Mental masturbation at least gives my right arm some rest, so I will
weigh in.
I first installed Linux (corel linux, yes, the shame, the shame) nearly
ten years ago. The reason was that Windows 95 and 98 spontaneously
corrupted on me so often that I ended up spending many hours per month
restoring my registry, etc, and I figured that if I was going to spend
this much time on system administration, I might as well educate myself
on the whys and wherefores of a stable system as well.
Corel was trashed, with the conspiratorial interference of MS, and the
rest is history. Now I use Mandrake and MEPIS.
The cherry on the cake, for me, is that Linux is altruistic- it is based
largely on the idea that free in speech trumps authoritarianism, and
that as humans we are much greater than the profit motive. We have the
proof before us, in the form of many applications which have been
created without the profit motive, and which are at least as good as the
commercial alternative.
I practice what I preach- My commercial website was created using only
free, open source software. I have my hard drive declared a MS free
zone, and I constantly talk with other small business owners about how
the can get MS off their hard drives.
Craig White wrote:
>On Thu, 2004-12-02 at 18:29 -0700, Phil Mattison wrote:
>
>
>>>again - it would help if you understood your terms and your references.
>>>I won't begin to debate this statement since it doesn't make sense to
>>>me.
>>>
>>>
>>>You don't know very much at all. This isn't the case - despite the
>>>strength of your assertion, it is wrong.
>>>
>>>
>>>I wish you knew what you were talking about.
>>>
>>>
>>>Are you content to toss out silly generalizations that neither define
>>>your terms or references and expect that people can take them seriously?
>>>
>>>
>>>Other than to be negative, you don't seem to have a point at all.
>>>
>>>
>>Yes, yes, of course you're right as always.
>>We should all just keep quiet and sit at your feet in wonder and admiration.
>>I just don't understand why you're not already King of the World.
>>
>>
>----
>me too!
>
>Seriously though, we have gone around on this topic now 3 times in about
>a year - each time it relates to your gripe that Linux doesn't compete
>with Windows because...
>
>I have 4 computers at my desk on a KVM. A Linux server (WBEL), a Linux
>workstation (FC-3), a Windows workstation (XP Professional) and a
>Macintosh. They all have their strengths and weaknesses and I use them
>all - albeit Linux about 90% of the time. I have no intention at this
>time of buying any more Windows or Macintosh software.
>
>The only entities that I know of suggesting that Linux is a competitor
>to Windows are those with something to sell - those with a vested
>interest in selling Linux, selling hardware to run Linux or selling
>services on Linux.
>
>The economic viability of proprietary software eventually ends up at the
>point where you have to keep selling the same thing over and over again
>to the same people. Most of those who develop Linux software do so
>because they believe in philosophy that software has substantially
>matured to the point that people do not have to be held hostage to
>provincial interests in order to surf the Internet, do email, use a word
>processor, etc.
>
>If someone or some company is telling you that their 'Linux package' can
>do what Windows or Macintosh or ??? can do, your issue is with them.
>
>Linux is not a promise to replace Macintosh or Windows or anything.
>Linux is a community software project which someone can choose to
>involve themselves in or not and by choosing, the implied contract is
>that you properly report what doesn't work (i.e. bugzilla), contribute
>to the knowledge base (how I was able to accomplish...), study, modify
>and get involved.
>
>Posting to this message base why Linux (which actually refers not to
>Linux but the specific distro you are using and your ability/inability
>to configure and/or troubleshoot) doesn't match up to Windows is just
>mental masturbation which for some reason, you want share with us. I
>feel it is counterproductive if not unsettling to those who are just
>beginning to look at it.
>
>Craig
>
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>
--
Lee Einer
Dos Manos Jewelry
http://www.dosmanosjewelry.com
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