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Gary Eikenberry Consulting
1117 Elmlea Drive
Ottawa, ON Canada  K1J 6W3
E-mail: Click to email;   Web: http://www.geconsult.com
Phone: 1-613-748-7485;   Fax: 1-613-747-1876

GEConsult.com Open Source and Computers and the Enviroment

Let's talk about Open Source software first. Yes, open source is free and that, alone might be a good reason to consider it. But there as several things to understand when considering open source software that go beyond the price tag. First, the price is not an indication of the value. Many open source applications and operating sysyems are as good as their commercial equivilants. We've been using Ubuntu Linux (operating system) OpenOffice, jEdit and a wide variety of other solid and stable open source applications for a number of years. Second, the open source model means that when there are problems with an operating system or application there is a well established support community and a core or skilled and commited programmers who are (a) ready to respond to your needs and (b) not firewalled behind a nearly impenetrable corporate structure.

But what about the environmental implications of the open source model? With no products to sell, most open source software has no vested interest in the planned obsolescence that plagues the users of commercial software. While the open source model does has major revisions and releases, it generally tends to follow a more evolutionary development process that is far less likely to require you to go out an buy a new computer to be able to run the latest and greatest version.

Even if you're addicted to Windows or otherwise reluctant to take the take the plunge and undertake a full scale conversion to open source there are some things you can try.

  • Smart Reuse with Open Source: Linux Goes Green: http://www.osnews.com/story/23451/Smart_Reuse_with_Open_Source_Linux_Goes_Green
  • OpenOffice.org: The open source alternative to MS Office. http://www.openoffice.org/
  • SourceForge.net: One stop "shopping" for open source software http://sourceforge.net/
  • Ubuntu Linux: Download the ISO file and burn it to a CD. Boot from the CD and give ubuntu a try. You can run it straight from the CD without having any impact on your Windows installation. If you decide you like what you see and want to install it, you can either install it side by side with Windows (assuming you have sufficient disk space for two complete operating systems) and choose which you want to run when you boot up or you can completely replace Windows. Find out more or download the latest version at http://www.ubuntu.com/

And if you do go out a buy a new computer, what are you going to do with the old one? "E-waste" is a growing environmental issue. Below are several links addressing this issue and suggestions (some Ottawa-based since that's where we're located) for less environmentally objectionable ways of disposing of no longer wanted computer equipment.