134 lines
7.7 KiB
HTML
134 lines
7.7 KiB
HTML
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<title>8 Reasons to Make the Switch LG #30</title>
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<H4>
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"Linux Gazette...<I>making Linux just a little more fun!</I>"
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<P> <HR> <P>
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<H1><font color="maroon">8 Reasons to Make the Switch</font></H1>
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<H4>By <a href="mailto:bbennet@mb.sympatico.ca">Bill Bennet</a></H4>
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<P> <HR> <P>
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Here are 8 reasons to switch to Linux, the free OS:
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<ol>
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<li> It is free. Download from the Internet and install it now.
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<li> Free upgrades. Find the Kernel on the Internet and download the
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latest guts for the system.
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<li> It runs Win3x,95,98,etc. Some programs, not all. Your programs will
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run and look the same as in Windows. Find the Wine project. It is
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trying to be 100% free of Microsoft code, in order to further promote
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freedom of action on the PC. They use the API of Windows, and write
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the code for free! When a Windows program won't run in WINE or WABI
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the Linux system can be installed AFTER you install Windows. Then the
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LILO bootloader can boot either Linux or Windows, without any upset
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at all of your delicate and unstable Windows setup. A dual-boot PC is
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able to run almost everything and it tastes great, but is not less
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filling. Create with the GIMP, post it to the net, save it in DOS and
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use it in your office suite.
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<li> It runs DOS. Some programs, not all. See dual-boot, above. Your
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programs will run using the Dosemu. It makes the programs see a DOS
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system on your machine, and they go. Yes, even Warlords II will run
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just fine. You just need a paid-for DOS version to install and a hard
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disk partition is recommended.
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<li> It runs Unix. Your Linux is a PC version of the powerful Unix OS.
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The universities, NASA, the research institutes, computer scientists
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and software developers are using it since the old days of computing.
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You now have access on the Internet to thousands of programs. They
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range from obscure utilities to fully developed productivity systems.
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Oh, by the way, they are free to download and are written by the best
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minds in the computer world. "Microserfs"(recruited by the monopoly),
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are best left in their circular, singular limited world so that the
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real free thinkers can write you great innovative, unlimited programs
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that can solve real world problems.
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<li> It runs Macintosh. Yes, you just get the emulator and your Mac
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programs will see a Mac system on your PC. Playmaker Football, anyone?
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<li> It is fast when used as a network server or for multi-tasking. The
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ISP (Internet Service Provider) community is becoming a large growth
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area for Linux, with over 20% of them using it. That percentage is
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growing as the mainstream shrinks. The choice of Linux as your office
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productivity system is really a no-brainer: Speed, Versatility, Price
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(free), Upkeep (free), Support (free on the Internet) and Adaptation.
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Your upgrades are free and you keep up with all the innovations in the
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realm of computing by virtue of your ability to run all the different
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operating systems and their software on one machine. Any questions?
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<li> You contribute to the expression of freedom of thought and action
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when you choose Linux, the free OS. By way of contrast, just ask
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yourself 'How many times have I paid for an upgrade of my system?'. If
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the answer is one or more, then you paid too much. Again, ask yourself
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'Did I need to upgrade when the owners of the OS told me to upgrade?'.
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If your software was running just fine when you were told to upgrade,
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then who is running your life?
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</ol>
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<P>
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Finally, ask yourself 'Does following the dictates of the
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Windows-Intel monopoly make me an independent PC owner?'. If you can't
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run a piece of software that sounds like it does what you want done,
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because it is not available for your "operating system", then why do
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you continue to let yourself be limited by the owners of the monopoly
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"operating system"?
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<P>
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Switching to Linux lets you run the software that you hear
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about and lets you choose which programs you want; which programs you
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need; and most important, when to buy them.
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<P>
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Staying on Microsoft's schedule, for example, will have seen
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you purchase four upgrades to your "operating system" in the last ten
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years. DOS 6.22, Windows3x, Windows95 (DOS 7.0) and Windows98 have an
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inevitable progression built into their "release" so that you give
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your money to the richest man on the planet on a regular basis. That
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regular flow of cash is keeping Microsoft solvent, paying the
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investors and limiting choices for the 90% of PC users who are trapped
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in the Microsoft endless loop of upgrades.
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<P>
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Why am I so adamant in my condemnation of the monopoly? The
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reason is that in May of 1998, Microsoft "released" Windows98. That
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caused a huge buying surge for Microsoft, because their captive users
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were truly afraid of being left out of the "innovation" loop. At the
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same time, a press release on the TV claimed that Windows98 had fixed
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three thousand (3,000) bugs in the Windows95 "operating system". Only
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a true monopoly would even let you know that you had been inflicted
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with three thousand (3,000) bugs in your last software purchase. To
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top off the irony, the United States government and 20 of their states
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were taking Microsoft to court on anti-trust suits over their
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exclusion of choices for consumers on which browser to use on the
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Internet.
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<P>
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That left me with the logical question of whether you PC users
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had a choice of how to run your PC and get only the programs that
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you want or need. The answer is that the lawsuits are illogical, since
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you the consumer can run Linux, use just the Microsoft programs you
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want and run any browser you want and run any system you want, all on
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one PC. Therefore, Microsoft can wedge their captives into any type of
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mess that they wish, simply because you can choose to run Linux and
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still be connected to the masses by virtue of your versatility.
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<P>
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Your business can run the same software as your contacts and
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share the same type of files and be totally connected, even with the
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extra 10% of the market that is not on Windows-Intel. You win and
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you win with Linux.
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<!--===================================================================-->
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<P> <hr> <P>
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<center><H5>Copyright © 1998, Bill Bennet <BR>
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Published in Issue 30 of <i>Linux Gazette</i>, July 1998</H5></center>
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