Over the past year and a half, give or take, I have become quite the fan of {F}ree/{L}ibre {O}pen {S}ource {S}oftware {FLOSS} technologies.  The freedom and ability to download a wide range of software, for free, as well as the ability to change up the software code to customize it for personal applications, and even the ability to contribute back to the community {aka Picardism...oh ya!} is something that I truly think enables the highest degree of satisfying user experiences.  I have previously mentioned that I have found, through much experimentation over the past little while, that much that can be done with proprietary softwares can be done using FLOSS-based softwares just as well.  Some prominent examples include Firefox {web browsing}, Thunderbird {email}, OpenOffice (document creation and editing}, GIMP {image editing}, Audacity {audio editing}, among many others {FSF FLOSS software directory} 

I particularly want to focus this post on operating system technology.  For those not in the know, an operating system is the underlying abstraction layer {bones and muscle} of all computer systems, enabling the many hardware and software interactions that are needed for you to work on computer systems; enabling you to not have to think about such things (see the image to the right {borrowed} from wikipedia).  Much like driving a car; many proclaim that they don't care how the car truly works, just so long as it gets them to point A to B and back successfully with ease {steering wheel, gas pedal, speedometer, etc} and satisfaction {design aesthetic, smoothness of ride, colour, radio, bluetooth, etc).  Truth of the matter is, even for those who say they don't care about this abstraction layer of sorts, that in fact this layer does have an impact in terms of use and usability as well as to what degree of satisfying experiences can be had.  It is all very much interrelated.

Many of us have grown up using Windows or Mac operating systems.  If we use a computer, we should be aware of at least one of these technologies. Now I don't hate these technologies.  Actually they do work quite well, when they work ;-)  However, it's their proprietary nature that I personally feel gets in the way of being able to obtain truly satisfying people-computer experiences.  When using these technologies there can often be times we are coerced, forced even down a path of technological use which may not necessarily be best. We then become accustomed to it, making it the norm and instead of making things better, we just fall into a routine maintaining the status quo.  In fact there is something better, something that better promotes the ideals of interaction and usability and human innovation.  That something is FLOSS. 

For about a year I have been using the Ubuntu opertating system exclusively, minus a brief interlude back to using MacOSX.  Ubuntu is a GNU/Linux FLOSS-based operating system that is highly human-centric.  It's slogan is actually, Linux for humans.  Looking back on my FLOSSy experiences thus far, I find that they have been truly enlightening and satisfying all at the same time.  I enjoy the incremental aspect of FLOSS use, meaning that sometimes things don't always work out on the first try and sure, some effort is needed to get things going, adapted and customized according to my preferences.  I find that this activity is actually needed in modern technological society. Sadly though I see, or have seen, that we as a society have lost something from our use of modern technology. It actually seems that we are becoming "dumb" ...or dumber ;-) to the point of ignorance and it could very well linked to our use of modern technology.  If it's too confusing, or if it doesn't work right out of the box, or if it's too scary, why tinker with it? Why learn why it is the way it is?  Why not try to make it better?  No, instead why not just complain, or call the help desk?  It's easier.  Truth be told is that it is this activity of research and exploration in the things we use daily that is truly one of the most critical human traits we have. It keeps us on the cutting edge, makes us knowledgeable {more knowledgeable} and helps us to innovate and improve our existence.  This is the reason why I love FLOSS so much.  It injects this feeling back, research and exploration, learning, and knowledge gaining while also injecting the feeling of contributing to something good, something bigger, something good for society.

With that I encourage you all to try Ubuntu.  From a human-computer interaction standpoint, it is truly the best place to start your FLOSS operating system experience {and hopefully stay}.  I really think that society would be a better place by promoting FLOSS use.  It promotes a sense of what it truly is to be human.  Perhaps an ideal that is disruptive at first.  It may sound to some like technological socialism.  You know what, it's exactly that, and it's exactly what we need.  In my mind the benefits of encouraging a FLOSS-based technological society are too huge to pass up on.  -tMac