Trust the local experts



Summary: RMS (Richard Stallman), the founder of GNU, suggests using expertise in the nearby community to get things set up and running reliably

GNU/Linux is becoming more widely available (our Daily Links are full of examples), especially this year. It's possible to find expensive machines with the operating system preinstalled (not that it's hard to set it up all by oneself these days) and cheaper options exist as well, albeit lesser publicised and perhaps less broadly available for shipping.

"Very few people actually install (or ever installed) Windows; as in, added drivers and all."The above video is particularly interesting because RMS (Richard Stallman) admitted he had never installed GNU/Linux. He has people to help him out and he suggests that others do the same. My current main workstation runs Debian and my wife installed it as an exercise. It wasn't too hard. These things get easier and easier each year. Back in my university days the technicians would set up and occasionally maintain GNU/Linux for staff; it makes the installations more robust and provides decent jobs to a lot of people. Very few people actually install (or ever installed) Windows; as in, added drivers and all. People seem to forget that almost nobody installs Windows as it's not easy; they just come to assume PCs will come with Windows (and restore CDs or an equivalent of that, shipped by OEMs). ⬆