Third Shelf

Today, was one of the days where open-source and freeware was a complete let down. After downloading a couple of applications of this nature, I was horrified! The quality of some of these applications were way below par, user interfaces that made no sense and applications that the author just simply abandoned.

Don’t get me wrong. One the one hand there are fantastic open-source software packages and on the other, well, not so fantastic open-source software.

If you intend on writing a free or open-source software application, first answer the following questions honestly before engaging in your next project:

1. Am I going to abandon the software when things get tough?
2. Will I keep it reasonably up to date with technology?
3. Will the user interface be usable?
4. Am I willing to include a decent help file or online how to?

I am not saying that you need to be worlds best designer to write software, but if you plan to give something to the community, give something decent at least.