Bonum Certa Men Certa

Tales of Fedora and Windows

Driver



Summary: Rants about Windows help people appreciate the ease of GNU/Linux

"I'M installing Windows Vista Service Packs and online updates for more than 24 hours Can't stand it no more," wrote Razvan Sandu a few days ago, "Where's Fedora?"



I've personally been very pleased with Fedora 14, which I use on my main PC at work. It impresses Windows users and it takes just minutes to install.

“Are people aware of other options at all?”Sandu is not a Windows user. He apparently installs Windows either for another person or for side reasons like the running of some stubborn, Windows-only application. Back around the time that Vista 7 was released, one reputable site said that installing it (with some basic software, no OEM as intermediate point) should take around 8 hours, which in many countries means an entire working day. Why would anyone accept this? Are people aware of other options at all? The task of installing 10 applications on Windows can take about 10 times as long as doing the same thing on GNU/Linux, assuming all the software needs to be downloaded using a Web browser, which also adds another layer of potential threat.

"Microsoft Genuine Disadvantage Strikes Again" rants our reader Wayne this week, having been lured into helping with an installation of Windows. To quote part of his story:

OK, so I got suckered into helping someone fix their computer. My son asked me, nicely, to help him. His friend had gotten virussed, and the computer wouldn’t boot. When I asked him why run Windows, it was the usual answer. World of Warcraft.

Mike’s pretty good with computers. He’s twenty-three years old. He has never lived in a house without at least one working computer. He’s installed every version of Windows from 3.0 on up to Windows 7 at least once.

But he’s not as good as the old man. So my promise to never touch another damned machine running Windows, ever again, goes out the Windows.

Actually he’d gotten everything right, which is exactly what I’d expected. There was only one problem. Microsoft uses poor quality stickers. They deteriorate because of CPU heat. They deteriorate because of sunlight. They deteriorate because of anything.


Making the move to GNU/Linux is a smart step for anyone who is not using it already. Making the move to GNU/Linux is also what people ought to propose to those who ask for help with Windows. More and more people seem to be making use of GNU/Linux a precondition for free technical support. Microsoft currently claims to have created "4,000 new UK jobs", but jobs in this context means supporting a defective system.

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