this is the linux-o-phile ramble i produced<font size="2"> when asked for "<font size="1"><span style="font-size: larger;">Your views on why linux is better than MS other others OS's":</span></font></font><br>
<br><a href="http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/">http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/</a> does well to provide ample reason to glimpse into the higher state of consciousness that is the Free Software Movement, the General Public Licence, the GNU, the Linux, the Open Source Community.
<br><br>to me, the question is not "microsoft versus linux", it's "proprietary vs open source".<br><br>to attempt to summarise it with a quirky one liner:<br>a closed circle of a few programmers/developers simply cannot hope for long term success when there is an alternative openly utilising every end user as a potential programmer/developer.
<br><br>it's literally dozens and hundreds versus millions and billions.<br><br>it's tyrannical ideals versus idealist anarchy.<br><br>it's almost like some old religious infighting of the past (i wont name names) where a small group are considered the keepers of the knowledge and the rest of us are supposed to be so thankful for being spoon fed whatever they give us that we are willing to part with almost all our monies, then common sense or something takes hold and the esoteric becomes exoteric, that which was once secret managed info for the purview only of a select few whom had power over the masses has now become liberated unto an open house ensemble, a mish-mash, tet-a-tet-a-tet-a-tet, a free flow of information, a collective empowerment movement, a revival of community spirit, of oneness, unity and equality.... yes, see, it runs far deeper than merely "what software do you use". the choice is an expression of understanding of some seriously deep, meaningful, practical implications.
<br><br>like is often spouted in various spiritual and metaphysical media of our age, the ideas of choice, of now, and of the paths before us from each choice we make in the now. i have been choosing to go the open source route since late 2003, knowing that in all the simulations i can run in my mind, it is the most bountiful, the most educational, the most beneficial, the kindest, the smartest, the safest, the fastest, the most effective, the most customisable and compatible, etc etc etc.... the simulations in my mind when comparing the choice between a society dependent on proprietary software and offers them only a prison of ignorance, or a society where knowledge and education, a balance of community and individual responsibility, and freedom are the bedrock... the choice seems already made.
<br><br>to cite one other example:<br>in Star Trek The Next Generation, there is an episode where the crew encounter a planet whose inhabitants' every whim is catered for by a giant centralised computer... which no one knew how to operate, let alone maintain. such is a horrific state which we can heed the warning and steer clear of by allowing freedom of knowledge, the open source way, rather than a society of spoon fed dumbed-down consumers at the end of a chain, we are now entering the paradigm shift in this galactic age where everyone is a valued member and respected as such.
<br><br><br><br>it's kinda like:<br><br>proprietary: dog eat dog, fascism/feudalism/capitalism/despotism, 'skimming' pricing policies, consumer lock ins (not the kind where u get inebriated), hypocrisy, theft.
<br><br>open source: good will, communism/socialism/anarchism/libertarianism, conscience/appreciation pricing, participant empowerment, openness/transparency/honesty, sharing.<br><br><br>it's a very odd "versus" situation though...
<br>various proprietary software makers take ideas from the open source community, just like was intended, except, they then use their lawyers and financial clout to claim such advances as their own, using patents and legality intimidation tactics.
<br>various free software idealists "steal" ("digitally copy" is more accurate) proprietary software just as if it were free open source software all the same.<br>neither of these are considered particularly honourable, though if u were to ask each of the perpetrators of these perceived crimes, they would both the same answer with a clean conscience (probably). so what is the point of proprietary software?!
<br>this point is lost even further when i consider my own buying habits.... time to enter the confessional...<br>I've spent more money on open source software than proprietary, and i didn't have to. yes, i have downloaded or otherwise obtained propriety software for free when they were demanding their software needed to be payed for, yet the open source software i wasn't expected to pay for, i chose to spend money on... what's going on?! how can this behaviour be explained?!
<br><br>appreciation.<br><br>i didn't appreciate being told i had to pay for something i hadn't even tried yet. i didn't appreciate being told i had to pay again in a few years for the newer version. i didn't appreciate intentional backwards incompatibility forcing me to buy the newer version. i didn't appreciate the seemingly arbitrarily selected limits imposed. i didn't appreciate being forced to buy faster and more powerful hardware every few years to deal with bloated sluggish slowing software. i didn't appreciate not being able to go all the way to manipulating the code to suit my needs on any level. i simply didn't appreciate how proprietary was forcing itself into my life and then demanding i be paying them money for the privilege of their dog-shit stained foot in my door.
<br>i did appreciate being offered the full featured software for as long as i wanted for free. i did appreciate being told all my updates would be free forever, and i could have any level of control over what i was updating. i did appreciate the plethora of older versions available in case i didn't like something in a new version, so i could always roll back. i did appreciate the limitlessness, the un-ending freedoms to calculate and number crunch the bigger ideas unfettered. i did appreciate my computer hardware being given years and years and years and years more life. i did appreciate knowing the freedom was there to get under the hood and alter any line of software as and when needed, if i so chose to learn, or if necessity demanded, its comforting to know i'm free to do so. i simply enjoyed and appreciated how open source software was empowered with an egalitarian, take it or leave it, visionary idealism which inspired hope for the future and motivated oneself with a sense of
<span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">"I can"</span>.<br><br><br><div><span class="gmail_quote">On 10/12/2007, <b class="gmail_sendername">David Thornton Snr</b> <<a href="mailto:davidthorntonsnr@yahoo.co.uk" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">
davidthorntonsnr@yahoo.co.uk</a>> wrote:</span><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">
<div><div style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><div>Hi all,<br>I'm looking for views on the above subject and to be truthful any other input to include on my website. <br>Is it the ease of use? package updates? built-in utilities, etc.
<br>Also any 'how tos' that you have found useful. <br>Or why you think that XXX distro is better than YYY.<br>In other words any info that you think would be good to include on the site<br>I (with agreement) will put a link to Tlug and any other link you think would be good to include if you let me know.
<br><br>I'm not looking for anything else but if you think of anything else please email me.<br><br>It's not an all singing and dancing site, I've tried to keep it simple to make it fast loading.<br>The site and content is coming along nicely.
<br><br>cheers everyone<br>Have a nice Christmas and a Happy New
Year.<br><br>Dave<br></div></div><span><br>
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</div><br><br clear="all"><br>-- <br>The Universe speaks in many languages, but only one voice. The language is not Narn, or Human, or Centauri, or Gaim or Minbari. It speaks in the language of hope; It speaks in the language of trust; It speaks in the language of strength, and the language of compassion. It is the language of the heart and the language of the soul. But always, it is the same voice. It is the voice of our ancestors, speaking through us, And the voice of our inheritors, waiting to be born. It is the small, still voice that says: We are one. No matter the blood; skin; world; star; We are one. No matter the pain; darkness; loss; fear; We are one. Here, gathered together in common cause. we agree to recognise this singular truth, and this singular rule: That we must be kind to one another, because each voice enriches us and ennobles us, and each voice lost diminishes us. We are the voice of the Universe, the soul of creation, the fire that will light the way to a better future. We are one.