Poll: Why did you start using open source?

Why did you start using open source?

Opensource.com (Red Hat) 17 Feb 2015 15 comments

Image credits :

Photo by Windell Oskay, modified by Jen Wike Huger

387 votes tallied

Career / job

44 votes

School / education

39 votes

Affordability

47 votes

Alternative to proprietary

165 votes

To scratch an itch

65 votes

Other (tell us about it in the comments below)

27 votes

When it comes to getting involved with open source, everyone has their own story. As our Beginners to Open Source series gets into full swing, we want you to share yours.

Why did you decide to start using open source software? Was it a new job? The "free" factor? Or did you just think supporting open source is the right thing to do?

Let us know by responding to our poll and joining the discussion below.

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Opensource.com - Opensource.com publishes stories about creating, adopting, and sharing open source solutions. Follow us on Twitter @opensourceway.

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15 Comments, Register or Log in to post a comment.

Drew Kwashnak on 17 Feb 2015 Permalink

In the beginning, I couldn't afford an Apple and my Windows was getting old and frustrating. A friend of mine convinced me to use Linux and after an introduction and reading a document by Red Hat that was 100s of pages long, I installed Red Hat 8.0 in 2003. Afterwards I poked, prodded and explored. I was able to try out things I couldn't have done otherwise (3d rendering, thin client server, web server, etc.). To be fair, my wife was tolerant and patient while I tried figuring out Linux, and kept breaking things. I gave myself a missions, to "be able to do everything I do in Windows,.. in Linux". By 2006 or 2007 I accomplished that . Now everybody in the house, except my wife, uses Linux. The kids have even said to me that they "prefer Linux", and let me know the number of teachers and students they run across who like Linux. This experience has extended into my professional career some, too. The company I work for uses Drupal for the external website and PHP for the custom sites, despite being mostly Microsoft internally. My Linux and open source experience put my name on the short list for managing and developing these sites. I know it is really just scratching the surface.

Ron Fischler on 17 Feb 2015 Permalink

I began using Open Source for the same reason I bet a lot of other people did - to get away from Internet Explorer. A friend suggested I try something called Firebird, later to be renamed Firefox. I thought at the time that I was riding the wave to the promised land! I loved it. Now of course, Chrome is drinking Mozilla's Milkshake. This is sad and disconcerting.

Jrem on 17 Feb 2015 Permalink

Linux fits with my philosophy of life. I've tried a lot of distros in the past but now (it seems) linux is more user-friendly. I can't imagine going back. Thanks to all the developers out there you freed me:)

Dave Mawdsley on 17 Feb 2015 Permalink

In the Fall of 2006 I decided to try using Ubuntu because I was tired waiting for my computer to finish the startup sequence. I thought, "Why do I have to wait for my Windows computer to get all its updates before I can really use the computer?" The wait time was gradually increasing. I also was annoyed at having to dig out viruses and malware even though the computer had a good, active, anti-virus product. I thought, "Why isn't the Windows computer secure from day one of usage without the need for an anti-virus product that still only partly protected my computer?" By the end of 2007, I had migrated my business files completely to the Ubuntu computer. My lab now had a file server running Ubuntu that I had assembled from parts obtained from a computer store. I now had much better control of security and backups, and realized that I could monitor and control it much better. Updates for all my software were installed when I wanted to to install them thus not interrupting my work flow at all. My costs were also minimal.

Dmacleo on 17 Feb 2015 Permalink

I hate to admit it but I use it for many items because I am a cheapskate. I use windows domain here and windows pc's but I use lot of open source programs on them. I am a fan of both open source and closed source. but if there was an opensource version of anydvd I would drop windows most likely. in many instances the open source program also is the BEST tool for the job regardless of price. and that really is the most important thing, the best tool for the job.

Shopgrunt on 17 Feb 2015 Permalink

Switched to Linux after second blue screen on Win 95. Just kept going and growing.

nightflier on 17 Feb 2015 Permalink

WXP activation. I was what we called a "power user", who constantly experimented, broke and re-installed my OS. I also took some liberties with the EULA, in that I would have several W98 installs on one machine, one optimized for gaming, another for web surfing (with Netscape as the shell), and another one for when I needed to take take it to the shop. When I realized that the Linux folks not only approved, but encouraged that kind of behaviour, I was won over.

