(This diary was prompted by a recent front page comment about Windows 7 being "excellent".)
You want a public option to healthcare insurance. You want an transparent food system and government regulation of medicine. You haven't fallen for the privatization of the water supply known as "bottled water". Privatizing social security or the military make you shudder.
So why do you want privatized software?
Free Software, sometimes called open source software, is software that is developed in the open, by the public, free for anyone to use and modify.
It seems to me that if there's a public version of something that is of higher quality than the privatized, commercial versions and furthermore when the public one grants greater rights and is more affordable, the liberal community would be all over it. And yet we have an ad for Microsoft, subject of multiple anti-trust actions, from a DailyKos editor.
This is clearly a subject that needs attention here. Let me kick it off by destroying a few misconceptions.
Myth: Privatized software is easier/simpler to use.
Fact: All software requires training and familiarity. Think of the piles of books that accompany every new version of Windows that claim to help you overcome the hurdles of figuring out where everything is. This is easy?
Or what about the newest version of Office, which has apparently ditched menus altogether. Ask the millions of Office-workers if privatized software is "easier to use" at that point.
Meanwhile, in the Linux world Ubuntu is being famed for it's extreme ease of installation and use. My 4 year old son has been teaching his twin sister how to set up her Firefox bookmarks to get to the games she likes. This is after he figured out how to do it himself, not to mention many other tasks.
Myth: Privatized software has a bigger catalog of applications.
Fact: You don't need a huge catalog of expensive software that needs constant upgrading, what you need is affordable, open software that works.
That's not to say that Linux doesn't have applications. Linux has hundreds of choices for every task from software development to office tasks to games to scientific computing. If it's something that a human could want to do with a computer, there's a Linux program for that and probably two or three.
Better, all this software comes on the CD or is freely and easily downloadable. After you install $100 worth of Windows, what can you do with your computer? Solitaire?
Myth: If I need help or something goes wrong, there's no support number.
Fact: Have you ever called one of those numbers? They aren't that helpful.
Linux itself, and 99% of the software that runs on top of it, each have very large communities of helpful, polite people who are willing to walk you through any problem you might have. They do this out of love. Love of the software, love of having people use the software and love of just being helpful.
Support powered by love is far superior to support powered by an out-sourced call center.
Besides that, much less goes wrong with Linux than with privatized software. Because it's open, bugs are scrutinized and eliminated by thousands of experts. A Windows computer placed on the Internet is quickly, often within minutes, infected with viruses. Linux, on the other hand, is used on firewalls and webservers by techs who know how much more secure and bug-free it is.
Myth: Aren't those Linux people filthy hippies?
Fact: Sounds like what they say about liberals.
Linux users, like hippies, are people that care about both quality, openness, personal liberties and social obligations. They are willing to try new ideas and are thoughtful about what works and doesn't.
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Ubuntu 9.10 is going to be out on Thursday. You don't need the latest hardware to run Linux, in fact users often exclaim that Linux has breathed new life into old hardware. If you have a highspeed internet connection, you can download here or you can also ask for a free CD to be shipped to you.
