http://ipinthedigitalage.com/free-software-and-control/ CPSC 182 at Yale College Sat, 27 Nov 2010 19:09:24 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3 http://ipinthedigitalage.com/free-software-and-control/comment-page-1/#comment-966 Brian L Sun, 29 Mar 2009 21:27:44 +0000 http://ipinthedigitalage.com/?p=370#comment-966 Interesting post, Christian! You write that "Using proprietary software grants others control over your computer so that its actions do not suit your preferences. Conceivably one could accept having a machine trustworthy to others over one that is trustworthy to oneself, but it is extremely puzzling to me that anyone would choose to do so." However, for the overwhelming majority of computer users who rely on computers as a tool to do work, browse the internet and enjoy themselves (listening to music, watching videos, play games...),control over their software is inconsequential. Most users neither have the technological skills to program/modify code nor the desire to do so; they are simply looking for the easiest computing experience. At Yale, for instance, it is much easier to use a mainstream operating system and productivity suite (Office) since most students use these products and support is readily accessible. I was in a Statistics class where the Professor taught the class how to perform calculations and make complex graphs on Excel, the student tech's can help me configure my Mac to print wirelessly to library printers... I would be very difficult and impractical for most of us "lay people" to use some variant of GNU/Linux or other free and open software. Interesting post, Christian! You write that “Using proprietary software grants others control over your computer so that its actions do not suit your preferences. Conceivably one could accept having a machine trustworthy to others over one that is trustworthy to oneself, but it is extremely puzzling to me that anyone would choose to do so.” However, for the overwhelming majority of computer users who rely on computers as a tool to do work, browse the internet and enjoy themselves (listening to music, watching videos, play games…),control over their software is inconsequential. Most users neither have the technological skills to program/modify code nor the desire to do so; they are simply looking for the easiest computing experience. At Yale, for instance, it is much easier to use a mainstream operating system and productivity suite (Office) since most students use these products and support is readily accessible. I was in a Statistics class where the Professor taught the class how to perform calculations and make complex graphs on Excel, the student tech’s can help me configure my Mac to print wirelessly to library printers… I would be very difficult and impractical for most of us “lay people” to use some variant of GNU/Linux or other free and open software.

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