Not sure if anyone else here is open source, but I decided to make the switch to use open source software instead of commercial-based software. I use Ubuntu as my main OS and being an avid user, decided to migrate the Ubuntu way right on Windows by using many open source alternatives. I'm sure a lot of users here don't use Linux, but I for one do, and I will always stand by the Ubuntu philosophy:
"A person with Ubuntu is open and available to others, affirming of others, does not feel threatened that others are able and good, for he or she has a proper self-assurance that comes from knowing that he or she belongs in a greater whole and is diminished when others are humiliated or diminished, when others are tortured or oppressed."
For anyone interested in using open source software, here are a few links to great sites with alternatives to pretty much any software out there, for free. No, I am not linking you to pirated software. I am linking you to open source, free and legal software.
OSALT - Open Source ALTernatives
alternativeTo - Alternative Programs for Windows, Mac, Linux, Mobile
thenewbies
Sometimes, open source is awesome, as in the case with Firefox and GIMP, but sometimes it's just pathetic, and there's no point in using the software, like open source antivirus software.
I think that using the best software is the best idea, regardless of license. I happen to use open source, because it provides great alternatives to paid programs. I won't switch to an open source alternative if there is one, unless I'm sure it's good.
For example, in Ubuntu and Windows, I use Adobe's Flash player, but I don't use Gnash, since it can't compare with Flash player. In the case of Firefox and IE, Firefox exceeds IE in quality, so it's a good idea to switch that way.
I think Mint's philosophy about software licenses is an effective way of thinking about software:
"We believe in the open-source philosophy and release the source code for all of our work. We owe a lot to the Free Software movement and to the GPL but we also owe a lot to all developers who have had good ideas and created great tools and who have been working to make software better.
"Some of them have released their source code as well and have thus granted us more freedom and more flexibility. Others released their software with proprietary licenses and no source code, and although this doesn't give us the freedom we would like, it still contributes to make software better.
"We like Software in general, Free Software even more, but we do not believe in boycotting Proprietary Software."
UnknownFear
Thanks for the reply. I have actually switched over to using proprietary software for the time being, but I still use Ubuntu regularly.