I know this attitude is fairly common and is what M$ is aiming to
> maintain. GNU/Linux FLOSS is already changing that attitude and this is
> why M$ is buying in to SuSE to try and halt it.
>
Whilst I agree with what you have said, I believe the above comment could be
flipped upside down and aimed at members of the FOSS community too. The
issue here is that many-a-time, Windows users attempt to break the
boundaries between themselves and FOSS yet alot of the time they are greeted
with hostile and elite response such as yours above.
The Microsoft-Novel agreement has caused enough uproar already, however I
think the attitude of the FOSS community should be of encouragement,
educated and friendly response to those who ask such questions or statements
such as John Eayrs'. Leave the bitching to the lawyers! We need to remember
here that whilst we are passionate about supporting FOSS, it is not the
right thing to alienate those who might not agree with our views - they need
to be educated.
There is a place for Windows & Linux in the computing industry. Whilst i'd
prefer we all move to GNU/Linux, I also feel until there is a complete
alternative to the many proprietory applications written for Windows that
many use day-in-day-out, we will always see M$ near the top of the software
chain.
John Eayrs:
> There is a lot of things in Windows which would benefit Linux. For
example
> I can do hard disk backups in 5 minutes. I can retrieve damaged
partitions
> without much difficulty. I can retrieve files off partitions which have
had
> the MBR damaged. I do not know how to do these sort of operations in
Linux
> with anything like the same sort of ease. I watch Divx and Xvid films on
> Windows. When I tried this on Linux I had to give up.
You could do this just as quickly in GNU/Linux; see [1] for a decent list of
backup utilities.
> To install a program in Windows takes me no longer than 5 minutes. To
> install into Linux can take me considerably longer.
>
`apt-get install program` would do just that, or use a GUI tool such as
aptitude to select packages and install them. Windows has never had, and
probably never will have something of this nature.
> I make it a policy to do byte by byte checks on all DVD or CD's that I
burn.
> One never knows if one has a good or bad writable media. This is easy for
> me to do in Windows. I have not been able to do this in Linux yet.
>
Search Google for an application named k3b, it's without a doubt the best
DVD/CD writing tool available, on-par with Nero in my opinion.
> I know several people who are able to do things in Windows and would find
it
> impossible to use Linux. Windows for better or worse brings computing to
> the masses and as a result has enabled cheap machines because of the mass
> production of computers.
>
Sure, M$ & Windows has brought computers to many people, but they weren't
the Gods of all this; IBM were fiddled out in the beginning by M$ through
dodgy licensing and aggressive business tactics. Lot's of companies should
be named here.
> Would it be more sensible to recognise that different operating systems
have
> their strengths and weaknesses instead of comdemming things out of hand
out
> of pure reflex. And to recognise that the thinking involved in using
Linux
> effectively is very different to that for using Windows effectively.
>
Answer this yourself, too. It is painful to read this as a FOSS advocate,
perhaps some research on your part would give you a different view.
Best regards,
--
Alex Collins
[1]
http://www.linux.org/apps/all/Administration/Backup.html
