Ditch Microsoft!
Oh that's right! I was going to post something else, that's why. Announcement:
I'm gonna do it!! Behold as I step forward to be the guinea pig for a trial of the Linux Operating System. I'm determined to find a way to make this OS work in a way that is convenient for the majority of computer users in the demographic of myself and most of you guys, my friends. Most of us are at least a little tech-savvy, savvy? So a replacement for windows that allows only basic functionality with very little compatibility for the variety of strange and specialized programs that we use, some of which giant software companies wouldn't approve of, wouldn't be the best end solution here. We aren't entry-level users, (we're well aware that the internet is not a series of tubes), but most of us aren't professionally experts at the workings of the internets either.
I'm pissed off at Microsoft, though. I want them to lose business, so I'm switching to Linux! Not that they ever had my business to begin with! So I haven't ever bought a copy of Windows, but I want to see if perhaps I'll never have to!
I started reading about windows on the microsoft site to finally concede and purchase a copy of Windows, a few nights ago. I found several places to buy it from online, but when I read their licensing policy on their website, I grew a bit disgusted with it. Why does microsoft think it is fair for them to sell their software licensed only throughout the birth and death of one computer? When have you ever seen other software that has been sold with that kind of license? I understand how it should be licensed to only ONE computer at a time, but they're ridiculous. Most sfotware you pay for is yours, and you can use it for as long as you want. You can only use it on one computer at a time, but if you build yourself a new one, then it's still your software. Not only are they dastardly enough to want you to buy windows again if you build a new computer, but they want you to pay the $300.00 retail price of windows, claiming that the only two legal ways to get windows are to pay for a $300.00 retail box or to buy a computer with windows pre-installed on it.
They actually have a statement on the website advising against building your own PCs, and have stated some hogwash about people who build PCs and being considered a PC tech or something if you build and sell a certain number, thus needing to register as one with them. WTF? These guys are such greedy sons of bitches. They're definitely in the business of ripping people off. You don't get the impression that they are fine craftsmen successful for the quality of their work. I don't want to back these corporate pigs by giving in to their virtual monopoly. They're always trying illegal garbage to get things their way. Just recently, with this new Genuine Windows Advantage thing, someone reverse engineered it and found a SPECIALIZED segment of code that is designed to make Genuine Advantage reject you if it finds a certain Linux program in your program registry. And weren't they in trouble before for coding windows to reject alternative non-microsoft software?
Screw that! These guys are control freaks. If they were less crazy, people would be more motivated to pirate less. I've been reading a little bit about Linux every now and then for the past few days, too. The open-source philosophy is very appealing. It's another idea that seems very "American" to me in ideology. It insists on a concept of freedom in software that allows for Darwinian (Darwinist?) competition.
My favorite part of the Linux Fedora Core FAQ section:
Why can't Fedora play mp3 files?
Why is mp3 the standard? Because it's better than everything else out there?
No. mp3 is the standard because its creators licensed it broadly to spur its adoption. Then, once it was the de facto format, they started to enforce their patents aggressively and restrictively.
The Free and open source multimedia codecs such as the Ogg family of codecs are superior, and they are not patent-encumbered. Never have been, never will be. That's why we support Ogg Vorbis (lossy) and FLAC (lossless) for general audio, Speex for speech, and Ogg Theora for video.
For those people who insist upon using mp3, it's not difficult to figure out how to get these players. Still, we'd much rather change the world instead of going along with it.
OGG Vorbis is way too compressed for easy use in creating music, but it's pretty good otherwise. FLAC is good for music projects, but it isn't too common.
I like their spirit! I like their ideology. I want to ditch microsoft and use Linux, just for that, even. And so, after reviewing some Linux Distributions, I've decided to try Fedora Core 5, based on Red Hat Linux distributions. I'll search as best as I can for compatibility with windows programs that have no Linux editions released, and if I run it for a while successfully with few enough bugs, I'll post for everyone to do the same, if you want, because you should. If Linux can do everything you want, then why shell out $150-$300 to microsoft, a company that runs short on morality and discourages marketplace competition? You'd really have no reason to, if it works. I'll let you know.
