So I feel like a bit of an intruder on these prestigious pages, as I’m neither a tech-head nor have I spent my life in the service of promoting open source software. Now before you start pelting me with Nerf darts and waving life sized Linus Torvalds cut-outs at me, hear me out. It’s not that I don’t support the concept of open source, quite the opposite, I just hadn’t heard of it until very recently. My current (and I’ll admit, fairly limited) insights came about as a result of several conversations with Bane and as a new open source convert, I thought I would share my ruminations, and hopefully lead others on the same path.
If it’s too good to be true, it probably is.
Sure, I was aware that you could get free stuff from the internet, but until a few months ago that was pretty much limited to trial software. Anti virus, flash games and crazy screen savers the kind that swamp your screen with purchase reminders and adware that eventually, out of guilt and shame, you uninstall them. Free, useful, functional software seemed like something devious and unseemly. Giving the feeling that, amidst your search for a good restaurant, you’ve found yourself in a dark alley confronted by a man with a lot of spare wrist watches. Then there’s the fear and follow through, sure they look like genuine Rolex and TAG Heuer, but deep down you know that it’s only a matter of time before they turn your wrist green.
System and personal information protection is a very real thing, how can you be sure that this fantastic, bells and whistles, exciting, free software isn’t going to corrupt your data? It might contain some type of hideous virus, or maybe it’ll read all your banking details and clear your accounts or worse still, retrieve all of those naked photos you took on holiday and post them on Facebook.
Seriously though, I’m very aware that these are real concerns, and at some time or another anyone who uses technology will probably fall prey to some virus or another. I know I have. As a result there’s a very profitable software industry based on this or at the very least, the hope that you’ll be so fearful of the idea of software corruption that you’ll spend countless dollars on prevention.
This fear mongering extends to all commercial software. If you don’t have the latest MSBlah or the newest iSomethingorother, whatever will you talk to your friends about? How can you relate, or even fit into society if you’re being left behind? (on a side note, all consumerism is based on this principal, but that’s a rant for another time.)
You can’t know, what you don’t know
So I’m going to get off my soapbox for a moment, because that’s not what I’m about. I’m also not about labelling the general public as ignorant (some of my best friends are in the general public), or suggesting that people will blindly go wherever Bill Gates or Steve Jobs tells them to. However I’m well aware of the familiarity and comfort of the tried and tested, and I’ll admit to being an object of brand loyalty (hell, I lined up for 8 hours for the local midnight launch of the Wii). I also fully appreciate why commercially available software seems more appealing and why it appears easier and less labour intensive as a consumer to go with the ‘popular products’.
What it all boils down to is this: as a result of very saturated and one would argue, effective advertising, combined with my limited tech knowledge, I simply wasn’t aware of the options. I have now seen the light!
The power is yours
The reality is that there are a plethora of software alternatives out there; fully functioning, adaptable, innovative and most importantly safe products that can make your life simpler and easier without costing you a cent. Anti virus, Word-processing, photo manipulation, music makers and graphic design, just about anything you would pay money for, you can get for free and it’s not restricted to one provider. Open source software is virtually limitless, and thanks to places like Sourceforge , OpenOffice and even this humble blog, you can get access to countless applications and reviews which makes the whole process even easier. Now, I’m not about to go protesting Microsoft Launches, or submitting phoney iPhone apps to demonstrate societies gullibility. As a consumer, I am just happy to have a choice.
So that’s currently where I stand. Yes, I’m very aware that this is not a new concept, it’s not the first time I’ve been late to join the bandwagon (have you heard about this great site where there’s all these cute cats and … nvm) I am just willing to bet that there are others out there, just like me, who haven’t yet caught the open source bug.
Let’s hope it’s contagious.
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