Living in a consumer culture society where everything gets commercialized, it’s, now more than ever, vital the release from social structures that are undertaken solely for profit. Social systems are made to serve human needs. The failure of this system is self-evident as it serves nothing but the promotion of economic interests. The conscious abstention from this brand transaction is one of the collapse levers of this system. In this article we will focus our interest both in pc’s commercial and free software applications.
In most cases, users’ first interaction with software becomes through a commercial product since this is set by the surreptitious monopoly laws. More specifically, we refer to the operating systems Windows, Macintosh and the applications implemented only for those. Working, having fun and learning on these applications we came into conflict with fundamental needs and we felt values for which we struggle in our everyday life getting violated. The illusion of satisfaction that, initially, a closed-source program provides the user with, gives its way to the restriction of the thought, as the user gets no incentives, of the expression, as the way of expression is standard in advance and thus of the imagination and creativity, as the user is getting attached to specific programs. Moreover, as in any science, so in computer science learning and research are limited to a specific and pre-built range. Any alternative out of this range, finds the user captive of his own adaptation attempt, because of the dependency relationship that the commercial software has created, and also cognitively unprepared to create something by his own.
Another negative and dangerous feature of commercial applications is the fact that the user, regardless of his/her cognitive level is unable to know what’s exactly running in the background of the pc. Finally, at closed-source software, although a user has the possibility to build an application, this application comes obligatory under marketing laws and intellectual property.
In contrary to the applications mentioned (commercial – closed-source) there is the operating system Linux and the applications under the license GNU-GPL (General Public License). According to this license the source code of an application must remain open. The source code may be modified or sold, but always has to remain open. For sure, this is not the most radical solution since it doesn’t completely abolish the trade as a concept, process and relation, but it is able to bring it severe blow. Concerning the software modification, the potential of a user to know the source code, gives him/her a choice flexibility, since he/she can adapt it to his/her needs. In that way, the user is able to cut off from the digital consumerism and adopt a more anti-commercial use of technology. At the same time it doesn’t deter the user from the knowledge on the technologies being used. Education, as an open process with the knowledge being shared freely, fits with the concept of free software whose clear view is the evolution of science and not the creation of financial relations. Free software is a quite good example for the other sciences on how knowledge should be developed and shared.
In conclusion, concerning its use, free software is sometimes preceded and sometimes followed by commercial applications. It must be still open to criticism as it has large improvement potentials, provided that users don’t treat it as something “for free”, like beer for free, but as a useful tool in their effort to ensure values such as freedom of speech, freedom of expression, collective creation. Moreover, it is no coincidence that collectives and communities involved with linux and free software in general, are covered by mutual help and self-organization characteristics. The currently widespread concept is known as 1-10-100. One is programming, ten are improving, one hundred are using. It’s clear that the use of free software is not by itself enough to overtake this concept, but a more conscious and anti-commercial attitude in our everyday life is needed.