Linux on Yahoo

[jeremy1701]

Yahoo's tech Tuesday:
Computing Without Windows

[techieMoe]

Connection refused from news.yahoo.com...

[genesus]

Connection refused from news.yahoo.com...

not here

[eatinglemur]

Good topic... I wrote a similar article for my school newspaper this semster (except about office suites/word processors instead of operating systems), and I like to see articles like this get published. It's practical, straightforward, and it's not all preechy or filled with zealotry.

However, I think it's somewhat of a mistake to put a link to Slackware in the article, especially before the paragraphs that says "Linux is so easy and does everything for you automatically!" Seeing as it's written to be read by people who don't know much about computers (let alone linux), steering them off in that direction seems a little foolish. Slackware is an excellent distro, but not for the likes of Mr. Finance Specialist.

[jamey112]

this is a good article.

I wrote a similar article for my school newspaper this semster (except about office suites/word processors instead of operating systems),

Which ones did you write about it? Just curious.

[techieMoe]

Connection refused from news.yahoo.com...

not here

It picked up just now.

[eatinglemur]

Which ones did you write about it? Just curious.

Well, I work in an English writing lab, and Microsoft is a really common frustration at my job. Lots of students have Works at home, and we only have Office, so they can't open their files, and it's too much of a pain to download the appropriate compatibility software.

Basically the article is about pointing out the necessity for open document formats and compatibility. Nowadays you can't go through life without at least a word processor, and Microsoft has most peoples' wallets in a vice. The unfriendly pricing and embarassing compatibility problems were what I used as my basis for leveraging my recommendation for openoffice (and Abiword too, because I love Abiword). I also included your standard pro-open source argument (ie free, benefits the community, saves us from evil corporations, etc etc...can't advocate FOSS without it).

[jeremy1701]

I gave a presentation on the same topic a while back at this tech convention. It was basically just showing tech support how easy and versitle Open Source Applications are compared to their proprietary counter parts. *cough* MS Office *cough* I got a mixed reaction.

I think one of the greatest obstacles in our path is the security people feel from actually purchasing something. Even though you can't take it back, even though there's little to no tech support, and even though OS is better in every way, there's still no reciept - and hence no one to blame if something goes wrong.

How many Office Manager's actually make a living off passing the buck?

Jeremy

[eatinglemur]

Well, in our society, people are very money-oriented. Paying money makes people feel like they are getting something, and when something is free (ie un-earned), they fail to value it properly. Being a consumer and purchasing products keeps most people within their comfort zone, and they'll be happy regardless of whether or not it has intrinsic negative quality.

It's possible to write a very long and detailed analysis as to why people are afraid of open source...culture, politics, economics, and everything in between.

[a thing]

Nowadays you can't go through life without at least a word processor

It's called a web design program (Quanta Plus)