Software choice is turning into a religious war

In a previous blog post "I have the freedom to use proprietary software", I talked about having the right to choose whether to use FLOSS/Open Source software or or proprietary software.

In a comment thread on Google Plus, I was trying to make the argument that I should be able to use what ever software best suites my needs. I was trying to explain the reasons why I would choose to use Open source/FLOSS or proprietary software in a cordial manner. I was thinking I could have a civil conversation on the matter, since I was probably talking to adults. Well, I was wrong. Not only did they go to insulting me personally, they compared using proprietary software to supporting the Holocaust.

When I read this, I thought he was joking, since the person making the comment was new to the conversation on the thread.Unfortunately he wasnt joking and continued his, what can only be described as a religious stance on using FLOSS [Free Libre Open Source Software]. Not necessarily free as in no cost, but free in the source code being open and letting anyone change it to suit their needs.

As someone who has been a Open Source supporter for a few years, I was offended on how he was trying to evangelize this. Even going as far as saying my opinion did not matter since I was not a developer.

This attitude has to stop. This is the same way some religions preach "peace" and "understanding" as long as it falls in the guidelines of their beliefs.

Though I am not a developer, I do help in ways I know how to. I have donated to projects that I like and use when I can and I submit bug reports. I also promote open source software to other people, as long as it suits their needs.

We have to get past this religious stance on using proprietary [closed source]  verses open source software. And more often then not, its the people who use open source who are the loudest in their software beliefs and belittle people who do not use primarily open source software. Trying to make themselves look higher then thou since they apparently have "evolved" to not being put in chains of using proprietary software.

I have news for you folks, some times using a closed source solution is the best solution for the job.

Now, lets talk about gaming. I normally use Steam for my gaming needs. By no means is this open source. Its heavy on DRM and not really "FOSS" friendly. But, it works best for me. I have invested a lot of money in Steam and just because I advocate open source and non DRM [digital rights management], does not mean I do not live in the real world. Some of the games I have have almost if not just as a big as budget as some blockbuster movies. You really think a company who invests millions of dollars into a game is just going to reveal the code after its released and hope people will buy it and not just compile it for themselves? Hmmm. 20-60 bucks and its runs just fine, or spend a little bit a time to compile it and its free. With a little Google foo, I think you can configure out what the answer to that question would be.

Now lets flip it around and talk about web browsers. When I used to run Windows full time, I normally used Firefox or Chromium. Not because I had disdain for Internet Explorer. Not because of some unfounded hatred for Microsoft, but they worked better for me. And since I am invested in the Google ecosystem, I normally use Chrome. It was the vest tool for the job. Just like Steam is the best tool for my gaming needs.

We have to get past this fundamentalist like beliefs of what kind of software we should use. If you are huge gamer, would I recommend going to an open source operating system like Linux or BSD as their only operating system? Absolutely not. Maybe have talk to them about dual booting and using Linux or BSD as their main OS and boot into Windows for gaming. But most people do not want to deal with dual booting and trying to figure out what alternative operating system works them. They just want to boot up their computer and use it.

Now if you are not a gamer and only use your computer for web browsing, email and writing documents here and there? Sure, I would recommend a Linux distribution someone like that if they do not like Windows anymore.

Now, would I ever tell someone they have to use one system or the other? No, absolutely not. If Windows works for you and suits your needs, then by all means use it. If you do not want to use Windows and want to use Linux, BSD or even going hardcore with E-Macs, I say go for it. You have the freedom to choose what you want to use.

Ubuntu Edge, X86 or go home

For those who are not aware, Ubuntu by Canonical is the one of, the not the most popular Linux distributions out there. Ubuntu is great for beginners going into Linux, especially if they do not know much about command line.

Recently, Canonical announced their ambitious 32,000,000 Indi GoGo campaign to fun Ubuntu Edge. A smart phone that is supposed to bridge the gap between mobile device/phone and desktop computer. Something Mark Shuttleworth is calling "convergence". This "phone" will boast a 2.4Ghz quad core processor and 4GB of RAM. That is just shy of the specs of my home computer. At of the time of the posting of this blog, the are into their second week and have passed the 7,000,000 mark.

Its an ambitious goal and though I did not contribute to this funding campaign, mostly due to lack of funds, I hope it brings them success. But, I unfortunately feel that this is doomed for failure.

In a previous blog post I wrote entitled "The Idea of Convergence", I go into my thoughts on if bridging between mobile and home computing. But that is not the reason I think this is doomed for failure, it all has to do with application compatibility.

Last year, Microsoft's Windows 8 launched with Windows 8RT. The main problem with Windows 8RT was their tablet operating system and run on a ARM processor, as opposed to an X86 processor, which all home computers and "normal" Windows runs on as well.

That is where windows screwed the pooch on Windows 8. They came out with an operating system that "looked" identical to its X86 counterpart. Something that confused a lot of people why they could not install their "legacy" applications.

I know the Ubuntu Edge will be dual booting Android for the phone and using Ubuntu for "desktop". But, since it will probably be running on an ARM processor, they will find themselves in the same boat as people did with Windows RT.

I know this first generation is supposed to be for the backers only. But, if I cannot really see "power" users using this as their main computing device, since a lot of applications that people rely on do not run on ARM yet.

I will say this though, for everyday computing, like web browsing, emailing and things of that nature, I think this will do well for a lot of people who do not mind having their computer and phone in the same device.