I'm gonna do it!! Behold as I step forward to be the guinea pig for a trial of the Linux Operating System. I'm determined to find a way to make this OS work in a way that is convenient for the majority of computer users in the demographic of myself and most of you guys, my friends. Most of us are at least a little tech-savvy, savvy? So a replacement for windows that allows only basic functionality with very little compatibility for the variety of strange and specialized programs that we use, some of which giant software companies wouldn't approve of, wouldn't be the best end solution here. We aren't entry-level users, (we're well aware that the internet is not a series of tubes), but most of us aren't professionally experts at the workings of the internets either.
I'm pissed off at Microsoft, though. I want them to lose business, so I'm switching to Linux! Not that they ever had my business to begin with! So I haven't ever bought a copy of Windows, but I want to see if perhaps I'll never have to!
I started reading about windows on the microsoft site to finally concede and purchase a copy of Windows, a few nights ago. I found several places to buy it from online, but when I read their licensing policy on their website, I grew a bit disgusted with it. Why does microsoft think it is fair for them to sell their software licensed only throughout the birth and death of one computer? When have you ever seen other software that has been sold with that kind of license? I understand how it should be licensed to only ONE computer at a time, but they're ridiculous. Most sfotware you pay for is yours, and you can use it for as long as you want. You can only use it on one computer at a time, but if you build yourself a new one, then it's still your software. Not only are they dastardly enough to want you to buy windows again if you build a new computer, but they want you to pay the $300.00 retail price of windows, claiming that the only two legal ways to get windows are to pay for a $300.00 retail box or to buy a computer with windows pre-installed on it.
They actually have a statement on the website advising against building your own PCs, and have stated some hogwash about people who build PCs and being considered a PC tech or something if you build and sell a certain number, thus needing to register as one with them. WTF? These guys are such greedy sons of bitches. They're definitely in the business of ripping people off. You don't get the impression that they are fine craftsmen successful for the quality of their work. I don't want to back these corporate pigs by giving in to their virtual monopoly. They're always trying illegal garbage to get things their way. Just recently, with this new Genuine Windows Advantage thing, someone reverse engineered it and found a SPECIALIZED segment of code that is designed to make Genuine Advantage reject you if it finds a certain Linux program in your program registry. And weren't they in trouble before for coding windows to reject alternative non-microsoft software?
Screw that! These guys are control freaks. If they were less crazy, people would be more motivated to pirate less. I've been reading a little bit about Linux every now and then for the past few days, too. The open-source philosophy is very appealing. It's another idea that seems very "American" to me in ideology. It insists on a concept of freedom in software that allows for Darwinian (Darwinist?) competition.
My favorite part of the Linux Fedora Core FAQ section:
Why can't Fedora play mp3 files?
Why is mp3 the standard? Because it's better than everything else out there?
No. mp3 is the standard because its creators licensed it broadly to spur its adoption. Then, once it was the de facto format, they started to enforce their patents aggressively and restrictively.
The Free and open source multimedia codecs such as the Ogg family of codecs are superior, and they are not patent-encumbered. Never have been, never will be. That's why we support Ogg Vorbis (lossy) and FLAC (lossless) for general audio, Speex for speech, and Ogg Theora for video.
For those people who insist upon using mp3, it's not difficult to figure out how to get these players. Still, we'd much rather change the world instead of going along with it.
OGG Vorbis is way too compressed for easy use in creating music, but it's pretty good otherwise. FLAC is good for music projects, but it isn't too common.
I like their spirit! I like their ideology. I want to ditch microsoft and use Linux, just for that, even. And so, after reviewing some Linux Distributions, I've decided to try Fedora Core 5, based on Red Hat Linux distributions. I'll search as best as I can for compatibility with windows programs that have no Linux editions released, and if I run it for a while successfully with few enough bugs, I'll post for everyone to do the same, if you want, because you should. If Linux can do everything you want, then why shell out $150-$300 to microsoft, a company that runs short on morality and discourages marketplace competition? You'd really have no reason to, if it works. I'll let you know.