OK Leo, I'm Asking "Why Should I Care"
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| Author | Content |
|---|---|
| moopst Mar 29, 2008 9:21 PM EDT |
I didn't read the article. I don't read articles about M$ very much anymore, except in the OOXML area. So, I'm asking, Leo "Why should I care"? Why should I care if you can't install some seven year old antique OS that will be another node in in a botnet in a week? I don't care about your problems with M$ WGA. I don't care that M$ support sucks. |
| nikkels Mar 30, 2008 3:54 AM EDT |
moops, you got my vote |
| dinotrac Mar 30, 2008 3:54 AM EDT |
So, do you care about getting people over to Linux? Avoiding Hell is a sales point. |
| helios Mar 30, 2008 5:43 AM EDT |
I don't know moopst so I am not going to be overly harsh here. but as always; dino gives teh thought nugget for others to expand. I've said on more than one occasion that the majority of Linux Users cannot see past the needs of their own CPUs. Moopst's statement would seem to validate my observation. Many would say that open activism and mainstream marketing are a waste of time in that our method of word by mouth is doing nicely. Ya think? Let's see...we've had this treasure in our midst for roughly a decade and a half and depending on who's figures you are willing to bolster, Linux has a world-wide market share of 3-5 percent. Now it's easy to argue the figures, I realize that since Linux is not a sales comodity, it is hard to track any growth or ROI from our efforts. Still, there is no denying that we are a pebble in the shadow of Microsoft and if Vista is failing, then people are going to stick with what they know...and what they know is XP. Wouldn't it just make sense to let people know that they are not going to find using XP easy? Wouldn't the next logical step be to let people know they have an alternative that costs nothing and respects their freedom? Yes, it would make sense...but only to the roughly two percent of the Linux community that gives a cr@p about helping others see their choices. My guess is that moopst is not one of that number, but then and again, it wouldn't be the first time I was shown to be wrong. h |
| dinotrac Mar 30, 2008 8:13 AM EDT |
Helios - Amen. There seems to be a general disregard for the world at large. Sad, too, because I think a lot of people would be interested in trying it out. Just a couple of days ago, I got a nibble for putting Linux on a laptop used by family kids who are inveterate virus/spyware attractors. People are interested when they see the benefit to them. People are not, however, idiots and do not like being treated as same. |
| sleepy Mar 30, 2008 8:36 AM EDT |
I guess I'm one of the two percent, then, because I can never resist the temptation in this sort of situation to add something like 'gee, it's nice not to have to worry about those sorts of issues anymore....' If I'm honest, though, my family, friends and colleagues probably think I overdo it with the OSS 'preaching'. So here's a question: can you overdo the OSS advocacy and turn people off, or, like health professionals bringing up a patient's smoking at every opportunity, is there a cumulative impact over time that might eventually get through? I have to say that my mother is very happy with her PCLOS machine and can't understand why others would want to muck around with anti-virus and de-fragmenting. Other family members, though, choose to stick with their familiar Windows systems, as is their right. But now I no longer re-install for them. I make them sit and learn how to do it. sleepy |
| hkwint Mar 30, 2008 9:27 AM EDT |
I'm sorry to bother, but I couldn't let it go by: Moopst, you just answered your own question. Quoting:Why should I care if you can't install some seven year old antique OS that will be another node in in a botnet in a week? That's why you should care, one less PC sending you spam. That's nice, ain't it? Imagine how your inbox (and that of Microsoft) would look like if nobody could activate XP! Oh, and to add another bad joke: Maybe the guy is not nuts, but he's a nut! More precise: A whole tree of it! (Leo Nutstree) |
| helios Mar 30, 2008 9:49 AM EDT |
