For a modern Linux installer, liked Debian or Ubuntu, I feel like I’m looking off a cliff face into an abyss. They say it’s “free as in freedom” - and I know it’s technically true - but I don’t feel like I’m equipped to understand the system the installer produced without a decade investment of time. The way I’d interact with those systems was a lot like “free as in free beer” - I knew I _could_ fix it if something didn’t work quite right, but frankly I didn’t know _how_ to fix it or where to start. So I just consumed it like I would proprietary software; it was a big black box I never looked inside.
I often feel that way about FOSS in general. The freedom is more 'theoretical' than practical, although FOSS means that such software are much less hostile to users.
I appreciate repairable laptops and electronics more than I appreciate software freedom. The freedom felt more real.
You can approach software repair in a similar way to electronics repair, except you don't need to replace components, just fix them. Investigate which component is causing the issue, investigate which part of the component is causing the issue, modify/rebuild/reinstall the component, verify that the fix worked, done.
I often feel that way about FOSS in general. The freedom is more 'theoretical' than practical, although FOSS means that such software are much less hostile to users.
I appreciate repairable laptops and electronics more than I appreciate software freedom. The freedom felt more real.