Monday, November 10, 2014
Smallish Post 5
I have not had much experience with open source and it has all come in the last few years. I installed linux on an external drive for one of my computer science classes. At first it was difficult to learn how to work with linux. Now since I have learned quite a bit it has been a good experience. I think the main difference between the Cathedral and Bazaar concepts is the type of people who participate. In Linux those who use it are often involved in the open source movement and have a deep understanding of what is going on in the operating system. But you will very rarely find someone who doesn't know much about computers using a linux distribution. Whereas in the Cathedral idea the users aren't always aware of the underlying processes of the operating system. I do think that one idea is better than the other. It is good to have both because it provides options for both those familiar with the inner workings of an operating system and those who aren't.
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I certainly think it's a good idea to keep both open source and its opposite around. If there are people who are willing to pay a bit more for a software product that locks them in to their paradigm, all the more power to them.
ReplyDeleteTraditionally, open source software has always been the tougher software to use - the stuff that only someone with a programming bone would understand how to use. However, in recent years, this has been changing. First of all, open source contributors have started focusing on making user-friendly stuff. Two great examples are Linux Mint and Ubuntu - the whole point of these operating systems is simplicity and ease of use. They even have their own app stores. Sure, you can use the command line still is you wish, but there are so many things that are so much easier to do without it. Second, the amount of available help documentation for open source software has skyrocketed. Now, any rookie who has never touched Linux before can get online and search for an answer to any problem he is encountering, and he is bound to find 10000+ tutorials on how to fix the problem. Because of these two things, open source is getting much more user friendly. I hope that the day comes when a Linux installation is just as common as a Windows or Mac installation.
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