program always seem to be >>better than freeware. >> >>Many freeware programs seem to be written more because it is a hobby. This does >>not include the larger companies which produce internet broswers and the such, >>cause they have other agendas to push. >> >>I do not use any chess program that run on winboard, cause I hate the interface. >>For ICC I use Blitzn. >> >>If you wrote an nice interface for your program years ago, you could have been >>rolling in allot of money, thats if you are not already. >> >>Mental thought dictates that Freeware is cheap in both quantity and quality. > >You don't understand the concept of freeware at all, they're not trying to be >"rolling in allot of money". And the top programs that run in Winboard are far >from "cheap" in quality. Crafty, Comet, and Phalanx are all high quality Chess >programs, the same can be said for mid strength programs like TCB and Gromit and >Lamb Chop and Bringer, not to mention AnMon. > >There isn't such a wide margin between the strength of the best freeware >programs and the best commercial programs. The most you can really expect is to >get a good interface with the commercial programs and there's allot to be said >for that, but there's not much need to do that any more than maybee once every 5 >or more years. > >Pete You misunderstand what I am saying. It is quite clear that the quality of product of Freeware programs is quite large than that of commercial. I have not seen a freeware program, in lets say a game that comes close to anything that you can but for $80 Aus. Freeware is usually much smaller and less quality, usually in the interface. Now you can go on all you want, but being a person who does look at a hell of allot of shareware and freeware. There is maybe only 3% of freeware products that are worth using, and this is basically only due to either, no commercial product is available for it, cause it is not worth making a program for the specific deed. Or because people want say a PIM organzer, or address book, or download manager, and the freeware version usually have all they need with no bells and whistles.
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