Sunday, September 27, 2009

Why I choose Linux over Microsoft's Windows products.

Back in 1998 I mowed lawns all summer to earn $1,000 for my first computer. It had a dedicated video card, 333 Mhz AMD K6 3D NOW! CPU, 80 GB of HD space, Windows 98, Dial Up, 17" Komodo CRT that died just a few years ago after constant use, 512 MB of RAM, and all the bells and whistles for $1,000.00. A friend built it for me at that time. I remember the 5 and 1/4 floppy drive, CD-RW, and 3.5 inch floppy.

I would get it all set up and connect to the internet on dial up and it would always lock up, freeze, crash, or whatever you could imagine. We had to reinstall Windows 98 so many times over the first two years it was nuts. I asked my Computer Teacher what I was doing wrong. He said that this was to be expected of Windows. I asked other technicians who told me the same thing. Before using that Windows computer I had no classes for Windows just Mac. I found that it was very easy for me to understand how Windows worked and how to work on my PC but I didn't understand why it was inconsistent and why I could not fix the problem. It was not just me, no one else could fix Windows' problems either because it was closed source meaning no one had access to the source code. On the brink of 2000 it was time for the Y2k scare and everyone thought they had to buy Windows Millennium Edition even though there were fixes for 98. I got a copy anyway just because I figured anything was better than Windows 98. Turned out ME was rushed and was worse than anything besides Vista. So then people were scared to get Windows XP when it came out and I remember the problems it had with Viruses when it first was released. Then SP2 fixed some of those problems.

Viruses:


Meanwhile in 2000 - 2001 a well respected member of this community came home from Redmond and had just quit working for Microsoft for $170,000.00 a year. He didn't quit because he didn't want or need the money. He quit for other reasons we will get to later.

This x-Microsoft employee we will call Mr. X told me to try Linux. I had no idea of what Linux was so he explained to me that it was a complete replacement for Windows. At that time it was very hard for people new to Linux to use it without a background in it. So I used it from time to time but still used Windows some times.

I went to College in 2003 - 2007 and there they made it mandatory to learn how to manage a Linux Server, Fedora Core 6 to be specific. Fedora Core is and was one of the most unstable versions of Linux ever created because it runs experimental software. So it took a lot of hard work to make it do what I wanted without problems.
After I learned about Linux I knew that it was superior to Windows but that it needed to be made simple for new Linux users (X Windows users) and so I began looking at Ubuntu, and PCLinuxOS, among other distributions of Linux. PCLinuxOS was a nice choice. It had everything my customers needed but lacked some hardware support. I fixed it up as best I could and remastered it for my customers. They loved it so much I decided to release it to the whole world and call it Ultumix. The PCLinuxOS community was very angry at me. I made sure to fix any mistakes that they didn't like but discovered that the real reason they were mad at me was because I was Christian. They kept sending me hate letters discouraging me from being Christian. They posted lies on the internet about me being racist and a bigot.

So I decided to dump PCLinuxOS and interestingly enough after I left their group they didn't seem to update their software to make it better. The project all but died. But then someone decided to release something else and call it PCLinuxOS.

So I decided to move over to Ubuntu and Debian. At first I didn't like the unfamiliar territory but then I learned how to make it familiar and changed everything about the way the user interfaced with it. Now I call it JULinux or Just Use Linux www.mindblowingidea.com/JULinux

So getting back to Mr. X. Mr. X worked at Microsoft almost from the very beginning developing code for DOS all the way up to Windows NT / 2000. He explained that there were two reasons he quit.
1. The first was "Operation Longhorn" or "Project Longhorn" not "Longhorn" as in the server but an unheard of project the NSA was working on with Microsoft to monitor everyone and invade everyone's privacy. It would later be called DRM, Trused Computing, and other names. Learn more at these sites:
http://www.defectivebydesign.org,
http://badvista.fsf.org/,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trusted_Computing,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JcYxe-OS8kU.



