[Open Source Series: Part 1]
Lately, there has been a lot of talk about open source (including a great podcast by Scott Hanselman* about what open source really means). I don’t know if it’s the sudden overwhelming popularity of Ubuntu (which seems to be gaining more followers every day) and other open source software that’s pushing this latest series of discussions, or just that people are finally starting to realize that there is truly an alternative to spending loads of money on software. Either way, I’m happy to see it. I’ve been a user of open source for sometime now, although I am basically locked into a Microsoft/ESRI world at work. I have a lot of fun experimenting with different applications (and since open source equals free for me to play with, I can experiment all I want), and find that “learning” how to use a new open source application or operating system – even though challenging at times – actually makes me a better overall user in the end. I know, I know, there is great community support available for most open source projects. Most of the time, though, I refuse to use the support. It’s actually the same for me and proprietary software; if I can’t figure out the solution to a problem on my own, the software doesn’t work.
I’ve heard some say that today’s interfaces don’t require the end user to really know what (s)he is doing, and I, for the most part, agree. I don’t want to hang on to the way things used to be – and I really can’t (I’m not old enough ;-)), but I do think that users of technology, in general, are being “dumbed down” by the interfaces. Don’t get me wrong, though – for most users this is an okay thing. It means that more advanced technologies are accessible to more people today than ever before. And it should be the goal of every developer to design applications that are accessible to as many people as possible. For those who want to work in technology fields, however, doesn’t it make sense to really understand what’s going on underneath the hood?
With all that out, I plan on writing a series of entries about my experiences with open source software. Check back for more…
*Note that the link from Scott’s blog to his podcast points you to the wrong show. Follow this link for the correct one…