VLC media player is known to everyone. Millions of people use it every day without thinking that it is a strange tool and they do not think about what is hidden behind it. It is one of the best media players we can have and is released under the GNU General Public License.
Unfortunately, the properties and features of many other free programs are not taken into account when choosing the software we use. Windows, Microsoft's malicious freedom- and privacy-infringing operating system, is the dominant operating system on our personal computers, and spyware-laden Android is the dominant operating system on our mobile phones.
The quality of the GNU/Linux operating system is very high. The features, freedom, usability, community and many other factors to consider because they are important reasons to choose it as a regular operating system. However, Microsoft's publicity, resources, power and tools have made it a dominant operating system.
Even though Microsoft violates users' privacy and freedom every day, it's still one of the two main options we think about, along with other proprietary malicious operating systems like Apple's Mac.
We should start thinking and not negotiating that using a computer should not equate to losing our privacy.
We need to teach the world from the beginning that using a computer does not equal a loss of our freedom. We should teach that a computer should do what the user wants, not the other way around.
The new normal should be:
- To be able to run applications as we want them for any purpose.
- To be able to see how programs work and to be able to change them to do what we want.
- To be able to redistribute copies of the program.
- To be able to redistribute copies of modified versions.
This means freedom of the user and at the moment it is not normal, and it does not only concern the GNU/Linux operating system, but every program that a computer user runs. Freedom should not be subject to conditions, and should be casual.
We need to change the normality, because it is not normal to sacrifice our privacy and freedom to be able to use a computer or a smartphone.
How can we achieve the new normal? Through education, through publicity, hard work on usability and user experience,
It's never too late to start.
