Linux it's free... Good Thing Because It's Full Of Bugs.. 4620

On Sat, 10 Sep 2005 15:59:13 +0000, Glenn

It's a question worth considering. In general, the answer is, if you have what you need in Windows, use Windows. But there's more to it than that, IMO. For one thing, it's frequently better, not 'almost as good'.

This isn't the first time I've come across this idea of a person's time being calculated in monetary terms. Seems a bit odd to me. Isn't learning itself worth something - a satisfaction gained in obtaining new skills? And while you're learning the new skills, the old ones don't suddenly vanish.

I'm reminded of a discussion between two characters in the SF drama Babylon 5. Ranger Marcus Cole offers to teach his friend Susan Ivanova to speak Minbari, an alien language. She replies something to the effect of, it would probably take her a year to get anywhere with it. Marcus says, where will she be in a year's time if she doesn't learn it? Will any less time have pbutted?

In other words, time goes by whether or not you learn new skills, so why not learn them?

There's also the fact that Linux has now reached a level where it isn't difficult for most people to use. Smetimes of course you'll find situations where some greater effort is required, but for most of the everyday tasks people do on a PC, Linux is there now.

So, why should anyone switch? you ask. Because it offers advantages that many users find worth any effort it's necessary to make. Few worries, if any, about malware and viruses, an OS which is *your* property, to do with pretty much as you wish so long as you honour the GPL. The upholding of an ethical stance. A stable OS with a huge range of choices. These are just *some* of the reasons a use may find to switch

Free as in genuine freeware or dodgy stuff? There are thousands of packages that you can install for Linux, totally freely.

-- Kier