Why I Use Open Source Software and Linux

1. I enjoy using and endorsing software that I am not only allowed, but encouraged to makes copies and distribute to my friends and associates.

2. I enjoy using software that has a license which encourages rather than discourages innovation, bug fixes, and community-driven critique.

3. I enjoy being able to peer into the internals of the software I am running.

4. I depend on the stability of the software I run, and have found many OSS products to be superior to their closed-source alternatives in this.

5. I depend on the security of the software I run, and have found many OSS products to be superior to their closed-source alternatives in this.

6. I take comfort in knowing that if the maintainer of the software that I run were to drop dead or become disinterested, the basic building blocks for the continuation of the software are in place and would not need be hindered by legal barriers.

7. I enjoy knowing that most of the software I run is in active development through a transparent process, and that I also have various relatively accessable ways to encourage the development of features I want.

8. I enjoy knowing that if I can't persaude someone else to implement a feature, I can implement it myself with a realistic possibility of it being integrated into the product.

9. I like running a stable, secure, and powerful system which provides me with a flexible medium between ease of use and ease of tweaking.

10. I like the way that open source software has challenged a playing field which has been increasingly dominated by domineering corporations, and has consequentally sanitized and freed many corners of the industry for real competition and a real free market.

In concluding this list, I want to encourage people that Open Source software is not at all or nothing proposal. You may run Windows (at your own risk :>), but you can still reap the benefits of solid OSS software, such as FireFox, Thunderbird, OpenOffice, Apache, Gaim, etc.