[svlug] Any other photo geeks?

[Rick Moen]

Quoting Larry Colen (lrc at red4est.com):

> You must have much better bandwidth than I do. 

Actually, I'm pretty far from the central office (out in University
Heights, west side of Menlo Park), so it's actually a bit pokey.  Not
the fault of the bandwidth provider, Raw Bandwidth Communication, which
is excellent.

> I like to use the best tool for the job. More often than not, that
> tool is open source, and it is often the fact that it is open source
> that makes it the best tool for the job. 

Quite so.

That's one reason why I keep directories of available alternatives,
including the proprietary ones.  I point out which ones _are_ proprietary
for any number of reasons, including the hard-earned lesson many of us
have come by, that proprietary solutions are often here today, gone
tomorrow.  (I've notice that people who recommend those solutions almost
never mention their restrictive licensing, which seems a missed
opportunity to be informative on that point.  Raw Therapee is, for
example.)

"Web 2.0" hosted proprietary solutions seem doubly here today, gone
tomorrow, on available evidence from the last few years.  (See my essay
for examples.)