I think there’s something very interesting going on in the world of software. If you read here as often as you should, you know I am an ardent supporter of freeware and Open Source software. Now, the best reason to use open software isn’t the price tag.
We know that open-sourcers are unincumbered by marketing pressures and corporate tactics. These projects enjoy almost unrestrained creative input. But that’s still not all that pushes these applications (and operating systems) to a higher level then their commercial counterparts. It’s the passion.
I may be a bit of a diva. I decided in Junior High that no one was going to teach me how to write. Try as they might, I was going to remain stylisticaly pure, and write only to satisfy myself. That’s why I never took a class in journalism. Writing meant (and means) too much to me to do it for money. So why do I do it? Passion.
The Internet has made it possible to be a passion-driven hobbiest with a global audience for almost nothing. Freedom, access, and a little free time are all a passionate writer or programmer needs to indulge in uncompromised “art” (be it code, writing or deisgn).
So if you need one more reason to support the Open Source movement, you have it. It’s not only free, but it’s made by people who love it, rather than get paid for it.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.