I recently posted on a Microsoft launch event that I attended in Washington DC, and Nelson made a comment about the sheer nerdish superiority of Linux over any Microsoft product. As a nerd/geek/computer addict I have to admit to a certain love for Open Source. Linux is a wonderful thing, even if I can’t get dual monitor support to work properly out of the box and have to fiddle about with command lines to do it.
As the Bard once said, “Aye, there’s the rub.”
As an enthusiast, I enjoy nothing more than fiddling with arcane configuration settings, overclocking, tweaking and half a hundred other nerdy pursuits. As a working professional, I don’t have the time. I use my computer for work, and every hour I have to spend working on it to get something configured ‘just so’ isn’t being spent earning money to pay the bills. That’s a problem.
Another problem I have has to do with the simple fact that lots of companies use Microsoft products, and if you want to work with them you need to have something that can read the files they send you. They also have to be able to read the files you send them.
If your job involves sending them several different files and the only one they can read is the invoice you won’t get paid.
Microsoft is the industry standard.
Not Linux, not OS X, not Solaris, not FreeBSD, but Microsoft.
It may not be what we want, but it’s what we have. One of the most important qualities for a professional is pragmatism. If you want to play the game you have to follow the rules. If you don’t want to follow the rules, then don’t play the game.
I’m not saying everyone needs to use Microsoft products and stay away from Open Source. I’d have to wipe my computer to do that. It’s not a viable option. I use open source products a lot. I do my browsing in Firefox, I do a lot of my large projects in yWriter; neither of which are Microsoft products.
However, I have Microsoft Office and Internet Explorer installed on my computer. I could do most if not all of my work without them, but I choose not to. I’m working on an editing job right now, and one of the features I’m using is Word 2007’s version of “Track Changes.” The author of the piece has it too, and it’s making the collaborative aspects of the job just that much more efficient.
I could do the job without Microsoft products: I’ve written three novels using three different non-Microsoft products. They don’t have a lock on useful software by any means. The problem lies in the fact that sometimes it takes extra work to make the non-Microsoft product interface with the Microsoft product your buyer is using. (It can also take extra work to make your Microsoft product work with their Open Source alternative too– so it’s best to have both). Extra work isn’t a problem, the fact that it’s not billable is.
If someone provides me with something in an industry standard format, it’s not their responsibility to convert it into whatever form I need it to be in so I can work with it. If I have to spend half an hour converting something then that half hour comes out of my time, not theirs.
It’s not the buyer’s responsibility to conform to the provider’s preferences.
It’s the provider’s job to conform to the buyer’s requirements.
I’m not saying suspend your oDesk client every time you open the “Save As” dialog to save a file so you can edit it in another program. Nor am I saying that you shouldn’t get paid because the program you’re using is Open Source.
What I am saying is don’t let your personal preferences prevent you from using industry standard applications. I’m also saying that if you are using non-standard applications any conversion and compatibility issues are your responsibility.
It all comes down to the fact that successful providers are the ones who are professional and buyer-focused. You can use any software you want, make any choices you want, but remember it’s the buyer’s ball, their game, and their rules.
- Heroes Happen Here: Microsoft Server 2008 Launch Event
- Open Office 3.0 Beta Released
- GoDesk for Linux Users
- Open Source Freedom
- Is your profile headline selling your skills?
Not to knock the Micro$oft (they are successful for a reason), but I like to keep people informed of their options. I use MS products as well, but only when I absolutely have to. I had a bad experience with about 40K words getting chewed up and spat out as something resembling assembly code, so I go with Open Office (which also runs under Windows).
I totally agree that it’s a really bad idea to switch OSs or software when you’ve got data in the works and you don’t absolutely understand the migration process.