I became aware of free software in the form of GNU and Linux in 1998, and while I was immediately attracted to the idea of free software, I wasn’t able to get traction using and moving to a free operating system. I was comfortable using Microsoft Windows. I had a lot of applications and data entrenched in Windows, and all my expertise lay there. It was frustrating not knowing how to do things in GNU/Linux, and I didn’t want to invest the time in learning a whole new system.
But I kept coming back to it. I had started reading Slashdot in early 1999 — followed soon by other free software related sites — and wanted more and more to enjoy software freedom and be part of a community that believes in sharing and cooperation.
In late 2005 or early 2006, I read Richard Stallman’s book Free Software, Free Society, and felt inspired to try again and to start promoting free software to others. (I had previously read many of the collected essays, but reading the book provided a concentrated dose of inspiration and motivation.)
I started movingtofreedom.org in July 2006, and by January 2008, finally, I had completed the move. (Mostly!) I’m still relying on some proprietary junk, mainly: drivers and encumbered media. That’s just the man trying to keep me down, man.
But for the most part, I’m there. It’s the operating system and applications that presented the biggest roadblock on my personal road to freedom. Drivers are a concern, but you can look for hardware with free drivers. Proprietary media formats can be a problem also, but I’m unwilling to do without Flash and MP3s for now.
Below are some milestones and befores and afters. Things I used in Windows and their replacements in GNU/Linux. I hope it will be useful for others on this journey, as a reference or as encouragement in your efforts.
Some Milestones
- July 2006: Started this web site, with the intention of getting serious about moving to free software. Had Fedora Core 5 installed on an old box for experimentation/learning.
- December 2006: Purchased a system76 machine with Ubuntu 6.10 (Edgy Eft) pre-installed. My plan was to get everything set up there and then switch to it as my main machine. I worked at this until…
- May 2007: Frustrated and impatient about getting something working on the system76 box, I considered taking the plunge and moving my main machine to Ubuntu. And I did it.
- January 2008: From June ’07 through the end of the year, I still used Microsoft Money and an Excel spreadsheet with a bunch of macro VBA code, which I ran for a while on a laptop with Win 2000, and then in WinXP running in a virtual machine in Ubuntu. I finally took time over the holidays to migrate my spreadsheet and switch to a free personal finance program.
There is also “the move” tag for more in this vein. And: Stuff That “Used To Be Here.”
Before and After
More notes on this table below.*
| What | Windows | GNU/Linux | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Text Editor | The GNOME gedit text editor is very good. I use it for most of my writing and WordPress theme development. | ||
| Personal Finance | I initially thought I’d use GnuCash, but ended up going with KMyMoney. | ||
| Office / Productivity | MS Office | OpenOffice.org (OO.o) | OpenOffice is an acceptable replacement for me, although I don’t think it’s as good as MS Office. |
| Graphics |
|
Related post: GNU/Linux Graphics Programs in Ubuntu. | |
| CD/DVD Burning | Nero Burning Rom | K3b | Related post: K3b is Just Swell for CD and DVD Burning in GNU/Linux |
| Java IDE | Eclipse | Eclipse and NetBeans are both great Java IDEs. | |
| Graphical Diff Program | WinMerge | Meld | |
| Filesystem Crypto |
|
Related posts: EncFS and TrueCrypt. I mostly use EncFS. GPG is awesome, but I don’t use it much day-to-day. There is also this interesting discussion of TrueCrypt at Bruce Schneier’s blog. | |
| Password Crypto | Password Safe | Related post: Password Gorilla (Although I’ve switched to using Java Password Safe. Starts faster, among other things.) | |
| Remote Control |
|
VNC | Related post: VNC in Ubuntu. |
| WordPress Local “Dev” Instance | WAMP | LAMP | HOWTO: Installing and Running WordPress on Ubuntu GNU/Linux |
| FTP | WS-FTP | gFTP | gFTP is excellent. With bookmarks and sFTP (ssh) support, I don’t miss anything from WS-FTP. |
| Web Browser | Mozilla Firefox | Mozilla Firefox | Phew… tough one. |
| Mozilla Thunderbird | Mozilla Thunderbird | Ditto. | |
| Data Backup | Homebrew VB: SacBac | rsync is really good. rdiff-backup uses the rsync library and is a nice way of having a mirror and incremental backups. | |
| Remote/Network Drives/Shares | Tools –> Map Network Drive | (Mount) Samba NFS |
Related Posts: One, Two, and Three |
* This isn’t meant to be a comprehensive list of replacements, and I’m not really keeping it up-to-date with my current usage. It is what it is.
There are other sites out there that provide more alternatives for more applications, such as The Linux Equivalent Project and Ubuntu Guide Wiki Alternatives.
Open Source Windows has a nice list of free applications for Windows, many (most?) of which are available for free operating systems. This is a good way to start the move while still using Windows. (I think most of these are free–as in freedom–but I haven’t checked out every application in the list.)
Updated: 8 April 2010
