Which should come first, the Chicken or the Egg?

I have noticed several people debating about whether they should support Linux applications that are not open source. Some of these people believe that the best way to promote open source adoption is to only use open source applications and to reject everything else. The problem with this method is that the market share of desktop Linux users is so small that they have very little influence on the direction of the software industry. They can hold their breath until they turn blue, but it is not going to change anything.

Using the most recent statistic I could find, only 2.8% of desktops were running Linux in 2003. I am sure that the Linux desktop market is growing fast, and that the percentage is now much higher than 2.8%. Even so, it is obvious that Linux desktops are a small minority of the desktop market. The fact that most software companies do not even release a version of their software for Linux proves this fact. Most software is created only for Microsoft Windows, and if the company has enough resources they may also port it to Mac OS X.

In my opinion, the chicken (which is user-friendly Linux) should come before the egg (which is completely open source Linux). This means that Flash, Java, hardware drivers, multimedia codecs (if legal) and other popular closed-source applications should be installed by default. If there is a high-quality open source alternative to the closed source application, then we should always go with that alternative. However, if there is no open source equivalent then the software should be included by default (assuming the licensing permits this).

For example, if a popular website uses Flash, then a new Linux user cannot participate in that site without first installing Flash. If that user is trying Linux for the first time, they may not spend anymore time trying to get Flash working, and we will have added another voice to the "Linux is hard" mentality.

Do I consider this a surrender in the battle against proprietary software and DRM? Definitely not! To put it military terms, my plan can be considered a controlled withdrawal in order to join with reinforcements. Once we have sufficient numbers, we can prepare for the next assault. Currently, Linux desktop users just don't have the leverage to move the software industry. Once there is a sizable piece of the desktop market running Linux, we can begin to cut out the non-open systems and replace them with open source replacements.

Please leave a comment to explain why you agree or disagree with this position.

Comments

  1. Anonymous10/25/2006 4:35 PM

    It definitely is a difficult position to be in and probably no easy solution to it all.

    I think part of what you're suggesting is being done with easyUbuntu & AutoMatix. This helps new users install the "hard stuff".

    Why don't we just team up and write open alternatives to these problems? :) Of course that would entail some intensive learning on my part but open alternatives would be the best solution.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous10/25/2006 4:41 PM

    I agree, and I disagree. First, where I agree.

    I agree that the new Linux user should not be presented with an entirely 100% open distro, like Debian. As you clearly pointed out, this presents to the user configurations, install headaches and troubleshooting woes. The "Linux is too hard" mentality is very real. As such, a new user to Linux should be pointed to Ubuntu, SuSE or Fedora Core where non-free applications and drivers are installed, or readily available.

    However, I disagree with your point on leveraging the market. Linux is in the position to leverage what applications are to be installed, and what a user wants. Will this have an impact outside of Linux? Windows or otherwise? No, but internally, it makes major waves. But even then, we are seeing the end of shareware and freeware apps in favor of open soource and free software *outside* the Linux community. It may not be playing on the corporate level, but it is playing nonetheless.

    I come from the standpoint that I only want to use free software, and Linux and GNU apps bring that option to me fairly easily. But I am experienced, and don't worry about the headache or troubleshooting that may lie ahead.

    Good post!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous1/19/2007 12:05 PM

    Your ideas presuppose that popularity is more important than freedom.

    You have chosen GNU/Linux for reasons not shared by the free-software community.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous11/14/2007 10:14 PM

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