I am a very strong supporter of free software. Free software (free as in freedom, not beer) grants users the freedom to use the software for any purpose, study the source code, modify it to fit his/her needs or to improve upon it, and freely redistribute the software (so long as it remains free). I am an associate member of the Free Software Foundation and use only free software at home unless no reasonable alternative is available. At work, I use free alternatives whenever possible (and allowed), and gently push free alternatives when they’re not used. I also try to give back to the free software community whenever possible, though I admit I haven’t had the time to contribute as much as I’d like. Much of my code contributions have come in the form of failed/old projects*.
I also firmly believe in complete freedom of the user. The user should tell the computer what to do, not the other way around. Computers should be tools to help the user, not tools for corporations and other developers to restrict and control the lives of their users. The computer should make helpful suggestions. The computer has the right to restrict the user when necessary for their own safety only if the option is clearly presented to fully disable the precautionary measure. In other words, I’m highly against DRM.
*While much of my old code is of poor quality (by my current standards), the concepts may be of use to others. Therefore, I’ll try to hunt as much of it down when I get the chance to make it available. Otherwise, some of it’s floating around somewhere, such as on Sourceforge.
![[FSF Associate Member]](/images/fsf-member.png "[Mike Gerwitz - FSF Associate Member]"){kind=small}
