My Story With Linux / Open Source

Almost more than one year ago I was in Germany as a guest student at Wismar University. I was taking a lecture and the professor was giving a presentation using OpenOffice.org which was kinda weird for me to be honest since the program I'm used to see getting used by almost everyone around me was Microsoft Office plus me of course. I was even more shocked that the operating system that he was using is something different than the usual Windows. It was openSUSE.

The 1st idea that came to my mind since that very moment was; Why using something different than usual? Why is he different? I wanted to be also unique! I started digging more and more about this issue, I surprised myself actually thinking that it's just sudden curiosity and will fade. Apparently not. I already knew to be clear that there exist three major operating systems; Windows, Mac OS and Linux but it never crossed my mind that even Linux comes in different versions and openSUSE was one version - distro - of so much many. I've tried a bunch of these but settled with Ubuntu since it suited me perfectly. It has been a challenge for sure, though worthy.

This experience taught me a lot. For starters accepting the change, one shouldn't be hard-headed about his/her opinions and should always search for the ultimate best. Secondly it does feel awesome to use free/open source software all the time since it's FREE after all and the fact that it's open source inject the idea that it will always develop without any constraints. I don't have to look for shareware and stolen serial numbers all the time and it did give me a piece of mind in this particular issue.

Linux and open source together can be very beneficial for my family, friends and surely my country Jordan, the IT sector in Jordan is suffering and bleeding money that is sometimes justified though not always. Some proprietary software can be easily replaced for free such as OpenOffice.org instead of Microsoft Office, NetBeans instead of the pricey Microsoft Visual Studio, Linux instead of Windows and not having to pay extra for an Antivirus software. The list goes on.

I feel responsible to deliver the vision of open source to anyone around me, because I do feel that the majority lacks the motive to think open - open source. Although my major isn't IT by any means but such case should be the concern of everyone who has the will to change and make a difference. This issue won't just help cutting down some pointless expenses, and these expenses can be spent elsewhere needed, but will also create and broaden much more collaboration between youth and industry. Collaborative work is in my opinion the work that will fruit faster and more efficient and the results satisfy both sides.