Like many people who use computers, I use Microsoft Word for much of what I write for this blog and I also for my scientific papers. In addition, I used to be the editor for a scientific journal from 1996 to 2016 and, when I started that, it was a very steep learning curve using rather clunky software called Pagemaker1. Eventually Pagemaker was replaced by the superb InDesign which was part of Adobe Creative Suite2.
That suite of software also included Acrobat, Photoshop, and Illustrator, all of which I used a lot. Acrobat was used to read and compile PDFs. Photoshop was used to manipulate digital images and to compile and label photographic figures, while Illustrator was used to create line drawings and similar figures. Adobe Creative Suite was purchased for me by the organisation for which I edited the journal. It was purchased on CD and installed on my desktop computer. Now that I am no longer editor of that journal, I still have and still use my CS6 copy of Adobe Creative Suite. This was the last version to be able to be bought on a CD. If I want to update it, I have to access Adobe Creative Cloud from the web after paying a yearly subscription fee3. If I stop paying the fee, access is denied.
On top of this, Adobe requires access to any files you create and store on their cloud system, supposedly to examine for illegal content4. That makes me wonder whether any criticism of Israel’s genocide in Gaza, statements that Donald Trump is a paedophile and a fascist, or that Vladimir Putin should be defenestrated, will eventually be considered ‘illegal’.
Given the current descent into fascism by the US, I am reluctant to give any of my meagre funds to any of the bastards who part funded or kissed the ring of Trump at his inauguration. As a consequence I have asked around some former colleagues if they knew of any free alternatives. One recently suggested using Gimp as an alternative to Photoshop. However, I have yet to check it out.
It seems my desire to go open-source might be part of a movement. European governments and institutions are increasingly replacing proprietary, mostly U.S., software with open-source alternatives to achieve digital sovereignty, enhance data privacy, and reduce reliance on a few dominant technology providers. This movement, accelerated in 2025 because of concerns over U.S. surveillance laws, high licensing costs, and a desire to control critical infrastructure. The United States Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data Act, more commonly referred to as the US CLOUD Act, provides a legal framework for U.S. law enforcement agencies to access personal data stored by U.S. companies even on servers located overseas5.
Key examples of this shift to open source software include:
Germany: The state of Schleswig-Holstein is transitioning 30,000 public workers from Windows to Linux and from Microsoft Office to LibreOffice/Open-Xchange6.
Denmark: The Ministry of Digital Affairs is transitioning to open-source platforms, with a goal of full implementation soon7.
France: Eleven ministries are installing LibreOffice on 500,000 workstations, and the Gendarmerie has long used its own Linux version (GendBuntu)8.
Italy: The Ministry of Defence has migrated 150,000 PCs to LibreOffice8.
Austria: The armed forces have completed a four-year migration away from Microsoft Office9.
While the concerns regarding digital sovereignty and privacy are significant, the cost of licensing fees is enormous. For instance, the dumping of Microsoft by the Austrian Armed Forces will substantially reduce Austria’s software bill. At $33.75 per user per month, a Microsoft 365 E3 subscription for 16,000 workstations costs approximately $6,480,000 per year, compared to LibreOffice’s zero cost9. This might be the way to go for someone with a limited budget and an aversion to giving money to arseholes.
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aldus_PageMaker
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adobe_Creative_Suite
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adobe_Creative_Cloud
- https://community.adobe.com/questions-712/adobe-now-requires-the-right-to-acces-your-work-1169460
- https://www.kiteworks.com/risk-compliance-glossary/us-cloud-act/
- https://www.theregister.com/2025/10/15/schleswig_holstein_open_source/
- https://www.linuxjournal.com/content/denmarks-strategic-leap-replacing-microsoft-office-365-libreoffice-digital-independence
- https://www.libreoffice.org/discover/who-uses-libreoffice/
- https://www.zdnet.com/article/this-european-military-just-ditched-microsoft-for-open-source-libreoffice-heres-why/