can you overdo the OSS advocacy and turn people off, or, like health professionals bringing up a patient's smoking at every opportunity, is there a cumulative impact over time that might eventually get through? In a word...Yes. In my own household, my wife is still an XP user, and she remains so out of spite. Now, she fully supports what I do and even posts from time to time on my blog, but as a full time Linux User, she sees no advantage of becoming one. Debbie plays "Gamehouse" games. She loves them and is even involved in "money" tournaments on the internet...she actually brings home some money from doing so. She plays games and reads email. I've tried and tried to get these games to play on Linux but with the abysmal direct x support, it isn't happening. Cedaga has done little to this point to rectify the situation and I don't care how cheap it becomes, I am not going to "subscribe" to ANY software. So she remains an XP user mostly for the above-stated reasons and because I have pushed her so hard to change. Someone in my household just became the proud "owner" of Black XP and Office 2007. I smirked and giggled in glee as I listened to him curse and sputter about how this stuff should work but doesn't. He won't change to Linux either. As long as Windows software can be so easily stolen and without real sanction...Linux is going to be the idealists choice. h |
| gus3 Mar 30, 2008 7:38 PM EDT |
@helios: Any chance of going XP-in-Hypervisor (or XP-in-Bochs)? In the event of malware invasion, it should be a snap to restore from a snapshot and be back up and running quickly. |
| tracyanne Mar 30, 2008 9:50 PM EDT |
I had to laugh at this bit, from Microsoft's site in an article on Activation and why it is necessary and good.Quoting:Authentic Microsoft software assures you of high-quality, virus-free software. Pirated software does not. |
| moopst Mar 30, 2008 9:51 PM EDT |
OK, I think I owe the group some more background on me and my frustration. I'm a long time enterprise programmer, first VAX then Unix. My key strategic career decisions were to learn Oracle in '84 and in '91, I was working on Solaris, SCO Unix and Microsoft Lan Manager. It was frustrating to spend hours trying to work around Microsoft short comings but it was instructive about the futility of trying to fix broken closed source. So I went with Unix and made no effort to apply for jobs working on Microsoft desktop support. When (for about 2 weeks) I saw a group of consultants working on a new Microsoft project I held back from laughing outloud. That project was a complete fiasco and the consulting company I believe is now defunct. I'm not the type of person who goes out and tries to convert people. It's just not my thing. I have converted 2 people so far, both Unix guys. My sister is also comfortable using Linux (KDE and Gnome) but she's a Mac fan. Four years ago my dad said "Bill Gates has me by the ba..s" and all I could do was shake my head and say, "The sheep remain inside their pen, though many times they've seen the way to leave" quoting 1970's Genesis. I may be able to convert him with the Eee PC. He is actually aware of his PC being slow and having unexplained network activity. I told him he has to fix it, that his machine could be used for criminal activity. He's retired but I think the $200 price tag might help him at least try it. So yes, I was aware that the botnet remark was a reason why all internet users should care about the problem. My spam collecting web mail account was hijacked when I used my dad's computer way back in 2000. It seemed that they must have harvested my pw because I was getting hundreds of undeliverable email bounces on, well, subject lines that I don't ever use. I changed my password on my Red Hat machine and that solved it. So for 7 years I've been worrying that my dad will get his identity stolen or something and get half of his retirement taken. So, yes you can say I'm a little bit frustrated. Especially when I read the EULA's Microsoft creates and updates and realize that they take no responsibility in part because they sell no products. They only sell licenses. My dad, who sees some evidence of a problem takes no responsibility. Well, he tries with up to date AV software, but that is a false sense of security. I appreciate the efforts of Helios and hkwint and I buy the occasional CD or Linux book. I think I read a post where someone said that's not enough but we're all fighting the good fight. I am confident that open source and open standards will win out. When the Army goes to all Linux desktops and the Navy say they will no longer accept hardware tied to software and data it's a pretty good sign that the tide is turning. Just remember, I've been frustrated since the Atari went away. I knew an Amiga guy who had "Intel Outside" stickers made back in the early '90's when his machine was nearly obsolete. I'm still fighting the good fight, just not as hard. I'm thinking about that guy at Standards Norway who might quit over the OOXML scandal there. If we give up the fight altogether, then we are lost. So I'm hanging in there as best I can. |
| dinotrac Mar 31, 2008 1:01 AM EDT |
moopst -- I think it's less about "fighting the good fight" than being open to real opportunities as they come. Let's face it -- most people aren't candidates just now. They don't even want to know about Linux and will relegate you to the nut pile for pushing. Some, however, are just frustrated and/or curious enough to be open. |
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