Aleksandar Todorović on 17 Feb 2015 Permalink

Basically, to become free. To not depend on a specific company. To be sure that what my data stays only my PC. To experiment. To improve my coding skills. To have that sexy Linux desktop I kept seeing over and over again. To finally feel comfortable while I'm using my laptop. To adjust my OS to fit my needs, and NOT to adjust my needs to fit the software I'm using. This easily fits in one of the three top decisions I made in my life. :)

eyeheartpi on 18 Feb 2015 Permalink

After several tries of Debian in my high-school years on a dual-boot system, I eventually got really frustrated over using Windows (spring of 2012) and haven't looked back since. The early tries with Debian came to life after hearing of this 'great OS that with multiple virtual desktops and a sliding cube :) '.

Calvin on 18 Feb 2015 Permalink

I started simply because i wanted to try the alternatives, as soon as i realised that open source programs were more than just things people made as a hobby but represented a whole new mode of development and growth i was hooked - to me the difference between open software and closed software is as stark as the difference between high-brow literature written by a great writer and a piece of airport trash... Software made with passion, made with community and growth in mind, that is great software - programs made simply to turn a quick buck, that's just not interesting to me.

william wallace on 18 Feb 2015 Permalink

I started using (free) open source (software) because of FREEDOM. I am surprised that freedom is not on the list. But then again, this is a website with the domain opensource.com. Open source is not necessarily free. And it seems that open source people don't value freedom as much.

Jason van Gumster on 19 Feb 2015 Permalink

Short version: curiosity. At the point that I started using open source tools, I'd been tinkering with computers quite a bit... both with hardware and software. I wasn't making new devices or writing spectacular apps, but I *was* optimizing and customizing... making the machine mine. I wanted my computer and the tools on/in it to match the ways I most liked working... and perhaps reflect some of my personal aesthetic tastes. At some point, though, there's a limit to what you can do in a closed environment... even with hacks and kludges and work-arounds. Open source tools and operating systems dispensed with those limitations. The only thing holding me back was my own lack of knowledge and understanding. Fortunately, curiosity was there to help push forward.

FB Clark on 22 Feb 2015 Permalink

Stability. I had an XP system that borked with every attempt to install one particular update early in 2007. I literally fought with MS support all summer long. I searched all around my area to get my hands on a Mac, but no one had one. I was pushed more and more toward that Linux 'stuff'. In the fall I finally downloaded a distro and tried it for about two hours. I was so impressed I installed and wiped XP and put all my personal and organisation files in. It was fantastic! And other than for a couple of heavily layered .docx files, neither my wife nor I have had any trouble sharing project files with other people. My wife changed due to curiosity and then finding Linux is just as easy as MS and it was faster. She watched over my shoulder for a couple weeks after I installed it and finally asked if there was a way she could try it. I dual booted her brand new Vista machine and after three months she noticed that she hadn't used Vista in weeks and didn't want to. I removed Vista and we've been a Linux household since 2007 with no regrets at all.

Shane Curcuru on 24 Feb 2015 Permalink

I started committing code to the XML project at Apache in 1999 because it was my dayjob. At the time, IBM and Sun made an alliance (in the days when we were otherwise deadly enemies!) to both donate bits of XML and XSLT code to form the Xalan and Xerces projects at Apache, giving the ASF a complete XML processing stack. So my first couple of years were acting as a corporate developer, but working on keeping my team up with the community norms of open source. When my job went in other directions, I kept hanging out around Apache types. I had already attended a couple of ApacheCons when I ended up following Ken Coar - another IBM'er at the time - into a conference planning meeting because I was curious. I left the meeting a bewildered volunteer with new concom tasks to do! Once I started planning ApacheCons, I didn't stop, and that eventually led me to being elected as a Member of the ASF and doing a lot more governance and foundation running.

Charles in NJ on 24 Feb 2015 Permalink

I didn't want to use Windows Vista, so I was driven to open source. I liked it, so I've really never looked back.

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