I totally support free/open source software. A number of apps I use on Windows are FOSS. (GIMP, Gnucash, qBitTorrent, ONLYOFFICE are my current go to ones.

I do mix in proprietary apps, but this is usually because the equivalent open source app is not up to snuff in terms of usability. This is particularly true for audio engineering.

I use REAPER as my DAW.

On the consumer audio end of things I use foobar2000 and EAC an audio player and CD ripper. Both are freeware proprietary software. As far as customizability and CD ripping accuracy I haven't anything better than EAC.

On Windows, I take a practical approach to free open source software. If there's a great open source free software solution I'll pick that first. But if I have to pick a freewrare/freemium proprietary solution, I will do so if the user experience is better and the software is well developed.

Of course, the only way to tell if proprietary software is any good to is use it yourself or check forums/reviews for other people's experiences.

Hi All,

Does anyone else use foobar2000 for their local music? I discovered it all the way back in middle school. I was a Winamp user back then. I checked it out briefly on a laptop I had. It's minimalism really intrigued me. Fast-forward to young adulthood, and it's one of the first pieces of software I install if I'm going to use Windows. I love the columns UI plugin. Can't use FB2K without it. The player just stays out of your way and does what it's supposed to do. No bloat, just great music.

Hey folks I just moved over from to Windows 11 from Linux I was running a mix of Manjaro and Ubuntu. Well I love Linux and I've been a Long Linux user, the accessibility for disabled folks is a mess under Linux to say the least. I felt I need to switch back to an OS with a better end user experience for disabled folks.

I had a friend help me build a new computer and the installation went great. The only thing they had to figure out was a power management issue where my USB hubs were being put to sleep. Causing the machine to drop my trackball or keyboard.

Once I figured that out and switched around some power settings everything has been rock solid as far as stability. It reminds me of the good old Windows 7 days. I care about privacy but I was and I was easily able to set the privacy settings to my liking. I use a local account. To my relief Windows 11 Windows went through a couple of updates and my privacy sayings don't appear to have changed.

I know Windows 10/11 tends to get a lot of crap but as long as you know what you're doing I think people can have a great experience.