Hi All
I could not resist the itch to say something.
More than once the use of Microsoft software has save my bacon.
I have the greatest respect for the windows system provided it has no contact
with the Internet. I have seen well created windows systems boot in 20
seconds flat which is faster than any linux system I have seen.
I can load a new bit of hardware and drivers on windows with no problem. A
piece of hard ware for linux well thats a search on the Internet to find out
if its is compatible and how to get it to install.
My everyday operating system is linux. This is simply because I do not have
to worry about viruses, trojans, ad-aware, root kits etc.
I can upgrade and install software on Linux. But I have no real idea what I
am doing. I don't care, because if the install or upgrade works I am happy.
Doing the same in Windows I knew where everything went.
I have OCR programs in windows which work fantastically. An OCR program in
Linux has just wasted my time.
I have used disk backups and disk partitioning in windows and they have worked
very well and I have lost no work. I have used those in the Linux system and
have had my hard disk over written when it should not have. (More a case of
using windows logic on a linux program which was not a good idea).
I have free video editor programs in Windows which work very well. A video
editor in Linux often leaves me with a bit of swearing.
We really need to use an engineering approach to this. Use each operating
system the best way possible. Use the strengths of each operating system and
make allowances for the weaknesses.
Setting up to watch videos in windows took me no more than a minute. Crafting
mplayer to do what I want took me a lot more than five minutes and then I had
to hunt down information to get the subtitles to work.
Why do I bother to use linux. It is more stable and less temperamental. I
can do more on it. I don't worry about the latest sneaky bot or virus or
trojan which means I can be more productive. It works well on more desktops
than windows does.
Now if only there can be a Floss equivalent to word perfect or Coral Draw.
John Eayrs
On Saturday 08 August 2009 10:27:19 Andy Smith wrote:
> Hi Alan,
>
> On Sat, Aug 08, 2009 at 09:21:36AM +0100, alan c wrote:
> > Andy Smith wrote:
> > > Linus Torvalds recently had something to say about Microsoft
> > > bashing:
> > >
> > > http://www.linux-mag.com/cache/7439/1.html
> > > "I may make jokes about Microsoft at times, but at the same
> > > time, I think the Microsoft hatred is a disease. I believe
> > > in open development, and that very much involves not just
> > > making the source open, but also not shutting other people
> > > and companies out.
> > >
> > > There are 'extremists' in the free software world, but
> >
> > how many revolutions have there been, driven by *non* extremists?
>
> Making and distributing a FOSS operating system that works better
> than its proprietary rivals is an extreme enough goal for me to
> support. The idea that this isn't particularly extreme today is
> just a testament to how successful it has been so far - the concept
> used to be laughable. There is still a long way to go.
>
> I don't feel the need to take it to the next level by demonising
> Microsoft or any other company, and I would question the value of
> doing so.
>
> Cheers,
> Andy
