Muy posiblemente, cada vez que enciende su PC, fija su vista en el monitor, hasta ver que el puntero deja de ser un reloj de arena, para transformarse en una flecha. En el proceso que lleva a ese instante, la pantalla se pone negra, muestra datos técnicos que seguramente no lea por haberlos visto ya cientos de veces, despliega una pantalla de carga con el logo de su Sistema Operativo (SO) y, finalmente, llega a su escritorio, con el fondo que eligió para mostrar detrás de sus íconos preferidos.
Hasta aquí, podríamos estar hablando de casi cualquier PC. Pero lo mas probable ese que el logo de su SO sea una bandera de 4 colores, con la leyenda “Windows XP” debajo. Y también podríamos adivinar que es una versión sin licencia (sin ofender a quienes pagaron por el sistema y están leyendo estas líneas).
El usuario promedio, en una oficina u hogar, prenderá su computadora; ingresará a Windows; editará algunos documentos en Microsoft Word o Excel; enviará e-mails desde Outlook (o su versión Express); visitará algunos sitios web, utilizando Microsoft Internet Explorer, y hablará con sus conocidos a través del MSN Messenger.
Nada malo hay en esto, si el paquete de aplicaciones Office, el sistema operativo y sus herramientas fueron compradas legalmente y usadas bajo la licencia de la mega-empresa más grande del mundo del software.
Pero no todos están en condiciones de pagar alrededor de 600 pesos por Windows, otro tanto por Office…
Afortunadamente, hoy en día existen alternativas tan buenas (o mejores incluso) que aquellos programas que cotidianamente utiliza. Podría usar Linux como SO, OpenOffice.org para sus documentos, bases de datos, Pidgin o aMSN para charlar con sus amigos y Mozilla Firefox para navegar la web.
Todos estos programas están escritos bajo licencias de Código Abierto. Esto significa, como primer característica, que el código fuente del programa (la “base”) sea distribuida libremente. De esta forma, no sólo podemos usar un software, sino que también podemos ver como está hecho, modificarlo, mejorarlo e incluso compartirlo. El beneficio es casi obvio: miles de personas alrededor del mundo, colaborando con el sólo fin del bien común.
Imaginemos, por un momento, que se descubre una vulnerabilidad en Linux o en Firefox. Inmediatamente, la comunidad arreglaría el problema y, a las pocas horas, su software sería más estable y seguro.
Todo, gracias a una filosofía de comunidad aplicada al mundo de la tecnología. Es la libertad en la informática.
Entonces: presionamos “On” para prender nuestra PC, vemos los datos técnicos, el logo de la distribución* de Linux que hayamos instalado, editamos documentos de texto o planillas en OpenOffice, enviamos mails desde Evolution o Thunderbird, visitamos algunos sitios web usando Firefox y hablamos con nuestros contactos desde aMSN (sí, tendremos la misma lista de contactos de MSN). Hasta aquí pareciera que lo único que cambió es el nombre del soft. Pero es más que eso. Al mismo tiempo, estamos apoyando la idea de libertad y comunidad, luchando contra la avaricia y el egoísmo que nos rodean a cada momento ¿No piensa que se sentirá bien en esa situación?
Los programas nombrados son solo algunos ejemplos, existen cientos de alternativas para cada rubro. A continuación, una lista de sitios donde podrá descargar este software gratuito y de código abierto disponible para Windows:
OpenOffice: www.openoffice.org
Mozilla Thunderbird: http://www.mozilla-europe.org/es/products/thunderbird/
Mozilla Firefox: http://www.mozilla-europe.org/es/products/firefox/
aMSN (sitio en inglés, el soft está en 40 idiomas incluyendo español): http://www.amsn-project.net/download.php
*Una distribución Linux es un paquete preconfigurado para instalar, que incluye el kernel (base del sistema operativo) y aplicaciones para el mismo. La más usada en el momento -y la que recomendamos para comenzar con la experiencia Linux- es Ubuntu (www.ubuntu.com).
Como dato interesante, Canonical (creadores de Ubuntu) lanzan una nueva versión cada 6 meses, puntualmente. ¡La próxima versión estará disponible esta semana!
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