Open source isn't free—you just don't have to pay for it.

I lose sleep if I am doing something that I suspect is wrong. There was a time when my virtual toolbox was filled with pirated software such as Photoshop, Dreamweaver, Illustrator and Word, and I always had serious angst about using them. I was comforted by the fact that at least I was using them legally at work (assuming that the companies I worked for had their licensing in order). At home in my spare time, however, it was a different story. I was making a few extra bucks on freelance work, but not enough bucks to afford the tools I was using. And I was losing sleep over it.

But for 2 years now I have been using software that is freely distributed. I use Linux (ubuntu) as my operating system, Open Office for what I used to use Microsoft Office for, Inkscape for Illustrator, Scribus for InDesign/Quark, Gimp for Photoshop, Blender for 3d rendering software, Quanta instead of Dreamweaver, GnuCash replaces Quicken-the list goes on and on.

It would be foolish to claim that all of these applications are an exact replacement for their proprietary counterparts, but there is no harm in trying; especially if the alternative is stealing! Some open source applications are better than others. Personally, I miss Illustrator and InDesign the most. If development on Inkscape and Scribus continues, though, it's not inconceivable that they'll mature to become viable alternatives to Illustrator or InDesign.

I almost never user illegal copies of software anymore, but my conscience is wondering: can this be? Is this really free? And if so, how? How does this community thrive, and who is paying for it? What is driving it? Am I a part of this community as a user of this free stuff, and what are my responsibilities? And it hits me... I am not doing as much as I should to give back to the community. There it comes: now I feel bad about myself again. But this time I know I can do something about it, and this is how:

• Evangelize to my friends about the benefits of open source software.
  
• Try to get the company I work for to embrace the concept of open source-not only by using it, which they are beginning to understand, but also by contributing back to the community. Take google as an example google is definitely the industry leader there, supporting several open source projects.
• Helping others when they have problems I have experienced. There are a lot of people documenting their experiences, and almost all known issues are well documented, alongside with a solution to them. My personal favorite is this wiki which lists just about anything you may want to do with ubuntu.
  
• Write banal posts such as this one until I reach a skill-level where I can contribute code, which to me is the ultimate goal.