The Outlaw Has Arrived

Well, here we go.

After years of working with computers, managing servers, troubleshooting problems, and watching technology change around us, I’ve finally decided to do something I’ve been thinking about for a long time.

I started a website.

But not just another technology website. The internet has plenty of those.

This one is called The Open Source Outlaw, and it was born out of a pretty simple belief: You ought to have a say in what happens with the technology you own.

Think about it. You buy the computer. You pay for the internet. You buy the software. You store your pictures, your documents, your music, and your memories. But somewhere along the way, we started letting somebody else make all the decisions about how we access those things.

And we got used to it.

Another subscription. Another price increase. Another service that changes its rules. Another company deciding that something we bought isn’t really ours anymore.

Now, don’t misunderstand me. I’m not against the cloud. I use cloud services every day, and some of them are worth every penny.

But I am against the idea that we don’t have a choice.

Over the past several years, I’ve been building my own little corner of the digital world. Linux servers, self-hosted services, my own music library, my own photo storage, my own cloud, and a whole collection of experiments that occasionally work better than I ever imagined.

And occasionally go spectacularly wrong.

I’ve learned a lot along the way. I’ve thrown a server in the garbage. I’ve spent hours fixing problems I created myself. I’ve discovered some incredible open-source software. And I’ve come to realize that a lot of the things we pay somebody else to do can be done ourselves.

Sometimes better. Sometimes cheaper. And sometimes just because it’s fun.

That’s what this website is about.

We’ll talk about Linux, home servers, open-source software, digital preservation, subscriptions, and the choices we make about our technology. I’ll share things that worked, things that didn’t, and things I wish somebody had told me before I started.

And eventually, I’ll introduce you to Steve.

Trust me. You’re going to love Steve.

You don’t have to be a computer expert to follow along. You don’t even have to agree with me. All I ask is that you keep an open mind and remember something important.

You have a choice.

Welcome to the Open Source Outlaw.

Own Your Data. Run Your Own Show.