The Manufactured Notion of Choice

Jun. 20, 2020 [technology] [proprietary]

You chose to use the software you run today… or did you?

Individuals who adopted free operating systems, but later reverted back to proprietary operating systems due to the availability of particular software: it is false to say “I chose to use Mac/Windows because I needed ______”. In reality, you were bullied into returning to the plantation. That is the entire goal behind software and middleware exlusivity. To raise the perceived costs of building for platforms other than the vendor’s prescribed choice. And also to artificially raise the cost of using platforms which fundamentally reject vendor lock-in.

If there is a game that you absolutely could not live without, and it has foolishly only been built under DirectX, your decision to return to Windows was not entirely your own. In this example, Microsoft has effectivly used DirectX as a yoke of power to direct you into their cage. The onus of support does not directly fall on operating system developers. Software developers need to have the foresight not to fall into traps such as graphics or networking libraries which are closed and, by nature, only compatible with nonfree environments.

This trickery is the same trap which captures everyday normie users into believing that they need to use Adobe in order to view PDFs, purchase consoles in order to play games, or to intall Spotify (Spotispy) to listen to music.

If you have ever fallen for this trap, it is much more intellectually honest to say “I was strong armed into running Mac/Windows/Android/(pick your poison) against my will”. Your own actions demonstrated this if you’ve ever explored into free operating systems, on your own volition, but then doubled back under the pressure of FOMO.