Open Source on Closed Platforms
20 July, 2020
I know Shaun, and I know how passionate he is about free and open source software. And I agree with his stance.
That said, when it comes to using open source software on closed platforms, I’m of two minds. As you might guess, those seemingly opposed and contradictory ideas are difficult for me to reconcile.
On one hand, I believe that if you intend to embrace open source you should do it wholeheartedly. That means running open source software on open source operating systems. That means taking the time to adapt to both. That means learning what you need and what you don’t need. That means adapting to new user interfaces and to shortcuts and commands. All of that takes time, but the results are worth it.
On the other hand, I understand that open source can be intimidating for some people. They need to ease into it. That means gradually replacing their proprietary software with open source alternatives on Windows and MacOS. Later, they may want to move to Linux in the form of Ubuntu (or one of its variants), elementary OS, or Linux Mint. Or not.
While I’d love more people to fully embrace using open source software on open platforms, I also realize that it’s not an option for everyone. At least, not in the short term. As I wrote in another post in this space:
Getting more people using open source, and embracing the ideas and values behind it, is the right thing to do. It’s not easy, but it can be done with very little pain. Who knows: by showing people the open source way, we might get some of them to spread the word.
In the end, that benefits us all.