Open Source Software

I have always associated open source software with techno-nerds. Being built upon the principle of active participation in its development, open source software to me is (or at least until now was) inextricably linked with expertise. My perception was such that a non-geek like me would never be able to come to terms with such a complex thing as open source software.

It is remarkable though what such software can achieve. I believe the success of Linux is a prime example for this. In August 2006, Becky Hogge of the New Statesman wrote the following:
‘In 2001, it was estimated that 8,000 man-years had been invested in building Linux, most of this voluntarily. Had this feat been attempted by a commercial software company, the cost would have been in excess of $1bn’.
Given the amount of time that is invested in developing Linux, it seems only logical to assume, as Raymond (author of The Cathedral and the Bazaar, who describes Linux as ‘a great babbling bazaar’) does, that bugs are quickly discovered and corrected. It comes as no surprise then that on its website, Linux is described as revolutionary. As great as all this might sound, I still believe I have yet to become more confident with new technology before I consider embracing Linux.

I have however taken on Nigel’s suggestion and downloaded an alternative browser. With the downloading taking less than five minutes and no effort at all, I’m now using Mozilla Firefox without any problems. So far I haven’t noticed much of a difference between Mozialla Firefox and Windows Internet Explorer. In fact, all the websites I usually visit look exactly the same. This leaves me feeling incredibly ignorant and lazy about my previous attitude towards open source software, as well as my unquestioning acceptance and support of conglomerate-controlled software.

Of course I will also get more accustomed to wiki in the next few weeks in the course of our group project (I will consider the progress of our group project in more detail in another blog entry). We have already created our own group PBwiki page, which was fairly easy, and called it dekn, according to the first letter of each of our first names in alphabetical order. Ingenious, isn’t it?

After Monday’s class I might even attempt to use html sometime in the future. Whilst at first it seemed quite daunting, html soon turned out to be not half as difficult as I expected it to be.

Overall I think this week I have firsthand discovered how closed-minded I used to be in regards to new technologies. It is incredible how easy it is to accept conventional norms and go with the flow. I now realise that there are plenty of alternatives to conglomerate-controlled software, most of which is not as difficult to use as one might initially assume. I will certainly try and be more open-minded and above all rely less on my perception of things before I have tried or experienced them myself.