Why are there nine unique features of free software users?

& Nbsp; Windows and other private software are products in the commercial software market. In the culture of commercial software, information flows are unidirectional-from vendors to users-and the so-called intellectual property rights and vendor locks of these companies enable them to forcibly define users as a role that does not ask right or not. On the contrary, the free software culture has two origins.  

Windows and other private software are products in the commercial software market. In the culture of commercial software, information flows are unidirectional-from vendors to users-and the so-called intellectual property rights and vendor locks of these companies enable them to forcibly define users as a role that does not ask right or not. On the contrary, the free software culture has two origins. The first is the Unix culture described by Eric Raymond in the Unix programming Art, which emphasizes excellence. The second is the four degrees of freedom defined by the free software.

It is true that end users may not be interested in learning and improving their own programming technologies. However, for developers, this free choice depends on their own expectations. In addition, the freedom to run and re-release programs reduces the popularity of private software. At least, gathering these resources creates a group of more active and demanding users, which is impossible in private software.

Undoubtedly, the differences in these origins will produce very different expectations. Of course, there will be exceptions, and the richer the user's specialized skills, the less significant the difference. In addition, such as Firefox and OpenOffice. Org, these free software is increasingly integrated into private platforms. When free software develops into a large market, private culture is also penetrating into free software. In most cases, you can still think that free software users are different from private software users in many basic ways. Further, when you sell or develop software, whether or not these differences can seriously affect your success.

1) free software users want to open software licenses without activation

Private vendors such as Adobe and Xare that are already testing software for the GNU/Linux version, generally think that free software users will not buy commercial software. However, companies like Mandriva and Red Hat have proved that it is more like a hypothetical failure to replace commercial ideas than looking at reality. If there are no other cases, commercial users will basically purchase commercial software, just to have comfort in maintaining a traditional relationship with the manufacturer.

However, if you give them any chance, free software users will really reject private licenses and activation methods, which hinders their freedom to copy and re-release software. If no software is available elsewhere, some people will be patient with private licenses. They may accept private licenses for unimportant software such as games. However, when we see alternatives, they will abandon private products. Of course, most do not even accept this temporary compromise.

If you want to sell to the free software community, please give up the method of making money from the software and think about what services you can provide around the software. Then, do you think whether file sharing and free culture are rooted in the free software culture?

2) free software users want regular upgrades and patches

The free operating system is set for full satisfaction. Do you want a software? Switch to the root user. it will be installed in 5 minutes and put into use without restarting.

The efficiency of this routine function is also applicable to upgrades and patches. In free software, upgrades and patches are not annual events that occur only after beta and RC are completed. They are close to a routine event. It is well known that plan maintainers take it seriously, and they will take private time from their work as soon as possible to fix a BUG or apply a security patch.

3) free software users want to work in their own way

From Windows to GNU/Linux, the first thing users may notice is that there are so many customization options only for appearance and desktop operations. They may feel that there are too many options. Generally, they cannot imagine that they would have had this half option.

These options are the direct result of free software instilling a sense of dominance into its users. Users not only want to use menus, toolbar or shortcut keys as their preferred commands, but also want to control the layout of colors, widgets, and even desktop features in a concise and effective manner. If they switch in another way, from GNU/Linux to Windows, they will feel constrained and they will be forced to do what developers want them to do, instead of consulting their own meaning.

4) free software users want to control their systems

For free software users, one of the most intolerable aspects of Windows XP or vista is that you will be harassed by pop-up events from time to time. The system reminds you of available upgrades, possible security risks, and current system status. It is not surprising that your software, such as Java and many other programs, has its own information. That is to say, the operating system and two basic programs are like a phone room, and the locking technology controls your computer. Sometimes it seems that your work is interrupted every 30 seconds.

The desktop of the free software operating system has also started to prompt, but so far, they are targeted at the entire system. More importantly, they can be disabled. Experienced GNU/Linux or FreeBSD users know that routine system events are in log files and they can read them when they are idle.

As for the locking and monitoring technology, forget it. Many free software users have doubts about relatively benign automatic monitoring tools such as Debian Popularity Contest or Smolt, not to mention software that takes control of them.

5) free software users like to explore

During my vacation, I solved two Windows problems in an instant. One is simply inserting a display into a dedicated graphics card, rather than the integrated graphics card on the motherboard. Another solution is to replace the new hardware with a file manager. I asked them why they didn't look for any solutions by themselves. they all said that I helped a lot and left me alone, but in the end they admitted that they were just afraid to try.

For me, these responses represent the learned helplessness that private software typically produces. There are only a few visible tools on the desktop-most of them are hidden under a few dialogs-and these tools do not indicate that if they achieve this result-common Windows users have little motivation to learn if the management system.

However, it is easy to explore the free software system. For example, most configurations are completed by plain text files that can be browsed from the file manager. Because inquiry brings fast and effective results, users of free operating systems are encouraged to study and rapidly grow into users capable of doing that. If they are put on Windows, they may complain that they are isolated from the system, just like typing with boxing gloves.

6) free software users wish to be self-reliant

Free software users do not oppose help files. If there is no accident, they like help files. For traditional Unix man pages, they have information pages on the command line and online help on the desktop. However, this is far from the formal technical support that private software users expect.

On the contrary, free software users expect self-reliance-not only help files, but also configuration files that are easy to understand (more perfectly in the form of plain text that is easy to read ), and email lists and IRC chat channels. The DIY philosophy is deeply rooted in every free software user. The longer they use free software, the deeper their philosophy.

7) free software users are not afraid of command line

For Windows users, the command line is a terrible place. This is not surprising. Considering the awkwardness and limitations of the command line, here is an example of the command line that vista promised to give up later. However, in a free operating system, the command line is more user-friendly than in Windows, and most users quickly adapt to it.

In almost every situation, the free software has more options and more powerful options than the corresponding graphic interface. Users are happy to use the graphic interface. However, when the limit reaches, most users will be very happy to enter the command line. This sounds a little geek, but most of this habit is absolutely practical. Unless the interface designer tries to provide the same functionality as the command line interface, you don't have to change anything. honestly, few do that.

8) free software users learn software types, not programs

It is hard for private software users to understand their operating systems. they treat them as if they were playing magic spell-the ritual program. if they were completely correct, they would get the desired results. In addition, considering that private software is expensive, they tend to be familiar with an office suite, a Web browser and an email reader. As a result, the conversion software is like a harm to them.

On the contrary, free software users have both system knowledge and software selection experience. They will select one of each type of software, but it will only be made after experiencing all possible goals. If they need a feature that their software does not have, they will find a temporary or permanent alternative and believe that the other features they need will be available in both programs. Unlike private software users, the loyalty of free software users is temporary and dependent on the quality and choice of software. They lack the financial investment to bind private software users to a particular company and seem to have no reason to change the situation.

9) free software users want to communicate with developers and other staff

The free software community is proud of being an elite, where status is the result of achievements and contributions. Because status depends on what you have done recently