I will never again talk about the benefits of Free Software
Paw Prints: Writings of the maddog
I have been talking about using “Free Software” for the past twenty years, and the equivalent of “Open Source” even longer. Many times I have had people ask me, “Why do you use Free Software?”
So I patiently tell them all the reasons why I use Free Software. The ability to see exactly what the code does and how it works. The ability to apply patches right away and not have to wait for “Patch Tuesday”, or “Critical Fix Wednesday” or any of the other “days” that some closed-source company has decided to put out all their bug fixes.
I (for the 10 thousandth time) explain how I do not have to abandon perfectly good hardware because some vendor has decided not to support it any more, or that their bloated software no longer runs acceptably on my older, smaller system.
I tell them I got tired of having to remove advertising from the software that I put on my disks, and (if I was in a country other than the United States) having to explain to people who pirate closed-source software how they were taking money out of the hands of the programmer.
I can not tell you the number of times I have given my talks about using Free Software in Education (allowing the students to learn three times), or how many times I have explained to people how you could make money with free software (“The same ways you make money with proprietary software if your name is not Gates, Ellison or Jobs”).
I have been to over 100 countries, most of them more than one time and some of them many times (some countries have immigration officers that wave to me). Often I convince major leaders of these countries why Free Software is better, just to have them slip back into the closed-source trap.
Sometimes I really get discouraged.
Therefore I am never again going to tell people why they should be using Free Software.
Instead I am going to ask them why they insist on using closed source software.
Is it because they love paying lots of money for software that does little more (if anything) than suitable Free Software?
Do they use closed-source software because they love waiting weeks and months for patches that they might have gotten much sooner in the Free Software community?
Perhaps they love getting new versions of the software thrown out at them every so often, instead of being able to directly interact with the developers through forums and mailing lists.
I will wait for these people to tell me that they use closed-source software because of the software warranty (laugh) or the support they get (bigger laugh).
What I really expect is that when I ask the question, I will get a sort of puzzled look and they will say:
“I do not really know why I use closed source software”
and I will be most of the way to converting them.
Then it occurred to me to write this up for the blog, so other Free Software people can start doing this too. I suppose we should continue to talk about the benefits of using Free Software, but we should also be sure to ask people why they insist on using closed source....and be ready to laugh.
comments powered by DisqusSubscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
TUXEDO Computers Unveils Linux Laptop Featuring AMD Ryzen CPU
This latest release is the first laptop to include the new CPU from Ryzen and Linux preinstalled.
-
XZ Gets the All-Clear
The back door xz vulnerability has been officially reverted for Fedora 40 and versions 38 and 39 were never affected.
-
Canonical Collaborates with Qualcomm on New Venture
This new joint effort is geared toward bringing Ubuntu and Ubuntu Core to Qualcomm-powered devices.
-
Kodi 21.0 Open-Source Entertainment Hub Released
After a year of development, the award-winning Kodi cross-platform, media center software is now available with many new additions and improvements.
-
Linux Usage Increases in Two Key Areas
If market share is your thing, you'll be happy to know that Linux is on the rise in two areas that, if they keep climbing, could have serious meaning for Linux's future.
-
Vulnerability Discovered in xz Libraries
An urgent alert for Fedora 40 has been posted and users should pay attention.
-
Canonical Bumps LTS Support to 12 years
If you're worried that your Ubuntu LTS release won't be supported long enough to last, Canonical has a surprise for you in the form of 12 years of security coverage.
-
Fedora 40 Beta Released Soon
With the official release of Fedora 40 coming in April, it's almost time to download the beta and see what's new.
-
New Pentesting Distribution to Compete with Kali Linux
SnoopGod is now available for your testing needs
-
Juno Computers Launches Another Linux Laptop
If you're looking for a powerhouse laptop that runs Ubuntu, the Juno Computers Neptune 17 v6 should be on your radar.