| Beginner's Guide |
Why is all of this important?
At this point you may be wondering why we consider Linux and open source software to be important. There are several reasons and it can be difficult to sum up in a short, beginner-friendly post.
A lot of it boils down to who is in control and what their motivation is. When a person runs proprietary software (whether it is an operating system, a game, or a work application) the company which made the software is in control. Their motivation is usually to make money off of their customers or otherwise benefit from the people who download their software.
When you use proprietary software you don't have any say in what it does, you can't have it audited for security. You don't get a say in what information the vendor collects on you, or whether the software shows you advertisements. Proprietary software makers have an incentive to keep you buying new upgrades or to lock you into subscription services where you keep paying them to maintain the product you are using.
In short, proprietary software ultimately works for the vendor who wrote it, not for the person using it.
Open source software in general, and Linux distributions in particular, turn the relationship between the user and the software provider upside down. With open source software you as the user are in control. The operating system and applications work for you, not a company. As a result, open source software typically does not spy on you, demand you buy a subscription model, or show you ads.
If the people who are making your open source applications close up shop, you (and other users) can hire another developer to pick up where they left off. Open source software can be audited for security purposes and modified by the user to better suit their needs.
Proprietary software is often exploitative, designed to give you as little power as possible while maximizing how much money a company can make from you. Open source software is collaborative and seeks to give you control over your own devices and applications.
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What is open source software? (Previous) •
Table of Contents •
Where do I start if I want to use Linux? (Next)
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