Chowderpilot
April 19th, 2007, 02:36 AM
The question in the subject line was a question posed to me by one of my co-workers the other day when I installed the 7.04 beta on my Dell D810 laptop. Perhaps some of you can relate to the adversity that results from fear of change or lack of education on the matter. Hopefully what I say here can help you not necessarily "defend" Linux and Open Source Software, but to educate them and eliminate misconceptions many people have.
He continued "It looks a lot like windows...." He is a sales guy, and I'm an engineer, so already we speak two different languages when it comes to technology (you engineers and developers out there know what I"m talking about!). He was basically attempting to dismiss it as a Windows clone or "wannabe". I informed him that after already having had XP installed, and then giving Vista a try I was not satisfied with either O/S, and that there are other choices out there. Ubuntu is my O/S of choice. I continued to inform him that I didn't mind XP however, I had serious concerns about security, and with Vista, I found that my fairly well equiped D810 laptop was not powerful enough (even though it's less than a year old) to handle Vista.
I also quickly reminded him of the other day when I had to update his Anti-Virus software and install AdAware, and tun on the Windows "Firewall" (what a joke), and that I did not have to install a myriad of software to protect my Linux PC. He responded by saying that there aren't any viruses for LInux because it's not as popular as Windows. My answer to him was a bit over his head, however I explained how difficult it is to execute arbitrary code on *nix file systems. Windows has 3 main types of executables, .exe .msi, and .bat. all of which can be executed through any number of security holes. Ubuntu, like all *nix file systems are not dependent on file extension, and that in fact you have to run commands (like chmod) to tell the O/S that the file you wish to execute IS and executable! Oh, and by the way you have to know the sudo password to make any major system changes.
Next, I let him know that while he is fumbling around looking for license keys to install all his Windows software, that I have easy access to thousands of free and opensource software packages to accomplish pretty much anything I could have done in windows. And guess what, it comes with a powerful office suite that installs with the OS. So while he's looking for his Nero key, I'm burning CD's with K3b, or editing a PowerPoint document sent by a colleague in Presentation.
Oh yeah, by the way, try getting support from Microsoft, Dell, or any of the manufactures of the software on your Windows PC. I can go to an online community of thousands to ask questions and get answers quickly. Or, if they don't have an answer immediately, they'll help me find one!
While I wanted to say Linux is "superior" to windows (and we all know it is mostly) I simply said this is the best OS for me. I could have gone on and on about the advantages of Ubuntu, but I let him know that if he ever wanted to try it out that I was there to help him, and left it at that.
I am very excited about the release of Feisty and hope that you all have a wonderful experience as I have with Ubuntu.
PS, almost the entire engineering team has seen Ubuntu on my PC and is considering switching to Ubuntu as their main OS. I am assisting them in getting up and running, it's been a lot of fun!
He continued "It looks a lot like windows...." He is a sales guy, and I'm an engineer, so already we speak two different languages when it comes to technology (you engineers and developers out there know what I"m talking about!). He was basically attempting to dismiss it as a Windows clone or "wannabe". I informed him that after already having had XP installed, and then giving Vista a try I was not satisfied with either O/S, and that there are other choices out there. Ubuntu is my O/S of choice. I continued to inform him that I didn't mind XP however, I had serious concerns about security, and with Vista, I found that my fairly well equiped D810 laptop was not powerful enough (even though it's less than a year old) to handle Vista.
I also quickly reminded him of the other day when I had to update his Anti-Virus software and install AdAware, and tun on the Windows "Firewall" (what a joke), and that I did not have to install a myriad of software to protect my Linux PC. He responded by saying that there aren't any viruses for LInux because it's not as popular as Windows. My answer to him was a bit over his head, however I explained how difficult it is to execute arbitrary code on *nix file systems. Windows has 3 main types of executables, .exe .msi, and .bat. all of which can be executed through any number of security holes. Ubuntu, like all *nix file systems are not dependent on file extension, and that in fact you have to run commands (like chmod) to tell the O/S that the file you wish to execute IS and executable! Oh, and by the way you have to know the sudo password to make any major system changes.
Next, I let him know that while he is fumbling around looking for license keys to install all his Windows software, that I have easy access to thousands of free and opensource software packages to accomplish pretty much anything I could have done in windows. And guess what, it comes with a powerful office suite that installs with the OS. So while he's looking for his Nero key, I'm burning CD's with K3b, or editing a PowerPoint document sent by a colleague in Presentation.
Oh yeah, by the way, try getting support from Microsoft, Dell, or any of the manufactures of the software on your Windows PC. I can go to an online community of thousands to ask questions and get answers quickly. Or, if they don't have an answer immediately, they'll help me find one!
While I wanted to say Linux is "superior" to windows (and we all know it is mostly) I simply said this is the best OS for me. I could have gone on and on about the advantages of Ubuntu, but I let him know that if he ever wanted to try it out that I was there to help him, and left it at that.
I am very excited about the release of Feisty and hope that you all have a wonderful experience as I have with Ubuntu.
PS, almost the entire engineering team has seen Ubuntu on my PC and is considering switching to Ubuntu as their main OS. I am assisting them in getting up and running, it's been a lot of fun!