My Software Independence Declaration

I am biased

My inclination towards free software was there from an early age – it just didn’t have a name for it back then. I started with computers when BASIC code was still published in text form in books and magazines. Anyone who wanted to edit the program had to type it out so that it would hopefully run on their own C64. Unthinkable today. Piracy was already widespread when it came to games at that time. I never got into it. Later, I used DOS. First Microsoft’s, then I preferred DR DOS. I didn’t have access to free software, apart from a few small programs of my own. Only shareware programs ever found their way onto my computer. Instead of a pirated copy of Norton Commander, I preferred Volkov Commander.

I only really felt comfortable when I installed the first SuSE-Linux Distro on my computer in 1996 and quickly managed to get away from Windows completely – without dual-booting. This was my self-proclaimed goal. With sufficient knowledge of computer hardware, a graphical window manager could already be launched under X11 back then. That’s when it dawned on me that I no longer wanted to deal with any non-open-source software for personal use.

Today

Has Linux made things better these days? For me personally: yes! I’ve been using Debian since the “Woody” version (2002). Midnight Commander and [Vim] have been with me ever since. For some time now, however, the industry has been flooded with new Linux distributions, software, and automation tools. The major tech companies have long since caught on and are at the forefront of this trend. Insidiously, Microsoft has appropriated Linus Torvalds’ Git and turned everything upside down. Through its central GitHub server space for developers, Microsoft has created an environment that binds users to its cloud and other software without them even realizing it. Not out of the goodness of humanity, but to train its AI with all the available data. Visual Studio Code also works on the same principle. Microsoft is collecting data on how you and I write code, and which programming languages are becoming more important. The Trojan horse has been reinvented, giving Microsoft an unprecedented monopoly. Is it legal? Decide for yourself! An incredibly powerful suite that costs nothing is currently enabling millions of developers to conveniently write code with the help of AI. I myself was no exception until now. Code can be completed, corrected, modified, or “rewritten” in seconds.

Linus Torvalds developed Git over 20 years ago with the intention of managing kernel code decentrally. Microsoft has used this mechanism to achieve the complete opposite: a central server hosting vast amounts of code.

My withdrawal

All of this is completely at odds with my idea of free software. But who can manage without AI agents these days? Aren’t we also feeding them personal data constantly?

I’ve switched back from Visual Studio Code and GitHub to Vim — wherever possible. I’m going to train myself to believe that I typed every single letter myself and therefore have good feelings. My text and my intellectual property. My own software is now back on my website, just like in the early days.

I’ll continue to avoid Windows for personal use, and the entire MS Office suite as well. Other big tech giants too.

at Microsoft et al.: I’m out. Hi Debian!