Hey friends! I wrote a little piece about why I’ve been slowly stepping away from proprietary software in favor of free and open-source ones, so that’ll be the main focus of this newsletter. It’s part of my ongoing process that I want to start documenting. But to start, let’s dive into what I’ve been up to this past week.
How Am I Doing?
I’m fulfilled but fatigued. I had a very social week, and my battery wasthoroughly depleted. I do have some social calls to do next week as well, but since I’ve focused on cocooning, I think it should be fine. Also, the sun has been out early this year, so that helps a lot! While recharging in my PJs, I’ve been playing Prey (2017).
After bouncing off Deathloop, I got the immersive sim itch, and Prey had been on my backlog for even longer. It’s a really, really good game. The systems and level design are top-notch. The spaceship you explore feels like a real, functioning place. The equipment and creatures you encounter are extremely thematically on point and nicely tie into the simulation aspects of the genre. The story leaves enough mystery and freedom to kind of go off and do your own thing, which I think is super important for games that rely so heavily on sandbox systems. Also, I think they made the most elegant solution to a crafting system ever! The recycling machines are so satisfying to use. Big recommendation from me if you’re into this sort of game!
Also, the radio show I did last week is now listenable on any streaming app or in the browser. Go check it out if you haven’t already. It’s episode #603 The Method.
What Am I Doing?
For a couple of years now, I’ve been trying to move away from proprietary software to create a fully FOSS (free and open-source software) tool chain. This has a lot of reasons, but the main ones are:
- To own and control my own data.
- To reduce overhead.
- To stop relying on unethical businesses.
- To be more flexible.
From now on, I will document my (likely very slow) process of decoupling my workflow from proprietary software and replacing it with FOSS alternatives. This is by no means a new, original
or unique idea, but I can offer my own personal experience, which some people might relate to.
I’m not a hardcore FOSS fanatic. Very often, open-source software lacks the streamlined user experience that we’re used to from for-profit software. The switch from software you’re skilled with to something that’s new, and arguably feels worse to use, is slow and painful. I understand that! But I’ll explain why I’m doing it anyway, and why you should consider it too:
Own Your Data
In a lot of cases, companies sell your data as well as train it on AI. This can be your user data and personal information, but also whatever you create using their program. You technically own the copyright to the things you produce, but you can be barred from accessing the software if you break their increasingly demanding and obtuse terms of service. Likewise, if you can’t pay your subscription anymore, because nobody stops them from increasing their pricing model, you’re out of luck. Doubly so if the software uses a black-box file format with licensing baked into it.
Being able to access your own data at any time should be a given. This is why switching to local-first, interoperable, and standardized file formats is a big step in the right direction. If the software you’re using or the company you’re relying on is turning sour, you can keep your files and switch to something else that supports it.
Reduce Overhead
A big part of free and open-source software is that it’s… well… free! At this point, we’re all drowning in subscriptions. It’s hard to keep track of where the money goes, and if you sum it all up, we’ve been paying through the nose for years. Swapping to free software is one of the ways you can easily reduce monthly overhead and (maybe more importantly) make accounting easier.
Unethical Business Practices
I’ve alluded to bad business practices in previous segments already, but that did not include funding or being funded by global conglomerates that profit off of war, lobbying, government censorship or persecution, exploitation of labor, and the environment. When push comes to shove, massive businesses like that can exist only through unethical means. We either support them reluctantly or can choose to stop supporting them altogether.
Flexibility
In addition to having interoperable data, FOSS can grant even more flexibility. Usually, FOSS supports community-run plugins and extensions. It’s also easier to tie it into your own automation pipelines. And if you can’t find your specific way of doing things, you can implement it yourself! Obviously, that takes time and energy, but at least you have the agency to improve the software as you see fit, as opposed to praying the company implements the feature you want.
Why Am I Doing? (this)
All that is to say nothing about the sense of satisfaction you get from giving back to the community. However, there is also friction. Open-source projects are managed by tech-focused people and are often used solely by them. A feature request or question might be met with a “just do it yourself” or “open an issue on GitHub” only to be met with “this issue already exists”. Community members might scoff at your reasoning that other users might need an installer if they don’t know what the command-line tool is. It’s not all roses.
For all these reasons, I want to start documenting my experience with switching to FOSS. I’ll start by finding and getting used to alternatives to software I use in my daily work, then move on to self-hosting the things I currently outsource, all the while logging the trouble I run into along the way. This won’t be a weekly thing probably, since I don’t intend to do it all in one go, but maybe it’ll become a new segment in the newsletter at some point!