all around the world
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| Author | Content |
|---|---|
| grouch Aug 11, 2006 8:36 AM EDT |
Lots of places switching, lots of reasons for doing so. Venezuela Promotes Open Source http://lxer.com/module/newswire/ext_link.php?rid=57888 Deal aims to move 50,000 Asian Windows desktops to Linux http://lxer.com/module/newswire/ext_link.php?rid=66191 Government says all new PCs must be Linux-friendly http://lxer.com/module/newswire/ext_link.php?rid=62216 State Government CIOs Vote for OS http://weblog.infoworld.com/openresource/archives/2006/08/st... Working Linux Emergency Response System Undermined at Homeland Security by Microsoft Lobbying http://lxer.com/module/newswire/view/57181/index.html Extremadura.gov switches onto Linux http://lxer.com/module/newswire/ext_link.php?rid=66506 OSS moving into government http://www.tectonic.co.za/view.php?src=rss&id=1085 Moroccan fisheries escapes proprietary net http://lxer.com/module/newswire/ext_link.php?rid=64830 Caught on Tape: Vista Beta takes on Novell's Linux Desktop http://lxer.com/module/newswire/ext_link.php?rid=62827 German tax office opens door to SuSE Linux http://lxer.com/module/newswire/ext_link.php?rid=62760 Is Microsoft bracketed by GNU/Linux? http://lxer.com/module/newswire/ext_link.php?rid=60378 Mark of the Microsoft Beast http://trends.newsforge.com/article.pl?sid=06/07/25/2018237 Schools Save Big with Open Source http://www.networkworld.com/weblogs/smb/2006/012953.html Free Software: Who's Looking Out for You? http://www.enterprisenetworkingplanet.com/netsecur/article.p... The Ten Commandments of software manufacturers fighting FLOSS http://www.digital-copyright.ca/node/2507 Granny Finds Linux/KDE Easier Than Windows [humor] http://www.reallylinux.com/docs/gran5.shtml Mandrake 8.1 easier than Win-XP [and this was back in 2001!] http://www.theregister.co.uk/2001/12/18/mandrake_8_1_easier_... Linux free, easy & secure http://www.itweek.co.uk/personal-computer-world/features/216... |
| dinotrac Aug 11, 2006 8:56 AM EDT |
It's easy to look at today's rough edges and be discouraged wherever Windows or Mac might seem crisper, slicker, able to do things Linux can't, etc. But... Today's Linux desktop is amazing. We forget how many things it makes easy that Windows makes hard. and... You absolutely cannot believe the progress in the last 5-6 years. Heck -- go back 8 years and there was not KDE (well, KDE was in beta, with 1.0 around the corner) and there was no GNOME. You simply cannot compare today's Linux desktop with the early versions. It is utterly unfair. And...it gets better. With the demise (in an practical sense) of XFree86 and rise of X.org, the graphics handling promises to get better and better. gcc keeps moving forward in ways that will help KDE, at least... All the new users add potential new developers, but, more important, they add eyes, hands, and FEEDBACK. I would not be shocked in 5-10 years to see articles asking things like "Is there a place for Windows in today's world?" OK, a little surprised, maybe, but not shocked. |
| wjl Aug 11, 2006 9:56 AM EDT |
Great list, grouch, and good points, dinotrac. May I add something just from my personal surrounding? A colleague changed from Windows to Etch after a hard disk crash, and because he didn't have a license. An aunt changed from Windows to Sarge after her old computer got slower and slower, and because she didn't have a license. My own brother changed from Windows to Breezy and now Dapper because he had just enough of it. He is *teaching* Windows and Office, but is now switching over to teaching OpenOffice as well. Will he go back to Windows? "Never ever", he said on his (german) blog on http://willi.lonien.de/?p=4 There's hope... cheers, wjl |
| alc Aug 11, 2006 12:21 PM EDT |
"You simply cannot compare today's Linux desktop with the early versions. It is utterly unfair." I started out with Suse 8.1.I was dual booting and still getting used to linux.By the time Suse 9.1 was out I was 100% linux on my home computer.I don't remember exactly how long that time frame was,but from that point till now,the advances in linux have been incredible. |
| Libervis Aug 11, 2006 3:59 PM EDT |
Yay yay! :) I love this optimism! It's true really, when you put things into perspective (step back and look at the recent history of GNU/Linux and Free Software), we might actually be taking over the world with it. ;) As that RedHat video suggests: Despite ridicule, ignorance and opposition, truth happens! Or there's that famous Gandhi saying (it was Gandhi right?): "First they ignore you. Then they laugh at you. Then they fight you. Then you win." I strongly recommend watching that video: http://www.redhat.com/truthhappens/ I've recently compiled a list of cool and motivating videos regarding Free Software (and more broadly culture): http://tinyurl.com/ocuhg So.. what to say. Never give up all you Free Software and GNU/Linux advocates. In the long term we actually seem to be winning! Cheers Daniel *edited to fix the url* |
| Sander_Marechal Aug 11, 2006 5:07 PM EDT |
Libervis, the link to your site says "Page not found" |
| Libervis Aug 11, 2006 5:56 PM EDT |
Sorry, the LXer commenting system seems to be skewing it.. Here's another try: http://www.libervis.com/video_compilation_on_free_digital_cu... EDIT: No that doesn't work. LXer keeps putting space between c and ulture in the URL. :| it's basically this: libervis.com/video_compilation_on_free_digital_culture EDIT: Ok here's a tinyurl which may work: http://tinyurl.com/ocuhg |
| grouch Aug 11, 2006 6:41 PM EDT |
I just sent a message to Dave about it. |
| nalf38 Aug 12, 2006 2:26 PM EDT |
Linux really does support more hardware out of the box than Windows. I had the unfortunate opportunity of setting an up a slightly older machine for my girlfriend, who insisted on Win2k or above (no Linux); I still can't get the onboard sound card to work, and I had to buy a $2 S3Virge video card because the onboard video wouldn't do anything over 640x480x16colors, and the vendor website only provided drivers through winME with the excuse that the Win2k drivers were included on any Win2k install CD. Well, they weren't. In order to get more info. on the machine, I booted a live linux cd (Puppy), and everything worked perfectly---sound card, video, network card and all, 'out of the box.' Windows 2000 couldn't achieve that, and the ironic thing is that I expected it to. I expected it to immediately recognize my hardware (a Compaq Presario isn't exactly 'exotic' hardware) and install the appropriate drivers. I kind of expected it to work better than Linux. But it didn't, and it made me realize how far Linux has come in the area of hardware support, even if the hardware was 'older.' I wish my girlfriend would try Linux, but I'm not a zealot and I understand her reasons wanting to stay with what she knows, but I think the idea of Linux not working with hardware is a myth and I'll never go back to any version of Windows. |
| Sander_Marechal Aug 13, 2006 9:37 PM EDT |
Meh, WinXP doesn't even support SATA drives out of the box. You either need to fuss with floppy drivers during the install or get your hand on a CD that includes them (like a vendor specific CD). |
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