Open Source Utopia

Open source is different. How different would the world be if we used open source concepts more widely? This micro podcast looks at the open source philosophy and how open source can change the world. Each episode is just over two minutes long. Watch video versions on YouTube and Twitter.

All Episodes

Open Source Utopia

Ultimate Freedom

April 19, 2022 • Mathias Bolt Lesniak • Episode 3

Blissful ignorance or making conscious, informed choices? Open source is a lot of both.

Watch the video version on YouTube

This episode is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Created by: Mathias Bolt Lesniak
Creative advisor: Jeffrey A. “jam” McGuire

0:00

Today, the Open Source Utopia Podcast, episiode 3 …… is about freedom and what that means to the user. Going open source changes something …… for the software developer, but also for the users. An uninformed user of open source software …… is living a life of blissful ignorance. Instead of paying money for a software license, you download a product at absolutely no cost.

You can ask yourself: 0:38

“Is this the self-centered side …… of us humans shining through?”“Why pay, when I can have it for free?” Well.

The answer to that is: 0:53

No. It is not wrong to be a free rider. Open source software is there to be used. You're given the freedom …… to use open source software however you want. Nothing is expected of you in return. Especially if you don't know much …… about what open source software really is. Being ignorant and uninformed is no sin. We're going to talk about giving back …… to the software in a later episode,

but, for now: 1:37

Freedom means leaving the decision up to the users. A conscious, informed choice. Freedom of choice turns the user …… from a passive consumer …… and into an active participant. It is also what makes open source into …… a social experiment. That social factor …

… is what we'll talk about in the next episode: 2:11

“Ordered Chaos”