White House Linux Migration Petition

[manzdagratiano]

I think accepting that such a petition is not useful is accepting defeat - we might as well give up and forget about Bug #1 and the like. After all, there were petitions against SOPA and PIPA which prevented them from passing! (granted they were backed by corporate power). As a community oriented towards the development and promotion of Ubuntu and GNU/Linux as a whole, I believe we need to keep trying - maybe someday we shall make a dent.

Moreover, the issue does not just end there - yes, you have the initial cost of moving over from Windows to Linux - no one needs to do this in a day; this process can be gradual. Also, no one would need to actually "train" that manpower per se - Linux is ubiquitous, and enough people are already exposed to its existence. So if there is a need fostered by a powerful entity like the Government for people with this specific skill to apply, then such people will apply, and more will train towards that endeavor. I have seen countless sysadmins who know next to nothing about the GNU/Linux philosophy, and yet they monitor GNU/Linux clusters in organizations every day - why do they do so? They are driven by that same void created by the ecosystem.

I think the logic is reversed here - people usually do not acquire a skill because they like to; they do so because they need to - they train to become Computer Scientists, Managers etc etc because there is a need for these skills, and the fulfilment of these needs pays well.

EDIT: And yes - the closed source issue. Indeed, a Linux system can be vulnerable to attacks as well, but the benefit here is the peer-review process - at least known loopholes in the system will be closed instantaneously, and pretty much are every day - there have been numerous exploits by which a normal user can gain elevated access, but these issues vanish as quickly as they are found. With systems like Windows, who knows what's there? New vulnerabilities are discovered and exploited every day in the form of even more trojans and worms. Yes, attackers might move their focus to Linux, but they have essentially the same tools you have, and if there are hackers on both sides, no one really has the advantage.

The Chinese government has the Windows source, does the US too? I think not, and I think that being on an equal footing is important.

[haqking]

I think accepting that such if a petition is not useful is accepting defeat - we might as well give up and forget about Bug #

Defeat ?

Did i miss the war of pushing open source onto the world ?

Its too expensive for them, legacy issues, document collaboration, training, change of policies and procedures, user level restriction (cant beat group policy) ad nauseum ad infinitum

A petition is about as useful as voting

Peace

[manzdagratiano]

Did i miss the war of pushing open source onto the world ?

Yes. In Ubuntu Land, this war goes by the name of Bug #1. I think it is very much real.

Also, I believe there is an organization by the name of FSF, which strives towards this goal every day. In fact, if this war had not started with the launch of the GNU project, we would all be typing from very different OSes right now (and who knows what else - the butterfly effect).

A petition is about as useful as voting

I realize the fun here, but that is really bad philosophy - individual dynamics influences group dynamics. The individual votes, but the mass elects. If you abstain from voting, you essentially make it easier for someone unworthy to win - step by step. Droplets make the ocean and what not and all that jazz...

[forrestcupp]

I think accepting that such a petition is not useful is accepting defeat - we might as well give up and forget about Bug #1 and the like. After all, there were petitions against SOPA and PIPA which prevented them from passing! (granted they were backed by corporate power). As a community oriented towards the development and promotion of Ubuntu and GNU/Linux as a whole, I believe we need to keep trying - maybe someday we shall make a dent.

Most of us probably feel like SOPA and PIPA were more significant to our personal lives than trying to force people to use Linux.

And I think you have the wrong idea about Bug #1.

What should happen:
1. A majority of the PCs for sale should include only free software like Ubuntu.
2. Ubuntu should be marketed in a way such that its amazing features and benefits would be apparent and known by all.
3. The system shall become more and more user friendly as time passes.

It's not about trying to force people to use Linux. It's about making Ubuntu so awesome and readily available that people want to use it. The minute you force someone to use Ubuntu is when you take away their freedom. And I thought it was all supposed to be about "freedom".

[angryfirelord]

Germany already tried that and it didn't work out for them: http://www.linuxjournal.com/content/...not-going-plan

Just use what works. I'd argue that security exploits are the result of poor security protocols. Linux isn't bulletproof out of the box, you'll still need to lock things down like you do in Windows. (The only one that probably is would be OpenBSD)

Yes. In Ubuntu Land, this war goes by the name of Bug #1. I think it is very much real.

Also, I believe there is an organization by the name of FSF, which strives towards this goal every day. In fact, if this war had not started with the launch of the GNU project, we would all be typing from very different OSes right now (and who knows what else - the butterfly effect).

Why is it a "war"? Seriously, it's just an operating system.

[CharlesA]

Moved to recurring. It's come up before.

[whatthefunk]

And I thought it was all supposed to be about "freedom".

Ahhh...Americans and freedom. What is this freedom you talk about?
Can you move your side bar thingy without installing additional software? Not free.

[forrestcupp]

Can you move your side bar thingy without installing additional software? Not free.

Some people might opine that that is more free than having to reprogram the code to do the same thing.

[manzdagratiano]

And I think you have the wrong idea about Bug #1.
It's not about trying to force people to use Linux. It's about making Ubuntu so awesome and readily available that people want to use it. The minute you force someone to use Ubuntu is when you take away their freedom. And I thought it was all supposed to be about "freedom".

Nobody would like to see Ubuntu or GNU/Linux be "forced" upon the masses - forcing would only serve to replace one tyrant (Microsoft) by another (us, in that event).

I never said Bug #1 is about trying to force people to use Linux anyway - I completely agree with said philosophy! But this Bug is a mission at the very least, if not a war... And the fact that the government should move to GNU/Linux is not something I would like to see for my personal gag-reel, but is something that is logically beneficial - at least in the long term - for reasons I have already iterated here.

Making Ubuntu awesome enough for people to want to use it is not enough - it already IS awesome enough. It is breaking this monopoly that Microsoft commands that is the issue - the vendor lock-in stating they cannot sell empty laptops/dual-boot laptops, etc etc etc. Microsoft made it such that if IBM were to sell Windows machines, they could not install OS/2 - their own software - on their own machines. If people see nothing but Microsoft peddled out as the standard, they would never switch to the alternative, no matter how awesome, since it is not the `standard'.

Asking the Government to move to a level playing field is a logical step - at least a large chunk that follow the news will hear about such a thing, and then wonder "why did they do so? There must be a reason" - it's not about forcing people to use Linux, it's about opening their eyes to see that Linux exists!

[manzdagratiano]

Sorry for double-posting, but this deserved its own reply.

Ahhh...Americans and freedom. What is this freedom you talk about?
Can you move your side bar thingy without installing additional software? Not free.

Maybe not in Unity yes - Unity itself is not obligated to give you this option of moving the sidebar - the devs make this stuff and give it away for free, so they give to you what they feel is best.

But if one doesn't like it, one can at least do the following with complete freedom:

Install Blackbox/Openbox/Ratpoison; install a custom panel (tint2/trayer), write a config file to place it wherever you want, and voila! You have a custom side bar wherever you want, all with free software! (I already do, besides Unity).

Don't like tint2/trayer and want a launcher like the Unity sidebar? Install Enlightenment as your DE, with its iBar - a near-perfect replacement.

That is freedom. Freedom not just to be able to change the source-code, which almost no mere end-user does, but freedom also of choice - choice to obtain what you want how you want it.