I recently watched a video of a talk given by Richard Stallman (rms) a | |
few days ago. After some time to think about it, I'm not sure how to | |
feel. | |
You can get the video to watch for yourself: | |
rms' talk | |
The talk is rms' usual speech concerning free (as in freedom) software | |
and the evils of proprietary software. While he makes a lot of good | |
points, and a lot of what he says makes sense, his zealotry in the | |
matter makes it difficult to subscribe to, or even accept, his ideals | |
which, at the very least, can be considered extremist. | |
At its very core, his message is correct and palatable. Unless | |
software is free (not necessarily gratis), there's no way for its | |
users to be in control of their digital workings. We can't know if | |
something is spying on us or hurting us or our data unless we have | |
access to the source. We have to, instead, rely on trust, something | |
which is becoming more and more rare in the digital world in which we | |
live. | |
Yet, unfortunately, there's a day-to-day practicality in surrendering | |
our digital freedom for the sake of convenient software and | |
services. Even if I can't prove what all the software I use is or is | |
not doing, I'm able to conveniently get my work and personal business | |
done. At what cost? It's hard to quantify. However, it is a sacrifice | |
I have chosen to make. A sacrifice I find myself questioning and | |
second guessing after hearing talks such as the one in this video. | |
As I write this on my MacBook running OS X, sitting next to my iPhone | |
while my iPad charges and my AppleTV awaits my return to "The Clone | |
Wars" on Netflix, I fully realize and admit my current dependence upon | |
Apple: their software, their services, their world, their rules, their | |
sandbox, their jail. I also understand that Apple is not the only | |
proprietary digital dependence I have. I get it. I understand the | |
extreme lack of freedom I have. Yet, I also have to admit: I enjoy the | |
Apple products. They work well. They tend to be intuitive. They rarely | |
require much maintenance or change. They are practical by means of | |
being convenient. Yes, I've put my trust in a company that could, at | |
any time, screw us all over. Some would say they already have, time | |
and again. This is a sacrifice I've chosen, and (at least for the | |
moment) is a sacrifice I will continue to make. | |
However, there will always be a nagging little voice in my head, | |
whispering things like "GNU"[1] and "FSF"[2]. There will always be a | |
bit of doubt and a bit of concern about my lack of freedom over the | |
software I use. While it is unlikely I will ever reach a point where I | |
use nothing but free (as in freedom) software, there may come a time | |
when I choose the sacrifices required to be as free as I can over the | |
sacrifices of proprietary convenience. Today just isn't that day, | |
though even now the silent mental debate continues in my head. | |
[1] GNU | |
[2] FSF |