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I like Open Source software, and not just because I’m cheap. I support the basic ideals expressed by the Open Source movement, and use a range of software products in conjunction with or as an alternative to their commercial competitors.

In the past I’ve tended to rely on a commercial FTP package to manage my websites, but had installed Filezilla for clients that wanted to upload a file to their sites from time-to-time. When I bought a new laptop, I decided to switch to Filezilla rather than upgrade my commercial FTP package for Windows 7.

Naturally I downloaded the latest version, which is a significant upgrade over the one my clients were using. It includes many fantastic features, including the ability to run multiple sessions in tabs. This is a welcome advance, and wasn’t even included in my previous commercial package.

However, it wasn’t all wine and roses. There was a major thorn in version 3, and it constantly annoyed me. Every time I saved changes made to a file, Filezilla would display a window telling me the edited file had changed and offer to upload it for me.

I often make changes that I don’t wish to upload immediately. For example, where I have to change several different files and upload them together for the change to work on a live site. So I would always close the pop up window.

When you find yourself closing a window you never use over and over and over again, it isn’t long before you start to curse the day the programmer who inflicted it on you was born!

So I went hunting for a way to switch it off. I couldn’t find an option in Filezilla’s preferences (though it is there), and resorted to Google. I quickly came across this interesting exchange.

It’s an example of a problem inherent in some Open Source projects. My take on this exchange is that the programmer believes his/her approach to be right. End of story. And of course, s/he is under no commercial pressure to take any notice of his/her users.

Commercial software companies may well have support staff that operate in the same high-handed manner (I’m being polite). But there is usually somebody somewhere in the organisation who does care, and has the clout to bring the support team into line.

This pressure doesn’t exist inside a small Open Source project like Filezilla. Ultimately, the users who protested the compulsory popup window got their way. You can now switch this annoying behaviour off, and I have done just that. But it also brought home to me what a fragile proposition Open Source software is for large organisations. If I had a large company with lots of ‘regular’ folk using computers, I wouldn’t rely on Open Source software. Unless it came in conjunction with a support contract and training.

This wouldn’t apply to defacto standards such as PHP and Apache. Especially as these packages tend to be used by experts rather than ‘regular’ users. But it would certainly apply to the likes of OpenOffice. Why bother, when the relative cost of Microsoft Office is fairly low and it’s well supported by a large number of third parties?

Don’t get me wrong. I see no need to use commercial software if there is a viable Open Source alternative. But I’m a very sophisticated user, capable of resolving most problems on my own. And more to the point, I’m usually happy to spend the time hunting down a solution. For me, it’s fun.

I wouldn’t dream of inflicting most Open Source software on my wife. She has no interest in hunting down solutions to annoying problems. All she wants is to have the software work the way she expects it to.