So what does this mean for you and why should you care?
  1. Windows Vista, Windows XP with SP3 or updates newer than SP2, and newer Microsoft software and versions of Windows:
  • Your internet will be slower because Microsoft and the NSA are constantly watching your computer sending information between your computer and their servers.
  • Everyone's internet will be slower because every computer doing this will slow the internet down.
  • Your music will be converted into a scrambled format that can only be played by Micro$oft's Media Molester and if Media Molester thinks that you have put your music on too many devices it will decide that you can't listen to your music.
  • Your computer will attempt to lock you out of your own computer and or programs if it thinks you have stolen any of your programs for any reason. This also happens if you change too much hardware.
  • Anyone who becomes a Microsoft Certified Partner will receive your error reports and other information like statistics about what you look at on the internet, what programs you use, your Microsoft MSN or Windows Live account, Where you shop, what kind of junk email you may be interested in, what physical mail box to send that junk mail to, and it doesn't end there.
2. It also means that Your computer is not your own and that you can not fix Windows because it says right in the Microsoft End User Agreement that you sign by clicking "I Agree" that

"LIMITATION ON AND EXCLUSION OF DAMAGES. Except for any refund the
manufacturer or installer may provide, you cannot recover any other damages,
including consequential, lost profits, special, indirect or incidental damages.
This limitation applies to
· anything related to the software, services, content (including code) on third party
Internet sites, or third party programs; and
· claims for breach of contract, breach of warranty, guarantee or condition, strict liability,
negligence, or other tort to the extent permitted by applicable law.
It also applies even if
· repair, replacement or a refund for the software does not fully compensate you for any losses; or
· The manufacturer or installer, or Microsoft knew or should have known about the possibility of the damages.
Some states do not allow the exclusion or limitation of incidental or consequential damages, so the above limitation or exclusion may not apply to you. They also may not apply to you because your country may not allow the exclusion or limitation of incidental, consequential or other damages.

SCOPE OF LICENSE. The software is licensed, not sold. This agreement only gives you
some rights to use the software. The manufacturer or installer and Microsoft reserve all
other rights. Unless applicable law gives you more rights despite this limitation, you may
use the software only as expressly permitted in this agreement. In doing so, you must
comply with any technical limitations in the software that only allow you to use it in certain
ways. For more information, see the software documentation. You may not
· work around any technical limitations in the software;
· reverse engineer, decompile or disassemble the software, except and only to the extent
that applicable law expressly permits, despite this limitation;
· use components of the software to run applications not running on the software;
· make more copies of the software than specified in this agreement or allowed by
applicable law, despite this limitation;
· publish the software for others to copy;
· rent, lease or lend the software; or
· use the software for commercial software hosting services."

Translation from Evil Lawyer to Computer User:
Legally Microsoft isn't responsible for their actions and there is nothing you can do to fix anything or Microsoft will sew you. ALSO YOU DON"' OWN ANY MICROSOFT SOFTWARE YOU PURCHASED! JUST THE PIECE OF PAPER THAT CAME WITH IT! Don't believe me? Read it again.

So you pay for a disk but not the data on the disk because you don't own that. You can put the garbage on your computer off the disk but you can't fix it or make changes to it to server your purposes. You do however own a piece of paper with numbers on it.

How much does Microsoft software cost? How much does it cost to fix it? How much does it cost for Anti-Virus programs and other programs? How much does Windows Live cost for the XBOX 360 (Which by the way has a dangerous amount of radiation it gives off that can cause cancer and probably will. The proof is when you try to use your cell phone anywhere around one that's plugged in. Don't believe me read this: http://www.joystiq.com/2005/10/24/xbox-360-clashes-with-wireless-devices-at-wal-mart-according/)

The second reason that Mr. X left Microsoft is because they made him work long hours on good software that actually worked but Microsoft decided the public could not have it and they patented it and put it in their big vault of patents.

Yesterday someone asked me if I would go to work for Microsoft for $170,000 a year. What would your answer be if you were me?

Now Linux can run Windows / Microsoft software, free Linux software so you don't even need Microsoft software, it doesn't get viruses, and it's free. What more could you ask? Oh ya you don't need annoying driver disks to make it work and it does not get fragmented.



Revolution OS a quick history of Linux, what it is, and where it came from.


http://download.microsoft.com/Documents/UseTerms/Windows%20Vista_Home%20Basic_English_8231f252-7225-4c69-a4fd-6352a6721da4.pdf

Microsoft the truth shall set you free.

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