Do you care for free (free of charge) software?

[BrokeBody]

Do you care for free (open source) software or you use GNU/Linux because it only works better than Windows?

[it.henrik]

I do not use linux because it works better then windows (in many cases windows is easier/better then linux).

I use linux because no company is telling me how I should use my computer, and if I think the development of something is going in the wrong direction I can help develop it myself or just fork it :)

And of course .. I dont have to worry about spyware, viruses, and I got so darn tired of always searching for cracks for the latest update of software xyz I wanted to use.

I believe M$ relised that this is one of the things that helps migrate ppl ... because they are nowadays giving away their software for free to students, at least at my university in sweden.

[glinsvad]

I use GNU/Linux because the alternative is this (http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=1035492)!

Anyway, what the hðÅ# was that spammer thinking? "Hmm, maybe I could sell this really expensive software to people using free software..." That just makes me laugh out loud :D

[Gustav]

I care for free (free speach) software.

[DirtDawg]

They're not mutally exclusive at all. Yes and yes.

[graigsmith]

Anyway, what the hðÅ# was that spammer thinking? "Hmm, maybe I could sell this really expensive software to people using free software..." That just makes me laugh out loud

yeah, pretty stupid lol.

But i think i use it for both reasons. Free has many benefits, no cost, and no restrictions. I think ubuntu is in many cases better than windows, but not always.

[nuvo]

I use Linux because:
It's free and supports much of the free software I used under Windows (if you can't do it with something from sourceforge, you can't do it).
I used to use mostly free apps from sourceforge under Windows such as Firefox and SCIte and these are available for easy instalation under Ubuntu.
I do care for open source software as I kind of understand the developers as I do some programming myself and unlike big companies, they're making software for fun and which addresses users requirements.
Sure, I could spend hundreds on Phtoshop and use about 5 of it's features, but I could also go and download Inkscape and GIMP (and Pixia if I wanted to boot XP) and get many of the same capabilities without my wallet being held hostage.

I also prefer the customisation capabilities of the whole system.
If you don't like GNOME, you can install XFCE or KDE or anything else you can get running without majorly hacking anything (in XP, you had to hack DLL's just to get custom themes unless you forked out for a tool that did exactly the same, but with a GUI for theme changing) and the desktop environments themselves are customisable far beyond a bare bones Windows install (I use a pretty much default GNOME layout at the moment, but I've had it function in a more OS X manner just using panels and a bit of poking about).

Linux uses Unix style permissions and such, which I prefer as it lets me lock people out of places they shouldn't be and it adds to the whole Linux security attraction (I never had a virus with XP, but I had a billion and one things running to keep them out while Linux doesn't need a ton of virus scanners and such).

Basically, I prefer Linux because it's better for me and because I want to support free software by learning how they work so that I can help others and spread the word.

[fluffington]

Why isn't there an "all of the above" option?

Reasons I use GNU/Linux/Ubuntu:

It has a shell that works.
It supports my hardware.
It's free (in both senses of the word).
It's secure (and doesn't get viruses just by sitting there).
Apt.


EDIT: forgot one

[vialick]

I use linux largely for the free software side of things. I love to tinker around the computer (though my tinkering tends to resemble a sledgehammer rather than a set of tools) and see how it can operate...and it's a lot more fun breaking a linux install than a windows one.

as for being better than windows, well in my experiance, anything is better than windows. I'd prefer to use MS Dos these days, I just see no need to cling to windows, not even a particular software package (I am somewhat reliant at the moment on macintosh software at the moment) which I haven't seen a better version on annother OS.

[Fred Doolie]

Do you care for free software

No. I'd rather pay $100 to rent a very buggy OS. :roll:

I use Ubuntu because it's better then Windows in every way except one: My games require Winblows. The day somebody makes a 100% compatible Windows emulator* that runs at native speed and directly uses my 3D card and stuff I will reformat my Winblow partition and frisbee my Win Install CD out the window.
----------
* VMWare is only like 90% compatible. It's quite slow and the simulated graphics and sound cards are garbage.

[mozetti]

They're not mutally exclusive at all. Yes and yes.

Here, Here!

[jan]

Yes i CARE!

[fluffington]

* VMWare is only like 90% compatible. It's quite slow and the simulated graphics and sound cards are garbage.

VMWare Workstation (http://www.vmware.com/products/ws/) has support for hardware-accelerated Direct3D (http://www.vmware.com/support/ws5/doc/ws_vidsound_d3d.html). It's experimental and a little buggy (and missing shaders, among other things), so I wouldn't recommend it right now, but it looks like it might be very usable in the next version or two.

As far as sound goes, I've never had an issue with it.

