Rationale to use Linux
=======================
- I can't afford paying for $199 for the license of an OS that's
arguably better thank Linux for each of 10 computers I have.
- I want to be free of Microsoft stigma, and of constant lockdown on
Microsoft products. The world is better than that.
- Linux runs .NET :-) Reverse engineers in less than a year. That's
the power of the OpenSource!
- I want to be able to double click on a source file for ntfs driver
and build my own filesystem. Just for fun of it. And not sign NDA from
Microsoft. Open source gives me that freedom. I want to learn and to
understand. Linux is all open source available to download and it
takes about 15 minutes to compile the kernel. And make changes if you
wish. And sometimes I do!!!
- I can't afford paying $499 for an Office suite with at least 2
excellent Linux based free office suites floating around: OpenOffice
and KOffice.
- Unlike Steve Ballmer, I believe that OS software is a commodity, and
therefore is not worth paying for anyway. Most of the innovation is
coming from the Linux community: just look at freshmeat or
sourceforge. Where an average Microsoft developer writes anorther
FlexGrid or DataGrid, Linux folks build gnutella filesystems mountable
as a regular drive. I don't even know how to explain this to a
Microsoftie.
- I can't afford paying $$$ for the Visual Studio when there's at
least 3-5 excellent products in Linux: Eclipse IDE (sponsored by IBM,
but OpenSource), NetBeans IDE, KDevelop, Penta, Bluefish and others.
Replacing Windows with Linux
============================
I'm happy to say that it's been a few years I'm using Linux: at least
in my house, where the number of computers nears 10, I can safely say:
I'm Microsoft free! And that means that I just saved $199*10=$1990
dollars I would pay for Microsoft's XP licenses alone. Not to mention
all that crap that surrounds Linux is a lot of fun in a lot of ways.
First it gives you that freedom. No caps please :-) Linus Torvalds is
a programmer, whereas Bill Gates is Chief (!) Software (!) Architect
(!). What a pretentious snob!
- Replacing home theater software
Linux comes with DVD/DivX/Video playing software bundled! You don't
have to download drivers, or codecs: Xine or MPlayer support 10 times
more codecs bundled than Windows Media Player. Believe me, these
players are better.
Hey, guess what: in Linux world you don't have to pay $$$ for an
ability to burn a DVD, or CDR. It's one command dude, dvdrecord (or
tens of GUIs).
- Replacing MP3 software
Linux has excellent tools for MP3 files.
- P2P
Linux has everything Windows has in terms of P2P + more!!! eMule,
eDonkey, BitTorrent, LimeWire, MLDonkey (powerful multi protocol sever
app, runs with or w/o GUI).
- Office
Like I said: OpenOffice, KOffice (all include stuff like Visio,
PowerPoint, Excel, Word, Project etc.)
- Development
Linux = 10*Windows
- Bluetooth/WiFi
Linux natively supports Bluetooth and WiFi. In addition !!! that
Microsoft/Apple bluetooth keyboard works on Linux!
- Security
What should I say. I don't have to pay $30/yr to McAffee: there're
virtually NO viruses on Linux. Linux is much more powerful in terms of
network security/configuration features (ipfilters in the kernel).
- Servers
Mail servers, SQL servers, anything you want. Linux has one price tag:
FREE.
Forget Microsoft. Move on. Linux.
