If Linux is Free, You're the Product?
If the product is free, we're the product. Then why doesn't Linux receive the same scrutiny among the Linux community for being free?
To be fair, Linux can be intimidating. However, this might have been true maybe ten years ago. Linux has matured quite well over the years making it user friendly where the installation process is straight forward.
Linux people, that includes me, follow Linux almost in a cult-like fashion. There are different levels to this enthusiasm, where I fall somewhere in the middle.
I have been a full time Linux user for four years and provide client support for Windows users. Like many Linux people, I evangelize the benefits of using it. However, I don't go out of my way to completely dismiss Windows knowing that most people are not really interested in diving into the rabbit hole of Linux despite its benefits. To be honest, sometimes we can be overzealous because we want to share our enlightened experience with others... Even though I am a self-proclaimed Linux evangelist, I dared to ask the question, "If the product is free, we're the product. Then why doesn't Linux receive the same scrutiny amongst the Linux community for being free?". This created a little bit of a stir.
So I asked the question on YouTube...
from A VR STORY LLC YouTube channel1.
That phrase, by its own admission would make Linux fall under that category of a "free product". With that being said, I wanted to know why Linux gets an exception of not being associated with that phrase even though it fits it like a glove. Remember, I have to reiterate, I am a full time Linux user.
This is an honest question. After posting, I received some scrutiny by asking the question. Here were some of the comments (I also asked this on other social media.):
- "Cybercommunism or electrosocialism whatever floats your fish." @murdoc296
- "Where are the ads? The data collection? Anything that can make the devs money at all? Meanwhile windows is paid and you STILL get ads in your face and your data harvested. Have you even seen a Linux desktop before asking that question?" @ignatiusstablishmentariani7721
- "Nah bro Linux makes you work for it." @danielmccann2979
- "That's not a universal rule of thumb. Sometimes people literally want to make something for free. Have you ever heard of Wikipedia?" @DavidReed-zq7ue
- "Are you trolling? Linux isn't a product, dumdum—no one gets paid when you install it." @rlue
I was not trolling, I was curious because a lot of people, especially those in the Linux community bring up, "If the product is free, you're the product."
The comments can be summed up based on concerns that typical Linux users have with ownership, privacy, and freedom. These concerns are very consistent among the Linux community often resulting in Linux users vehemently defending the operating system should questions arise regarding its legitimacy like the question I brought up. This is described well with software being available under certain types of licenses when software is released. Here is an excerpt from the General Public License (GNU)2:
"
When we speak of free software, we are referring to freedom, not price. Our General Public Licenses are designed to make sure that you have the freedom to distribute copies of free software (and charge for them if you wish), that you receive source code or can get it if you want it, that you can change the software or use pieces of it in new free programs, and that you know you can do these things.
"
I have to reiterate, I too am a Linux user. Although, I am more of a convert since I've used both Mac and Windows prior and still use them.
This brings me to another aspect about Linux and the community surrounding it... There are levels to this enthusiasm and fan base. There are the hardcore, who lean very far into the "free and open source" group (ie Richard Stallman3 founder of GNU, Gentoo4 and Arch5 users) to the casuals, typically associated with Ubuntu6 users often criticized that it does not follow the principles of the GNU license. With the range being quite wide, you can imagine there are rifts throughout the community where there is no shortage of drama that perculates throughout.
I am somewhere in the middle and typically use Ubuntu based Linux distributions because of its low barrier of entry and general ease of use and sometimes I might get criticized for that.
Whatever the opinion is about Linux, within the community, there is no shortage of choices. If Linux, or free open source operating systems, were a menu for a restaurant, you probably would get overwhelmed and not pick any at all. For the general public, this might be the case.
The audience who are attracted to Linux are typically people who like to tinker where most are not interested in being technical administrators often associated with using Linux. Sometimes, the Linux community forgets that. Most people just want to get on with their life. Having someone learn to navigate a Linux desktop after using Windows for most of their life is just too much friction for someone to experience. Paying for Windows and everything that comes with it is just an easier option. To be honest, I understand that and I agree with it.
Do I want people to use Linux for the many benefits? Yes. Absolutely.
I don't find it necessary to force people to it, if they don't want to, free or paid.
If you are curious of using Linux, we first need to understand why you would want to use it in the first place. Here are common questions I ask before having people make the switch?
- What are you using the computer for? Gaming? Work? This is probably one of the biggest stop gaps for users. If certain applications or games can only run on Windows, and this does occur, switching over to Linux is just not going to be an option. While Linux has made extensive strides with compatibility, it has not solved this issue. For instance, online games from Riot ("Valorant", "League of Legends", etc) will not work.
- A follow up to the previous question, what applications do you absolutely need? For the most part, people just use browsers (Chrome, Firefox, etc). If that is the case, yeah, use Linux. As far as productivity or gaming goes, there are more than enough similar applications and even compatibility software to run some software that are specifically made for Windows to run on Linux, albeit you may need to tinker a bit.
Linux is for everyone but it is also not for everyone. That is totally okay. For many users, they are not going to get entangled in any of the techno drama of using a certain type of operating system. There is no obligation to use Linux, but the option to do so is always there. You can explore Linux at your convenience. To get started with for free, visit previous posts "Run Linux on your iPhone and Android", "Cross Platform Graphics Applications You Can Use Today", "Test out Linux for Free before you Commit", and "Use Apps, specific to Windows on Linux". Cheers!
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