Easy to use, wide compatibility, and simple installation. These are some of the traits every user wants their software to have, luckily if you are in search of an Open-Source Bootable USB creator, Etcher also known as balenaEtcher will fit your needs!
Creating bootable USB drives may sound like a daunting task that needs a great amount of technical knowledge and expertise that will make most users stray away from bootable USB drives no matter how dire their need is and will most likely spend cash on the services of professionals.
Etcher is designed to be usable by everyone including those who are not tech-savvy but need a bootable USB drive for a host of reasons. That is why its installation was programmed to be as easy as any other software installation.
With regard to installation, if you have installed any other program on your Windows, macOS or Linux device before then Etcher will be no hassle. This is true even for people who have only installed a new browser such as Google Chrome!
This is because Etcher has its own installation wizard that will guide the user and will not require any further tweaking or downloads. This is true on all platforms that Etcher runs on.
Once installed, ease-of-use is the game. Just run the Etcher program, attach the USB you want to be bootable, and flash the image you want! It’s that easy! There is no overly technical stuff that can overwhelm a new user such as the input of command lines.
This is because Etcher has made it a point to use a user-friendly graphical interface. Of course, for Linux users the use of command lines is necessary but this is no problem for new and seasoned Linux users.
However, for the power users out there or those that just want to try and experiment with command lines on Windows, the Etcher development team has stated that a command-line installation and use is under development.
If any user has any problems with the installation and use of Etcher their website is easy to access and has straightforward instructions on how to install and use Etcher on Windows, macOS, and Linux.
Another great feature of Etcher is that it also allows users to use SD Cards as bootable drives the same way as flash drives! This is great since SD Cards are also in wide use nowadays because of mobile devices.
Now with all of those great features you might be wondering about the cost, surely the developers of this great software didn’t just give this away for free right? Well, they did! That’s the beauty of Open-Source programs.
Unlike proprietary software, open-source software such as Etcher is developed as public and open collaborations that are eventually made freely accessible to the public.
This also allows developers who have great ideas to contribute freely to the project and this will eventually lead to more features and updates. Therefore despite the great features of Etcher it is free software.