So ever since I moved to the Mac a couple months ago, I’ve been finding myself actually buying software, something that I would never have imagined doing as a Linux guy. But the quality of the proprietary software available for the Mac is simply incredible; In fact, I have a perfect illustration of the difference between open and closed-source software, in two programs I recently started using: Launchbar and Notational Velocity.
Notational Velocity (free): When I try to set a shortcut key to open NV, the program ignores the fact that I’ve set my keyboard to Dvorak, and interprets the keystrokes as what the keys are physically labeled as—e.g. I press what, to me, is ⌘-Shift-N (on Dvorak), and NV interprets that as ⌘-Shift-L (which is what the equivalent key is on a QWERTY keyboard).
Launchbar on the other hand: In the options, it allows you to choose whether you want to use a vim-style four-fingers on home-row method for scrolling through the options, or a WASD-style layout (albeit on the right hand). Now, the cool thing here is that Launchbar is smart enough to figure out that I’m on Dvorak, and instead of offering a choice between H-J-K-L or J-K-I-L lets me pick between D-H-T-N or H-T-C-N. ‘Nuff said.
So! You get what you pay for, it would seem.