[Shay Stephens]

I use it because of the freedom and openess. I'm tired of having my freedom restricted little by little every year while at the same time the transparency of the OS gets more and more obfuscated. I don't like tricksy operating systems ;)

So I have decided to support free (as in freedom) software anywhere and everywhere I can and to convince others of the need as well.

[rai4shu2]

Free of charge software is not the same as free software. Free of charge software can be bad for a free society (like spyware), whereas free software promotes the ideal of a free society. You *can* be charged for free software, and a free society is basically a family (but not necessarily free for everyone involved).

[SkyNet2029]

I use it because i can USE it. If I don't enjoy the way something is running, I can kill it, change it up, in a manner that I see fit. I do agree that it is much more fun killing a linux install, although when using windows, I pretty much was always waiting for it to hang/crash/load up umpteen too many calls to an address space that doesn't exist, etc..etc. With linux, It's kind of boring in that respect. Somedays I can't even use my computer out of sheer boredom, nothing to fix and what-not..too many years as an M$ lab-rat I suppose.

[JeevesBond]

I care for free (as in freedom), this is the most important aspect as the philosophy leads to the other advantage: Better quality software. :)

[Brando569]

the title of the thread and the poll options are misleading :D i wanted to vote for both of the options but obviously i couldnt. i like linux alot better then windows and i love free software, i mean come on how can you NOT like free software?? :lol:

[kitster]

well i don't see the problem,if its free its there for the choice.

[BigDave708]

They're not mutally exclusive at all. Yes and yes.

Exactly. I'm all for the distribution of free software thing and everybody being able to use it freely. However, it's quite a lot better when the software is also better than anything MS could come up with . . . :mrgreen:

[atoponce]

I only use free (as in speech) software. I don't believe in proprietary software. I am just about GNU purist as you can get.

[Max Luebbe]

The two options to vote on are not mutually exclusive!

I'm very much for free society - and as a natural biproduct of being free, GNU is infinitely better than windows, which makes me want to use it more.:-({|=

[rowlie]

Yes of curse I do, that's why I am here! Wondering how much of my nice laptop price included the Windows software it came with. I ditched Works for Open Office. Began using Gimp etc. Once I get used to this then I'll probably ditch XP too, And since I work for an environmental body (earthheritagetrust.org)I am pushing to use those as a sustainable resource which Microsoft plainly isn't. I am also trying to get the university to support Linux as they do Microsoft. One thing for sure is that if they do so then they will not be needing to reconfigure all the computers in the campus at vast expense in a couple of years time.

[elemental666]

I suppose this goes along with Free Society, but my main reason for using linux vs. Windows/Mac at the moment is being able to run the software I need for my business without having to deal with Licence Constraints and steep price tags for the tools I need.

It took me about 3-4months to get all my tools converted to Open solutions, but now I'm back on track and have gotten rid of all my Proprietary tools. The piece of mind has been a great motivator in my work. With the latest round of Piracy hype and the new methods being adopted by the Redmond group, I think there will be a fare percentage of users who look for alternatives for these same reasons. In fact, I've helped convert 2 of my friends because they worry about being busted by Genuine Advantage or not getting necessary updates.

Viva la Ubuntu!

[benplaut]

i use linux 'cause windows doesn't have a nice shell

[Arnaud_B]

I use it just because it's simply better.. the "free" of charge or "free" in the sense of opensource are entirely irrelevant to me... I just want quality software and this is why I have been using linux for 4 years... I actually find the "free" of charge stuff being plain non-sense... people deserves to be paid for their work and experience shows that they are more motivated to do better software in that case... (look at ubuntu developers...) I would actually pay the same for Ubuntu as I paid for Windows...
A.

[xfred]

Reasons I use linux:

- I care for free (as in liberty) software.
- As an added bonus, ubuntu is free (as in beer). Mmmm, beer.
- It does what I want in style.

and the decider for me:

- I once actually took the time to *read* the windows 98 EULA.

[animenut89]

i realy use it for both but the mane reason i swiched is because i finaly had it wiht microsoft and there big near monopoly on the markit of computer oss

[metaltailz]

I voted for better than windows but it is also better than windows because it is free ware in every sense.

I got this computer for $30 canadian, so why should I spend $300 bucks for a piece of crap called windows?

[Monsuco]

Well, I use Linux for both reasons. I know there is plenty of FOSS stuff for win32, and I encourage friends of mine to use things like Firefox, Thunderbird, Sunbird, Open Office, VLC, Notepad2, Gaim, and many others, but Linux takes that freedom to a whole new level. Linux also is in most ways (security, stability, speed, resource consumption, platform support, value, powerful command line) better than Windows. I also like knowing that when my stuff goes obsolete I can open synaptic or adept and do a full upgrade for $0 which you sure cannot do in Win. Windows has it's advantages of course (better support from 3rd party closed source stuff like MP3 players) but I prefere linux. I would willingly pay for linux if I had to, but fortunitly I dont have to, and would probably be willing to shell out $50 for Ubuntu and only $20 for Windows.

