Re: Freespire 1.0

> Maybe this can help explain the **spire "cachet":
> There are lots of folks out there (my wife included)
> who do not want to have to learn anything [they do not
> already know], but would like to surf the web, and do
> a little bit of word processing, etc.  My wife even uses
> yahoo.com for e-mail, so using the browser gets rid of
> the need for any [further] e-mail software.
>    Meanwhile, the use of FLOSS is preferable, whether
> [i] for philosophical reasons [as RMS would say]
>     (and I agree, mainly)
> or just simply
> [ii] because it is nice to know that the source code is
> available, so that if I really wanted to, I could read it,
> or hire someone to do so.
> Nowadays we need this option [ii] not only to be able to
> make changes (e.g. to fix bugs).  Today, being able to read
> (and, if necessary, change) the source code, is the
> only way to make sure that it is the person who owns
> the hardware (i.e. paid for it) who gets to decide
> (determine) what gets done (executed) on their machine.
> With Windows, [e.g.] the authors of the software
> (including worms, viri, spyware, what have you) may
> well be able to override the wishes of the person who
> owns the machine.  Typically of course, their motive is
> somehow to cause that machine owner to pay some
> money - whether to
> [1] a software publisher, of either OS or application
>      code - - such as, an AV ["anti virus"] vendor,
> or
> [2] for content (DRM -type checks, etc.),
> or anything else.
> (an "is your OS legal?" checkup was
>  mentioned in the news recently...)
> Nowadays, there is no other way to be in charge -
> other than running some FLOSS - typically copylefted,
> such as, released under the GPL.  (in our house we
> have found that just using Firefox instead of MS-IE
> helps a lot, even if running it under [over?]  Windows).
>     So I think that, even if the software doesn't really
> "replace" Windows applications, (e.g., by being able to
> read and/or write some of the proprietary data formats),
> it is a big help, ((at least for certain of these users who
> consider themselves "non techie" oriented and would
> not know how to boot from a CD/DVD to save their PC))
> if it just
> [a] gets the same general kind of work done
> (like perhaps web browsing, text processing, and
>  some simple tasks with photo / sound / video files),
> AND
> [b] does not require any complex "learning curve",
> for the person who is coming from a corporate (or school)
> environment that has accustomed folks to think that
> stuff is easy to learn (or already know) if and only if the
> user interface is Windows "-like".
>    ...sorry this was so long/rambling.
>    hope this helps...
>    PS I am back now from Iowa and
> attended the 25 July 2006 West Side meeting.
> another PS:
> another factor:  plenty of folks just want to buy some
> hardware, not have *any* of the money forwarded to
> MS / Gates, and then promptly format the hard drive
> and install a distro that is less whiny than Linspire
> (FreeSpire might even fit that) this is just my .02 ...
> --
> Mike Schwartz
> Glendale  AZ
> schwartz@acm.org
> Mike.L.Schwartz@gmail.com