Browser Based EMR's Threatens Software Freedom (LinuxMedNews)

Browser Based EMR's Threatens Software Freedom (LinuxMedNews)

Posted Jan 26, 2007 1:13 UTC (Fri) by roelofs (subscriber, #2599)
In reply to: Browser Based EMR's Threatens Software Freedom (LinuxMedNews) by Erich_J_Ritzmann
Parent article: Browser Based EMR's Threatens Software Freedom (LinuxMedNews)

In general the pace development is slow and the enhancements are uneven. I guess to the average "geek" operating systems and compilers are sexy technology, but application software less so.

On the contrary--FLOSS applications are thriving. Check out the GNOME and KDE communities, AbiWord, OpenOffice, Firefox, JACK and other A/V software, ... It's a zoo, and that's because all of those things are directly useful to and usable by the geeks in question.

Vertical apps, on the other hand--such as EMRs--are beasts of another color entirely. They are, by definition, almost always niche markets, and unless one is either part of the industry/field/niche in question or is interested in it for some personal reason (which is rare), such apps are close to 100% useless to your average geek--and therefore completely uninteresting, at least in comparison to all the software one knows and loves (and/or hates, but then that's just extra motivation to tinker with it) and uses every day.

Greg

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