Why do we believe in open source software?

I wanted to share my response to some comments on my last post.


First, thanks for your responses.

Justin: "Free Software is not about technology or even about making the world a better place. It's about Freedom."

Are you sure about that? What is the real reason we support open source? In my opinion it *IS* for the purpose of making the world a better place. If first-world countries spend resources to develop high-quality open source software, then all of humanity will benefit from that investment.

Open source software is not always better quality than proprietary software, but I do believe it is always ethically superior.

Lonnie: "I agree with what Justin Findlay said..."

I also want to ask you what is the "big-picture" reason for supporting open source software? Please share your opinion.

I agree with your description of the average user, and it is something that we need to keep in mind when making decisions about software.

"Then she will complain loudly."

The thing is, we don't want her to complain loudly. If she has a bad experience because of not being able to view a Flash website, she will associate the bad experience with Linux. Since you mentioned psychology, I would point out this chain of events is an example of classical conditioning (review the Little Albert experiment).

Unable to view flash website (US) => Frustration (UR) Natural response.

Unable to view flash website (US) + Big Ubuntu Linux logo (CS) => Frustration (UR) After pairing them.

Big Ubuntu Linux logo (CS) => Frustration (CR) Learning occurs. Notice how the response never changes.

In the case of Little Albert, he started to generalize the conditioned stimulus with other items that were similar to the original stimulus. In the case of your Mom, this can happen so that she feels frustrated whenever she sees any Linux, open source, or free software. Do you think that will help us achieve our goals?

I do not believe in "sacrificing principles for popularity", just for the sake of popularity. As I have stated, popularity is a necessary step to get the industry to take notice of our needs.

Step 1: Gain popularity.
Step 2: ??? (Flex muscles)
Step 3: Profit!!! Err... I mean "Become completely open source"

Comments

  1. Unknown11/22/2006 8:04 AM

    I am sorry, but you must be wrong. If you were correct that frustration would be attached to the vendor of the OS, then Windows would be the *most* hated OS in history.

    I have talked to a huge number of average users (did tech support for MSN a few years ago). Most users will become extremely frustrated with their computers at some time. It is usually caused by viruses or spyware, but has also been known to be caused by vendor lock-in, proprietary formats, etc. Most of these users continue to use and like Windows. They blame their frustration on many people/organizations, including manufacturers, Microsoft, software developers, tech support, sun spots, etc.

    Your linked experiment makes great sense, but in reality, it doesn't truly happen. Windows still has the market share.

    I think we should:
    1. Gain popularity, but not sacrificing principles. Advertise benefits of Linux.
    2. Create Free substitutes of desired non-free apps/drivers.
    3. Profit!!! (aka Freedom)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Tristan Rhodes11/22/2006 3:13 PM

    Lonnie:

    I think most Windows users *are* frustrated with Windows. That OS is the topic of jokes in every department. Even so, Windows has the market share. This will stay that way until an OS comes along that is considerably better. It can't just be as good as Windows, because that would not be worth the effort to learn the new system. I believe that Ubuntu Linux will become the OS of choice for everyday users to replace Windows.

    You never answered my question about why you believe in open source. Is "freedom" the final answer, the end of the discussion? Or is "freedom" simply a method that is used to make the world a better place? You already know my opinion.

    I was trying really hard to convince you to agree with me, but it looks like we must agree to disagree. :) We really have the same opinion on Step 3, so hopefully together we can help accomplish that goal!

    Thanks for your opinions, I enjoy learning what other people have to say about these topics.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Using the Cisco console in Linux

Image
Introduction People who work with Cisco network equipment need to be able to connect to the console port on their devices. In Windows, you can simply fire up HyperTerminal to get basic access to your devices. If you are using Linux, then you need to know how this can be done with an application called Minicom . Hardware First, you are going to need a Cisco console cable , a Cisco device, and a computer. If your computer has a serial port , then you can use the standard console cable that comes with every Cisco device. If you do not have a serial port (like most new laptops), then you need to purchase a USB to Serial adapter that supports Linux. This device will allow you to use the standard Cisco cable, which has a serial port on one end. Install Minicom You can easily install Minicom by using "System > Administration > Synaptic Package Manager". Search for "minicom" and choose to install the package. Click "Apply" and Minicom should be insta
Read more

What it takes to make Ubuntu ready for use

I recently installed Ubuntu 6.10 on a new PC at work. In this post I will document all the steps I had to perform to get it ready for everyday use. Each step is assigned a level of difficulty, which I define below: Very Easy Step can be completed without using the command prompt Intuitive to complete Easy Step can be completed without using the command prompt May require searching to find the right place to make the change Medium Requires a single command to be entered at the command prompt Requires searching internet resources to find the solution Hard Requires multiple commands to be entered at the command prompt Requires searching internet resources to find the solution Very Hard Requires multiple commands to be entered at the command prompt Requires searching internet resources to find the solution Requires the user to manually edit a configuration file These criteria are quite strict, because I believe that using an operating system should be intuitive, and not require any spec
Read more

Five ways to use Windows apps in Linux

Image
1. Use an open source alternative instead When someone asks me if they can run "Windows Application X" on Linux, the first thing I tell them is to look for an open source alternative. For most Windows applications, there will be a high-quality open source alternative that can meet their needs. The biggest hurdle for non-Linux people is simply knowing that these alternative exist and how to find them. The best place I have found to search for these applications is at www.osalt.com . On that site, you can enter the name of the Windows application and it will list the open source alternatives that provide similar functionality. Be sure to check it out. 2. Buy a commercial product that was designed for Linux If you cannot find an open source alternative, and you have not already purchased a Windows application, then you should consider purchasing a commercial product that was designed for Linux. Here is a story of a civil engineer who wanted to find an open source replacemen
Read more