I've laid low because I'm still new enough that I don't have much to contribute unless it is a question, but here I might actually have something to say:
> On Dec 2, 2013, at 9:00, David Kastrup <d...@gnu.org> wrote: > > Again, I don't think the "no money" aspect should be a primary selling > point. I definitely agree there. We often have the idea that "You get what you pay for." Too much emphasis on free may cheapen LilyPond in people's minds. Personal anecdote: Two or three years ago I gave LilyPond a try as a candidate to replace my aging Finale 2000. I eventually decided that free software was not going to be sufficient for my needs and that I would have to go ahead and pay for "the real thing." I doubt whether my assessment was fair, but that's the way I saw it. So instead I paid the big bucks (for me) to upgrade to the then-current Finale 2011. I can't remember why I then arrived at the decision I did. I don't know if the LP version at that time was insufficient compared to today, or more likely, I didn't know how to make it work. It may have been the shape notes (which now I know of the super easy \aikenheads). The reason that I came back for a second try was not that it was free, since I had already paid for "the real thing." I don't remember what made me think of it, but I remembered the essay on LilyPond's goal of superior engraving, and I decided to give it a second try. I fared better the second time. I have redone some of my past work in LilyPond, and I like the new results better. I doubt now I'll go back to Finale. Part of the change of my mindset was my experience with Finale. I was disappointed by how little it had improved after 11 years of updates. I became disappointed with its output once I saw what LilyPond could do. And although a GUI should be quite a bit easier to use for most people, Finale remains to my mind one of the most unintuitive GUI programs there is. I spent a lot of time in its manuals and searching its forums. To get to the point, the "you get what you pay for" mindset was replaced for me by the idea that you can "take the easy way out" or you can "take the time to do it right." LilyPond then compared favorably from the second perspective to me. It was the challenge that led to perfection. I hope no one takes offense at these comparisons. I only mean them as my own first and second impressions (fair or otherwise) to show how in my case the free price was not what drew me in. _______________________________________________ lilypond-user mailing list lilypond-user@gnu.org https://lists.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/lilypond-user