Microsoft Takes Linux For A Test Drive (TechWeb) [LWN.net]

Microsoft Takes Linux For A Test Drive (TechWeb)

Posted Aug 3, 2003 1:10 UTC (Sun) by coriordan (guest, #7544)
In reply to: Microsoft Takes Linux For A Test Drive (TechWeb) by lnx3733t
Parent article: Microsoft Takes Linux For A Test Drive (TechWeb)

Bad mouthing M$ is easy fun but it's not going to change anything.

If you present GNU/Linux just as an alternative to Windows, you will be told:
0. the lack of M$ Word format is too much of an inconvenience
1. people don't want to relearn software
2. people don't want to lose their configuration settings
3. etc.

To bring people from the dark side, they have to be shown why GNU/Linux is infinitely better than Windows (or MacOS, or Unix). Tell them about Free Software.

They'll say: "but I'm not a programmer, what good is source code to me?"
You can say: "It's not important that YOU have the freedom to change the code, it's that EVERYONE has the freedom to change the code. Proprietary software is engineered to be Just Good Enough that you will buy it but it must leave you wanting to buy more. In contrast, Free Software developers have to make their software as good and useful as possible so that someone else won't just make a more popular fork."

The lack of M$ compatibility is a small problem really, most office formats are supported by OpenOffice (especially the upcoming 1.2 release). This slight shortcoming is greatly outweighed by the number and variety of applications you get with Free Software distros.

Ciaran O'Riordan

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