How to Become an Open Source Enthusiast
Consider the amazing advantages of open source., Choose software shared under an open source license., Learn to code using open source programming languages., Switch to an open source operating system.
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Consider the amazing advantages of open source.
These include more freedom, flexibility, reliability, privacy, support and more.
Weigh the pros and cons of free and open source versus proprietary software.
Most open source projects are shared freely.
Office 365 Home costs around 100 dollars per year.
Considering the fact that Office is very widely supported and powerful, it's not too expensive for what you're getting.
The thing is, if you compare Office to something like LibreOffice, you'll find that they are fairly similar feature-wise.
The one difference being that LibreOffice is free.
Consider the extensibility of open source software.
As an extension to its open nature, open source software can be modified to meet your exact needs.
This can be especially useful in business environments.
If you need a feature that isn't included with the package, write it yourself! While Apple products might be clean, intuitive and stable, they aren't incredibly extensible.
Open source software, on the other hand, is highly extensible, and occasionally hackable to their core.
Remember that privacy is always important.
If a company states that their software is using a high level of encryption, you can't be certain that they haven't also placed security backdoors within the code to aid law enforcement or provide third parties with sensitive data.
Only when the software is open source can you be absolutely sure your privacy is being upheld with the utter most care.
Think about security.
With the considerably large communities actively developing some of the major open source projects, you can rest assured that most security flaws will be weeded out quickly. -
Step 2: Choose software shared under an open source license.
There are millions of open source projects online.
In fact, Github, a popular Git repository hosting service, passed ten million repositories back in 2013!There's a wide variety of open source software to choose from.Using open source software comes with many advantages.
If you're looking for an open mobile phone operating system, try Android, LineageOS (forked from CyanogenMod after being discontinued), Sailfish OS or Ubuntu Touch.
Try running an open source operating system on your laptop or desktop computer like Ubuntu, Linux Mint and Fedora instead of Windows or MacOS.
Install the OpenOffice package or LibreOffice suite instead of Office
365.
Install GIMP rather than Photoshop.
Adopt Inkscape contrary to Adobe Illustrator.
You can replace Chrome and Microsoft Edge by Embracing Firefox. , Start with scripting languages like Perl and Python, web development using PHP, or database management using the popular language MySQL! , While Windows and MacOS are considered standard, they also fall under the category of proprietary software.
Open source operating systems plant all of the advantages of open source software at the heart of your system.
By using these OSes, you can rest assured that vast communities of developers are working to make it better.
Ubuntu is one of the most popular Linux distributions, making it a viable choice.
Ubuntu uses the Unity interface and is based on Debian.
Ubuntu is also the most widely supported.
There are also plenty of derivatives of Ubuntu, such as elementaryOS and Linux Mint. openSUSE is another popular Linux distribution coming from Germany promoting use of Linux everywhere.
This OS is a great choice for desktop users and developers.
For more experienced users, Arch Linux is a great choice.
Arch is a lightweight Linux distribution that follows a "keep it simple" philosophy, handing you a minimal system and giving you the ability to configure it to however you like. -
Step 3: Learn to code using open source programming languages.
-
Step 4: Switch to an open source operating system.
Detailed Guide
These include more freedom, flexibility, reliability, privacy, support and more.
Weigh the pros and cons of free and open source versus proprietary software.
Most open source projects are shared freely.
Office 365 Home costs around 100 dollars per year.
Considering the fact that Office is very widely supported and powerful, it's not too expensive for what you're getting.
The thing is, if you compare Office to something like LibreOffice, you'll find that they are fairly similar feature-wise.
The one difference being that LibreOffice is free.
Consider the extensibility of open source software.
As an extension to its open nature, open source software can be modified to meet your exact needs.
This can be especially useful in business environments.
If you need a feature that isn't included with the package, write it yourself! While Apple products might be clean, intuitive and stable, they aren't incredibly extensible.
Open source software, on the other hand, is highly extensible, and occasionally hackable to their core.
Remember that privacy is always important.
If a company states that their software is using a high level of encryption, you can't be certain that they haven't also placed security backdoors within the code to aid law enforcement or provide third parties with sensitive data.
Only when the software is open source can you be absolutely sure your privacy is being upheld with the utter most care.
Think about security.
With the considerably large communities actively developing some of the major open source projects, you can rest assured that most security flaws will be weeded out quickly.
There are millions of open source projects online.
In fact, Github, a popular Git repository hosting service, passed ten million repositories back in 2013!There's a wide variety of open source software to choose from.Using open source software comes with many advantages.
If you're looking for an open mobile phone operating system, try Android, LineageOS (forked from CyanogenMod after being discontinued), Sailfish OS or Ubuntu Touch.
Try running an open source operating system on your laptop or desktop computer like Ubuntu, Linux Mint and Fedora instead of Windows or MacOS.
Install the OpenOffice package or LibreOffice suite instead of Office
365.
Install GIMP rather than Photoshop.
Adopt Inkscape contrary to Adobe Illustrator.
You can replace Chrome and Microsoft Edge by Embracing Firefox. , Start with scripting languages like Perl and Python, web development using PHP, or database management using the popular language MySQL! , While Windows and MacOS are considered standard, they also fall under the category of proprietary software.
Open source operating systems plant all of the advantages of open source software at the heart of your system.
By using these OSes, you can rest assured that vast communities of developers are working to make it better.
Ubuntu is one of the most popular Linux distributions, making it a viable choice.
Ubuntu uses the Unity interface and is based on Debian.
Ubuntu is also the most widely supported.
There are also plenty of derivatives of Ubuntu, such as elementaryOS and Linux Mint. openSUSE is another popular Linux distribution coming from Germany promoting use of Linux everywhere.
This OS is a great choice for desktop users and developers.
For more experienced users, Arch Linux is a great choice.
Arch is a lightweight Linux distribution that follows a "keep it simple" philosophy, handing you a minimal system and giving you the ability to configure it to however you like.
About the Author
Lori Gray
Dedicated to helping readers learn new skills in lifestyle and beyond.
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