I was replying to the post Future of Microsoft (http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=179699&page=6) by whoa_551, but my post got to be long, so I got the idea to change the post and put it here for all of you to read and comment to. The basic idea is that, one way or another people are finding Linux, we are growing! So without further ado I give you...the post:-D . (Warning, some of the stuff in this post is sarcastic, the rule of thumb is, if it is offensive or outright wrong, it probably is sarcastic but if you feel the need to point it out in order to make sure no one becomse confused please do)
NOTE: SKIP TO THE NEXT POST! Aysiu has edited my post to make it easier to read, I recommend that you read aysiu's post! It's the one right after this one. Enjoy! (THANX Aysiu!)
I used to LOVE Microsoft (their stuff always seemed professional) I don't know why, perhaps it is because to me, Microsoft was necessary for a comp. to run. I used to actually be upset when Microsoft got sued because I believed it would hurt the computer industry. To be honest, I still don't understand why it is a problem if they bundle Internet explorer and Windows Media player so long as they don't interfere with other brands. After all many distros by default ship only Firefox. (that may not be the same thing, but to me it seems the same) the problem is that People are lazy and won't go use another browser. In the end thou I agree they should at least offer a choice, if MS doesn't ship with a media player or an Internet browser, that would be rather crippling don't you think? Thats just from my point of view (and I don't know much about the issue Ill admit)) Anyways back to the story. Once a technician from Compaq was talking to me about My comp, (which ran windows 98) I told him how slow it was, he told me to go to Windows 95 (which made no sense since the comp. came with 98) Then he said, and if your up for a challenge get Linux. ( To me that would be like using MS 95 w/o the start button... (at least back then that was my image of Linux) The tech then went on to discuss how amazing Linux was (you should've heard his voice, I could not understand why he was so excited about a crippled OS) he told me that with Linux their are plenty of free desktops which looked better then windows, where as with Windows there was only one, and if I wanted more i had to download them. I thought he was talking about backgrounds, that made no sense, but what I thought was Linux must have so really good pictures of Sunsets on the beach and I should really get them. (But I couldn't figure out how Microsoft could charge me for a background....) I told him I didn't have the money, and he simply said Linux is free. My mouth dropped. He then said all you have to do is download the CD, (the wheels in my head began to turn, it was as if the Linux user inside of my was begging to come out) then he killed it, he said but becareful Linux is a bit more advance then Windows (it was as if the linux user in me had just been shot dead, never to resurface again. (Keep reading thou the story gets better) 3 years later, I'm talking to a friend, we were discussing something computer related. Then he said, my computer doesn't do that I run Linux ( I twitched) " You run Linux??! WHY?! Are you stupid!?" he laugh and explained that Windows was horrid on his computer and was constantly breaking. (This made no sense to me as there had almost never been a problem I couldn't fix on Windows. Generally it was a simple trip to the Control Panel, and if it was starting to get slow, no problem all computers do that (don't they?) I'll just reinstall!) then he told me all about security but I had never had a problem on Windows, then again my connection was slow and I was a conservative Internet user ( I never even used a virus scanner). Later on we went to his house where he had Arch Linux installed on his computer. I was amazed at how beautiful it was ( the fake-transparent gnome terminal was amazing...HAHA OH the good ole' days, had I seen XGL I would have died) I then asked him to get it for me, he began to explain the whole deal about distros an such 3 days later he asked me if I wanted Fedora Core or Mandriva (then Mandrake) So I looked at the websites and chose Fedora (had he given me Arch or Ubuntu life might have been easier, I would not have been so attached to Fedora) After a week of not Internet on Fedora because of dial-up issues (CURSE NETZERO) He got me Linspire which netzero supported. I got everything working on Linspire (it looked nice) and then I realized something..it was too slow, WAAAY TOO SLOW! So I promptly retreated to my Windows lair. 2 months later he suggested I try Ubuntu, at first Ubuntu didn't work either, then I got broadband and a wifi card. I had numerous troubles setting up a wifi network on many distros, the issue sent me on a wild Distro hunt that is only now coming to an end. The distro hopping however provided me with a wonderful opportunity to lose my Windows User Ignorance (WUI as I call it). The rest as they say is history.
Why did I tell you this story? Simple, it was not that Windows broke or that Windows gave me too many viruses, I didn't see an ad for Linux, it was simply a friend who inspired me to run Linux. Today I still use Linux, not because I think windows is horrible, but because I think Linux is better. I am in control on Linux. I know whats going on (most of the time). My windows partition is like an XBOX for me, I use it to play games which don't work on Linux. (In defense of Linux, I have many Windows 98 games that don't work on XP either but I can get to run on Cedega, somewhat) Linux allows the user to do what they want, its this freedom that makes Linux so wonderful. The fact that I can get free software without fearing a lawsuit is nice as well:). I don't think that anyone with Linux experience ( I mean someone who actually tried) can honestly say Linux "sux", or even that Windows is better. Windows is nice, I suspect that Microsoft will strip all of the flaws out of it (as in not fix anything just leave it more or less like it is) and hype it as a breakthrough in the usability of computers, discuss how stable it's become and that Windows users can now surf the net without worrying about a virus attack, (after all Trojans, ad ware, and spy ware are in style now not viruses) how they now have the best looking desktop that they could possible have,(mind you they cannot change anything about it but it still looks nice!) In the mean time we Linux users will look on shaking our heads as people rush to buy new computers to test out "the next best thing since Steve Ballmer's Dance Dance Revolution Debut".
Linux will rise steadily in the server market, as companies being to turn in their Unix servers for a nice Red Hat, Novell, or perhaps even Ubuntu servers. The rise in the server market IMO is what will help catapult Linux to the Desktop. I also truly believe that Ubuntu will help this in many ways ( IMHO it has already surpassed Windows in easy of setup and use, all that we need is more Game Developers like the Unreal devs, to make games for Linux and we will truly be ready to open the flood gates (pun intended) and let Ubuntu CDs flow through the streets and into the homes (through their Windows of course!) of PC users all over the world! So ladies an gentlemen, rest assured the best is yet to come. They thought we here at Linux were playing, now they see what XGL can do, they see how fast GNOME is becoming, they are seeing how amazing Open Office is getting to be, KDE is now much more powerful then the Windows XP DE. Linux has Vista beat before it has even come out. We aren’t even as strong as we can be! Keep the community strong and CONTRIBUTE! (I know I personally have not helped as much as I could, a few bug reports here and there) Now I realize I must learn to program (I’m learning Python and C++, as soon as I have that down I’ll move to ruby, C#, and maybe Java.) I advise others to learn to program if they can’t contribute in any other way. We don’t want Windows to be destroyed, just humbled. More important then humbling Microsoft thou is the fact that we need to get hardware vendors and software developers (mostly Game Devs.) to pay attention to us! It’s a community effort, there is plenty for everyone to do so let’s get to it!.
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