[dundee] Your views on why linux is better than MS other others OS's

[Digit (SG)]

this is the linux-o-phile ramble i produced when asked for "Your views on
why linux is better than MS other others OS's":

http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/ 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.

to me, the question is not "microsoft versus linux", it's "proprietary vs
open source".

to attempt to summarise it with a quirky one liner:
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.

it's literally dozens and hundreds versus millions and billions.

it's tyrannical ideals versus idealist anarchy.

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.

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.

to cite one other example:
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.



it's kinda like:

proprietary: dog eat dog, fascism/feudalism/capitalism/despotism, 'skimming'
pricing policies, consumer lock ins (not the kind where u get inebriated),
hypocrisy, theft.

open source: good will, communism/socialism/anarchism/libertarianism,
conscience/appreciation pricing, participant empowerment,
openness/transparency/honesty, sharing.


it's a very odd "versus" situation though...
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.
various free software idealists "steal" ("digitally copy" is more accurate)
proprietary software just as if it were free open source software all the
same.
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?!
this point is lost even further when i consider my own buying habits....
time to enter the confessional...
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?!

appreciation.

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.
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 "I can".


On 10/12/2007, David Thornton Snr <davidthorntonsnr at yahoo.co.uk> wrote:
>
> Hi all,
> I'm looking for views on the above subject and to be truthful any other
> input to include on my website.
> Is it the ease of use? package updates? built-in utilities, etc.
> Also any 'how tos' that you have found useful.
> Or why you think that XXX distro is better than YYY.
> In other words any info that you think would be good to include on the
> site
> 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.
>
> I'm not looking for anything else but if you think of anything else please
> email me.
>
> It's not an all singing and dancing site, I've tried to keep it simple to
> make it fast loading.
> The site and content is coming along nicely.
>
> cheers everyone
> Have a nice Christmas and a Happy New Year.
>
> Dave
>
> ------------------------------
> Sent from Yahoo!<http://us.rd.yahoo.com/mailuk/taglines/isp/control/*http://us.rd.yahoo.com/evt=51949/*http://uk.docs.yahoo.com/mail/winter07.html>- a smarter inbox.
>
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>



-- 
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.
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