[ale] Bloody MS EULA Changes Effecting Our Choice
Joshua
jrtroberts at gmail.com
Tue Oct 19 00:08:42 EDT 2010
I think this is only part of the issue. It is not just Microsoft
Windows that is the issue, it is also the hardware vendors. What I mean
is that I can see some blatant collusion occurring with newer hardware
from established vendors. With Windows Vista and 7 there is a marked
lack of support for many hardware drivers belonging to older devices.
Does this fall into the realm of Microsoft or the hardware vendors or
both? Potentially if MS can make their legacy software packages work
then they should be able to make older drivers work as well, right? As
far as the hardware vendors are concerned, when you contact them and
request assistance with your Windows 2000 or XP era device that does not
work in Vista or 7 and you cannot find drivers on the Vendor's sight,
they politely inform you that there is no support for many legacy
devices under Windows Vista or 7 and that none will be coming. Buy a
new device that is compatible with Vista or 7. The vendors do not say,
"Try Linux!" or "Try installing XP Mode on your Win 7 64 bit machine!".
No, they insist that you buy a new product.
While searching for free online courseware on the Stanford site I ran
across an interesting video. I think it was part of a full class, but I
only watched a portion of the first video. It was a woman speaking
about how it is hard to kill a large corporation like MS or IBM (were
the examples that she used). She mentioned that even if a software
company is mortally wounded it may still lurk around in one form or
another for decades after the main body is dead and rotting. She went
on to explain that IBM was the largest software company in the world and
that both IBM and MS are working to make sure they keep a strong hold on
the market. One of the ways in which they combat FOSS like Linux is to
offer small to mid size companies a stable "Ecosystem" in which they can
thrive and grow. This "Ecosystem" is provided entirely by IBM or MS and
they provide service and training and coddle the fledging business so
that the owners and investors can feel safe and secure. It is an
interesting video and if I can find it again I will post the link to ALE.
I believe that this states that Linux is a force to be reckoned with and
it scares the larger companies. I think that once a Linux distro exists
that truly works better than Windows at fulfilling the needs of the
average Joe and his ilk then it will begin to gain ground. I am not
sure that Linux is truly ready though to be touted as the next best
Desktop environment. And finally the tide will truly turn when most
Major Software Developers start selling Linux ports as a normal part of
business. FOSS is cool, but so is a huge R&D budget. I am sure there
are plenty of people who would be willing to buy an Adobe CS5 or CS6
Master collection that worked with Linux, or a full AutoCAD suite for
Linux. But until enough people own Linux machines and demand the
product with enough force it is not going to exist.
I like Linux, but I still run an XP VM so that I can use Rosetta Stone
to learn Chinese. And if I get a better machine I will be running a
Dual boot system so that I can play the games I want to play, without
WINE (except as a mind altering liquid that may enhance my gaming
experience!). Linux is still primarily a server/workstation system
IMHO. It has made many inroads toward becoming a Desktop system, but for
many users like myself it does not provide all the functionality that is
needed to fully satisfy what I expect from a computer. Fire your slings
and arrows at me if you will, but I am not convinced that Linux is ready
for the average Desktop consumer or that the average consumer is
prepared for Linux.
Rich DeMARS wrote:
> Again, the theme I am getting out of the article is simply the complete lack of free choice we have in our current environments. A lack of free choice that is not just in the business world, but also in the political world. To have to vote for bad candidate one or bad candidate two is not really a free choice. And now it seems that lack of free choice is growing even more in to our technology world. But luckily, we have a stronger tool in the business that is tougher than the voting ballot and we don't have to wait four years to use it. It is the dollar, the business world's voting ballot.
>
> Stop buying products from companies that support this type of lack of free choice by hiding legalese deep inside some EULA. On the Desktop and Server side of things it is quite easy, Build Your Own. I do this in the company I work for now and did it in the company I started before. It gives us the most flexibility and computing power for our voting dollars.
>
> On the Notebook side of things it is a little harder. It is not very economical to try to build your own notebook. But there are options, like System 76. In fact, I am typing this email on a System 76 notebook that is running a VNC client connected to a VDI Linux workstation running on a 4 core dual Xeon server I built for our VM farm.
>
> There are also Macbooks out there that in my option are one of the best hardware engineered notebooks on the market, though yes very very very locked down in choice. But I will say one thing about Apple, they don't hide the fact that the are locked down or a bundled system. And at least they don't stop you from installing Linux as the OS for their systems yet.
>
> Voting with our dollars is the own choice we have in this matter and teaching others how best to vote with their dollars is our only future.
>
> Rich DeMARS
> IT Manager
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: "Jim Kinney" <jim.kinney at gmail.com>
> Sent: Monday, October 18, 2010 8:19am
> To: "Atlanta Linux Enthusiasts - Yes! We run Linux!" <ale at ale.org>
> Subject: Re: [ale] Bloody MS EULA Changes Effecting Our Choice
>
> _______________________________________________
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> Owning a corp you WORK at is actove investment and generally a positive
> thing.
> Passive investment is more dubious.
> On Oct 18, 2010 5:27 AM, "Paul Cartwright" <ale at pcartwright.com> wrote:
>
>> On Sun October 17 2010, arxaaron wrote:
>>
>>> wealthy elitist bloodsucking privateers who
>>> claim corporate ownership
>>>
>> by definition that would include quite a few members of this list...
>>
> anyone
>
>> who has their own company.. I claim corporate ownership, I have an LLC.
>> so sue me:-0)
>>
>> --
>> Paul Cartwright
>> Registered Linux user # 367800
>> Registered Ubuntu User #12459
>> http://usdebtclock.org/
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>
>
>
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