Interview With Jim Hutchinson

After his provocative and accurate response to Discover's article on open source, I decided to interview him. Let's see what he has to say:
1. First off, let's have you introduce yourself. Who are you, where do
you work, what are your hobbies, and why are you here doing this
interview?

Well, my name is Jim Hutchinson and I am a teacher by trade. I currently work as a high school media specialist. I enjoy the outdoors - hiking, camping and biking and I have also developed an a strong interest in technology and Open Source. I have been spending a lot of time lately supporting and promoting OSS and Ubuntu in particular. I recently did a conference presentation on OSS in education and have been helping new users in the Launchpad Answers Tracker. My efforts recently earned me Ubuntu membership. I am here today because I believe strongly in the philosophy of Open Source and because I believe Open Source has a lot offer to students and education.

2. What about the discover article upset you the most? Was there any
specific thing that compelled you to take action on it?

I have subscribed to Discover Magazine for ten years or more. I enjoy keeping abreast of what is current in all aspects of science and technology. I have never seen an article in Discover that mentioned Open Source or Linux and that alone intrigued me. However, I was very disappointed that the author seemed to understand very little about Open Source and based much of his argument on outdated stereotypes and presented a very biased attitude. I do not normally see that type of writing in Discover and, in this case, at least, I had enough experience of my own to respond.

3. Obvious what you wrote was lengthy. About how long did it take to write?

I spent a couple hours on the basic outline of the piece, but I spent about a week conducting research of my own and talking to an Open Source developer to make sure that I understood the history of both Open Source and software in general. I also wanted to make sure that I did not do exactly what Jaron Lanier had done and rely on stereotypes and my own faulty understanding. After about a week of working on it off and on, I finally decided it was ready to post.

4. It's important that GNU/Linux users act when they see inaccurate
information about GNU/Linux. Do you have any advice for our soldiers?

I think what is most important is that we focus on honest and accurate education. Resorting to hyperbole is not going to help average users understand why they should care about how their software is licensed or whether or not the source is available. The truth is, most users do not care. They are simply happy that their computer works when they turn it on. Freedom is a complex concept and it is easy to take for granted when you live in a free society. We recently introduced a “no headwear rule” at my high school. Students have complained left and right about it, but when new filtering software was installed that severely impacted their ability to collect information almost no one cared. I think this is a very illustrative parallel to users of technology. They care deeply about how their software looks, the location of menus, or whether or not they can do things “as they have always done them” but spend no time or effort considering the freedoms their software grants or denies them. If we as supporters of OSS want to make a difference, we have to first focus on educating people about what technological freedom means. Ironically, I think the iPhone that Lanier touted as so innovative will be one tool that helps people understand about freedom in technology. Users are clamoring long and loud for an “open” iPhone. This is an opportunity for us to explain why closed development is hurtful to consumers. If I had spent several hundred dollars on a phone, I would darn well want to be able to use it in a way that best met my needs rather than the way that best increases profits for Apple and AT&T. Of course, since I cannot do this, I simply won't buy an iPhone. It's too bad more people do not understand this.

5. What is the best thing we can do to encourage GNU/Linux adoption at
this point in time, as in, what is the most important front to fight
on?

To be honest, I do not really know. I am fairly new to the world of OSS and cannot fully claim to understand all the nuances or philosophies.. However, I do understand the nature of education and of technological in education. I also understand human nature as well as the big software companies. Like the tobacco companies, Microsoft and others are very anxious to have young people use their software. They know that once people get comfortable they rarely switch. I think it is almost criminal that MS is willing to explore an extremely cheap version of its software for developing countries through such projects as the One Laptop Per Child effort. They have suggested that they would like to develop a $3 version of Windows for the OLPC PCs. Why? Because they know that if those children learn Linux instead they will almost certainly never become Windows users and consumers. I believe MS sells Office to school districts very cheaply for the same reason – market saturation and vendor lock-in. Education is our best weapon. Once people understand the nature of software and develop a level of comfort with Linux and OSS tools then the proprietary model will crumble like every empire in history. MS has a 90% plus market share. There is only one way to go – down – and they know it. Like every empire in history, they will fight and claw to stay on top but as more and more people become aware of the alternatives they will leave. MS and Apple will probably manage to stay around for a very long time, but before long they will be forced to accept OSS as an equal player. I would not be surprised if, in 5-10 years, we see market share among the major operating systems start to equalize. Education and public awareness are our greatest weapons. We only need to wield them well.

