Free and open technologies: Are some useless and unnecessary?
From time to time, we tend to offer you among so many posts of News about Distros and Applications releases and Tutorials or quick guides to learn how to do various tasks or solve various problems, some opinion type posts on various current or pertinent issues that happen or are debated in the Linuxverse. Being 2 good recent examples of this, our posts called: The Linuxverse and its eternal battles: Ubuntu, Snap, Systemd and more, and The Linuxverse and its eternal battles: Home Users vs IT ProfessionalsAnd in that same vein, today we offer you this other one in that same direction, where we will go a little deeper into the following question: Can some free and open technologies be considered useless and unnecessary within the Linuxverse?
However, before I start going into this, I think it is important to make it clear that these types of questions and answers are usually generated and based on ideas, deeply subjective thoughts, concepts, conceptions and paradigms, that is, personal or group. Therefore, Just like the political, religious, cultural, sexual and other spheres, the technological one does not escape. to the strong subjective and personal foundations of its creators, users and members. And for this very reason, we often see many different sides, both for and against many free and open technologies (Distros, Applications, Systems and more).
Battles of the Linuxverse: Home Users vs IT Professionals
But, before we address this new question from the Linuxverse about whether «Some free and open technologies can be considered useless and unnecessary within the Linuxverse», we recommend you explore the previous content related to the sameWhen you finish reading it:
The cold hard truth is that in the Linuxverse the biggest source of battles, fights, conflicts or problems are the Linuxverse users themselves. More specifically, those that arise from the different needs or approaches and ideological and techno-philosophical differences between Home users and Office users, especially those of us who are IT professionals.
Are some free and open technologies useless and unnecessary?
Initial considerations on free and open technologies and this controversy
As I have already expressed before, in some media (blogs), social networks and IT communities, where I live my socio-technological life, these types of issues (questions and debates) from my point of view are not usually healthy for our IT field. And not because the question is bad, but because, in my opinion, This question is usually always taken to express one's own ideas (personal and subjective) that really do not contribute anything valuable or productive to our beloved Linuxverse IT Community.
Since, generally, This usually focuses mostly on techno-philosophical or usability and relevance issues., deeply subjective for some. For example:
Bad examples
- We should not use Ubuntu, since it is not what it was originally;
- If you use Wayland or Pipeware you are supporting the removal of Xorg/X11 and PulseAudio.
- Do not use Systemd instead of SysVinit, because you will be a traitor to the POSIX and KISS philosophies.
- Universal packaging formats such as Snap, Flatpak and AppImage should be avoided, as they consume significant disk space for those that might need them.
- GNOME and Plasma are modern desktop environments, with few functionalities and few user-friendly features, since they consume a lot of hardware resources and cannot be run on computers older than 25 years.
Participants for and against
And just like these arguments, there are many more, less rational or not., by some users of the Linuxverse. However, it is also worth clarifying, as on previous occasions, that this type of debate usually occurs very frequently only between home user factions.
Which, they usually do not take into account, at all, the valuable use and enormous relevance that have a lot of these free and open technologies that they don't support, in the Professional IT users (HelpDesk, SysAdmins, Devs, DevOps, Hackers and Pentesters, among others) within many communities, organizations and companies, at all levels and scopes.
And since, These professional IT users typically have modern equipment and vast hardware resources., do not usually enter into this type of considerations when making effectively and efficiently meet the objectives of the business where they work.
Points to consider when evaluating whether a technology is useless or unnecessary
And finally, and to shed some light so that some interested parties may want to elucidate whether any technology in general (free or open, proprietary or closed, free or commercial) is really useless and unnecessary for many, I will briefly mention some relevant points to take into account for this type of debate:
- Does this evaluated technology address a real and relevant problem for a significant group of people, and are there simpler, cheaper or more effective solutions for the same problem?
- Is the development and maintenance of this evaluated technology economically viable, and are there the necessary resources (human, material, infrastructure) to implement and use it on a large scale?
- Does this evaluated technology generate considerable social, economic, technological and even environmental benefits for a considerable group of users or, on the contrary, does it pose risks to health, safety, the fulfillment of business objectives or the care of the environment where it is applied?
- Is the technology being evaluated sufficiently developed to be used reliably, and is it also compatible with other existing technologies and systems?
- Is this evaluated technology easy for the users for which it was created to use and understand, and do they perceive real value in using it?
Finally, let us keep in mind that Technology needs and preferences can vary significantly across different groups, cultures and societies.. And that technologies can become obsolete at any time no matter how stable or not they are, and that Sooner or later, they must be replaced by more advanced ones., whether little by little or all at once, even though this may pose important ethical and even philosophical dilemmas for some.
Summary
In summary, we hope that after this brief reading and considerations, each of you will take away your own answers to such an interesting question from the Linuxverse. However, we want to make it clear that, do not forget the fact that standing out The usefulness and necessity of a technology are relative concepts that can change over time and context. of each person, group, community, organization, company and even country. And let us not forget that what today may be considered useless and unnecessary by some, today or tomorrow may be considered essential and important by others.
Also, let it never be forgotten that, Behind every free and open technology project, there is usually one or more people contributing enormously and often for free and voluntarily. And for many (including me), It is in very bad taste and even rude or disrespectful to classify the effort, work and creativity of others as something useless and unnecessary.. Therefore, this type of analysis or assertion must be made in a very objective manner and based on strong evidence. And avoiding, as much as possible, hasty judgments and technophilosophical prejudices. And always doing so with the greatest possible respect for the valuable and honest work of others.
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