[BWF89]

Free as in freedom is more important than free as in beer.

If Linux wasn't free as in freedom and it managed to get to the point it was today without that I'd still probably be planning on useing it (once i get my own computer) but since I know, and agree, with the part about user freedom that's the most important thing. If I wanted something that extremely easy to use I'd buy a Mac, but that's not what I want in a computer eventhough I might reccomend Mac to friends and family.

[OneSeventeen]

I also prefer freedom over "free" stuff. The fact that I can choose between windows and linux makes me happy, and the fact that in linux I can choose what software to run while saving to the same format makes me enjoy it all the more.

I do have software that I've purchased, and I would like to have the freedom to purchase and install Photoshop CS 2 on Ubuntu as well. It is also cool that most software that runs on linux can also run on Windows (i.e. the GIMP, Inkscape, Thunderbird, Firefox, Opera, and many of the cool GTK development tools), which means I'm not locked into Ubuntu. If Ubuntu development goes downhill, then I am not tied in any way, and can simply jump to the next distro with a good userbase.

(Fortunately I don't see that happening, but the freedom to jump on a life boat than go down with the ship, like other operating systems, makes me more comfortable, and makes me feel much more stable as a business owner!)

[jordilin]

Microsoft gives you Windows. Linux gives you the whole house and for free. What do you choose? Linux of course!!

[huygens]

I went to Linux in 96 about, because at that time the Microsoft alternative was crap really! Windows was slow, not stable, had to reboot frequently, and had to re-install often because the system got bloated after 6 months only using it, etc.
So clearly, Linux in 96 (eventhough quite tough to install, difficult to configure and I had to get use to command lines such as: 'tar zxvf' or 'mount /dev/fd1 /mnt/floppy' to perform simple tasks... :D ) was much better than Windows 9x, no doubt. Though, one could still argue that even after having Linux installed and properly configured, it was far from being user friendly at that time... And hardware driver were much more of a trouble: e.g. I never got the chance to print on my HP printer at that time...

Now, I stay with Linux for its freedom (not for free of charge, as before switching to Ubuntu, I have been buying the CDs of my previous distro to support their work) and I like the GNU philosophy even if I am not such enthousiast to write each time GNU/Linux ;)

Now, why did I move to Ubuntu? I have been disapointed by the previous release of my distro (it was unstable!!! Unbelievable under Linux :confused: ) So, I decided to look for something else, and as I just happened to travel through South Africa and I loved the place (eventhough it has some good and bad side), I got tempt at my return to have still a touch of Africa... So I went to Ubuntu. I stayed there, because I love the community here (in the forums, wiki, blogs, etc.). It feels great and mature :) and also because I loved the software ;)
Ubuntu feels nice, after installing it, it looks awesome and the applications just feel perfectly integrated. Also, I think it is quite ergonomic no 2, 3, etc software for performing the same task for instance. It just feels like this system does what you ask it for.

Huygens

[Jacks0n]

everyone who uses software, cares if it's free. they either don't have to pay, or don't have to bother looking for a crack/keygen. unless people like giving money when there's a free alternative.

[Wight_Rhino]

I didn't vote because I agree with "Both" options, I take both of those things (and some Others) into account.

But if forced into choosing one over the other, I would probably pay for Ubuntu if need be, so freedom from MS is more important.

I guess.

[RavenOfOdin]

The poll options are woefully inadequate.

1. I use GNU/Linux because it is more stable and secure than Microsoft alternatives. This has been proven time and time again through its
development model.
2. I use GNU/Linux because it is free (as in beer) and because I am generally unable to afford higher priced software (as in cost) . . . However, I
do not resonate with the radical philosophies of the FSF, and I am more than willing to develop programs for a living, as long as anything I
undertake on my own is GPL'ed.
3. I use GNU/Linux because it fits my needs at the moment.

[richbarna]

I use Linux because I like being able to try free distros with no cost involved.
I like the security and the complete control, but most of all because I love computers and needed a new challenge that windows couldn't offer.

I forgot to mention the Linux community also.

[3rdalbum]

1. More secure, less self-destructive
2. More in tune with my computing style
3. Fast pace of development
4. Free as in beer - application software too
5. Free as in speech
6. Cross-architecture
7. Live CDs are useful

If you cared for a free society, you would say that Linux was better than Windows anyway!

[ELD]

You should really think a bit more when making a poll, i could think of 10 more options off the top of my head that people would want.

[Iskra]

For me it is primarily the freedom and secondarily the community (which I think the first one fosters.)