6. What would you suggest somebody wanting to help the cause do if
they have 1) 5 minutes 2) 30 minutes to an hour 3) a day 4) a week

I do not mean to sound redundant, but every free minute one has should be spent on educating others. Consider for a moment the recent tactics of MS. They are busy making “interoperability” agreements with various OSS vendors. However, their tactics are extremely insidious. They are working piecemeal. They agree to work on virtualization with Novel and license their media players and such to Linspire. This is a divide and conquer approach. Anyone wanting both virtualization and multimedia tools will not be able to choose either of these companies but will be forced to work with Microsoft or opt for a “risky” version of Linux that could subject them to a Microsoft lawsuit. Anyone who steps back and looks at this situation will see both Novel and Linspire are doomed. They will either be bought out or driven out by MS. The companies that understand this and refuse to sign such agreements will be attacked via MS's media machine that will claim over and over that any company choosing to use these “illegal” versions of Linux are asking for trouble. This type of approach MS is anti-competitive and illegal. Those of us who support Free/Open Source software need to help both consumers and legislatures understand this anti-competitive nature and push for legislation or adjudication to force MS and any other vendor with similar goals to play fair.

7. You run Ubuntu. What do you see as the deciding factor? What does
Ubuntu offer you that other operating systems/distros don't?

I have been a student of technology for nearly 30 years. I bought my first computer in the early 80s. I watched my dad program computers the size of a living room using punch cards. But it wasn't until recently that I became aware of Free/Open Source software. I had heard about Linux before and even tried to install it about 5 years ago but found it too difficult or at least too different. Around October of 2005 a parent in the district where I work brought up Linux at a technology meeting. I had had a growing interest in Linux and asked him a number of questions. He suggest I try the “new” Linux operating system called Ubuntu. I downloaded it and installed it and began to teach myself how to use it. It was not easy and I spent a good 6 months or more relearning how to use a computer again. I stuck with it, however, because I recognized the educational potential that until now did not exist – at least in my understanding of the world. Most students use computers in school to write papers or surf the web. I think this is a huge waste of our resources, but buying educational software is prohibitively expensive. The more I played with Ubuntu, the more I understood that here was an educational tool that had the power to help students learn at a price that schools could afford.

On a more personal level, Ubuntu offers me almost unlimited potential and the opportunity to explore it. I do not have the financial means to play around with popular graphics design or video editing tools, for example. When I was a Windows user I had very few tools beyond Office and the Internet. Ubuntu allows me the opportunity to download and try software for almost anything I can imagine. Due to the cost, doing this in Windows or OSX was simply not possible. So, in short, Ubuntu gave me the freedom to explore uses for technology that I had never been able to explore before.

8. There is a lot of criticism that Ubuntu presents itself as being
"free" but there are binary-only kernel segments, non-free drivers,
etc. included on the installation media. Canonical has announced
Gobuntu, where do you think this project is going?

I think Free/Open Source software is in a period of transition. It is no longer an obscure tool for computer experts and hobbyists. It is slowly starting to gain mainstream recognition – largely because of the success of Ubuntu. These new users tend to be less technical and not overly interested in software philosophy. They simply want an alternative, but they also want it to work in a way that is familiar to them. An operating system that cannot play DVDs or MP3 files, or one that fails to capitalize on the power of their expensive graphics card will not garner widespread support. At this point in time there are only two options: give the people what they want or give up on widespread adoption. I think anyone that claims to support the ideals behind Free/Open Source software needs to be sensitive to the needs of new users and be willing to allow a less than perfect solution in order to move forward while at the same time fighting for the changes necessary to achieve an ideal solution: namely support of OSS from hardware vendors and holders of proprietary standards. If we support projects like Ubuntu and help expand the user base, we will be able to ask these vendors for what we truly want with a voice loud enough for them to hear. If we instead ignore the pleas of users in defense of our philosophies we will forever relegate ourselves to obscurity.

I think Gobuntu is a wonderful attempt at having both a totally Free, in every sense of the word, operating system for those who value this, while at the same time offering Ubuntu to the larger public as a viable alternative to proprietary software. In time, I believe that graphics and wireless drivers will be opened and technologies like MP3 will become either free and open or will be replaced by formats that are – ogg for example. This is what people want and in time they will be listened to. Until then, we will have to tolerate a less than ideal situation. The world simply needs time to catch up.

9. What is your favourite colour?

Well, as an Ubuntu user, advocate and member I should probably answer “human”. However, to be honest I do not really have a favorite color. I do tend to prefer earthy colors like browns, oranges and greens, and my desktop is almost always a shade of one of these colors. If you force me to pick a single color as my favorite I think I'd have to say, “yes”.

Thanks to Jim for his time and for all of those who continue to fight for GNU/Linux.
Comrade Ringo Kamens