I was told once about someone called a “cyber hippie.” They dual boot with Linux and Mac OSX or Windows. They use open source browsers, instant messengers and office suites. They write their own code. They essentially live on Slashdot in lieu of professional news sites. The sinking realization that this idea may be true brought a certain horror to my thoughts, as I have a generally low opinion of anyone who claims to be a “hippie,” probably from too much South Park during my formative years.
It created an interesting dichotomy in my mind: Are the users of open source software the hippies of the Internet underworld and the users of closed-source software (MacOS, Windows) the conservatives?
The realization hit me that maybe I’m one of these so-called cyber hippies! I immediately felt the need to go out and pay for proprietary software and hardware because it’s the capitalistic American thing to do. Should I shun Linux users? Should I go to a truck stop and discuss automobiles with the patrons? Change my name to Butch Johnson and go shoot a deer?
The panic attack subsided, and I thought about it a little more fully. All of the software I use on a daily basis for school, play and work relies wholly on open source software.
Paying for your software is not something I’m opposed to, as those of you who follow my columns have probably figured out, but open source is on another echelon. Open source is for those of us who really love computers. Those of us who love to tinker, who love the challenge, who aren’t afraid to be called “hacker” (someone who enjoys computers as a hobby, more than a means to an end, and certainly not an insinuation that anything illegal is going on).
Open source has a lot of benefits, as well, and though I have touched on them in the past, I think it’s high time to sing their praises now.
The old argument against Linux was that it was a pain to use and bring up to the same functionality level of other operating systems. Sometimes you couldn’t even gain that same functionality and had to make do. But how could you complain? It’s legally free.
The advent of Ubuntu Linux changed things, and I’m a recent convert. Many of my old dislikes of Linux as an OS were shored up. Booting into Ubuntu for the first time, I fully expected to start playing with configuration files, and jumping through hoops to get my hardware recognized and functioning on any level. To my surprise, it had a driver for everything, and the two it couldn’t ship with (that were proprietary), it offered to download and install with ease. The package manager made installing and using new software a snap. Even better, getting the current crop of video games I’m playing up and running was just as easy. Ubuntu has successfully debunked the old “it’s too hard” myth.
Open source makes sense when you put it in context of the history of computer software — one rife with piracy and borrowing. Ultimately, open source is about freedom. The freedom to modify any software you see fit and then re-share it with the world.
This fosters a sense of community around the multitude of people who may be contributing to a coding project at any given time. And through this collaboration, it becomes a social community as the people working in unison form bonds.
This worldwide collaboration of software also provides a higher-quality product. It brings in ideas from all over the world and allows for the constant improvement and refinement of ideas. It also provides a place where coders can hone their individual skills. And I’m sure there’s some great life lesson about working well with others stuffed in there, as well.
Not enough evidence to sway you? Take into account the fact that OSX incorporated UNIX (what Linux is based off of originally) and Microsoft’s inroads in the form of extensions to manage Linux servers on their software. If you can’t beat them, join them, right? And of course, Android is based on open source.
We’ve ended up with a lot of great things from open source development in forms of freeware clones: Pidgin Instant Messenger, Cinelerra (video editing software), the Ogg Vorbis media format for audio and video, OpenOffice.org and, of course, Mozilla Firefox.
So there you have it, my reasons for loving open source. Perhaps I am a cyber hippie. Instead of sitting outside coffee shops on sunny days lazily strumming a guitar, I’m indoors, with the shades drawn, using the code of others and adding to it when I can. I believe in “one love,” but in the form of collaborative free software for all.
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Open source, priceless resource
Daily Emerald
March 2, 2010
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