On Sun, 2003-11-02 at 23:25, Alan Dayley wrote:

Sorry to let so much time pass but I finally had a few moments to read
through all of this.
> The more people I get to use and store data in open formats, the more likely I 
> will be able to get to my data with the tool of my choice at the time of my 
> choosing.  That is a direct benefit to me, the economy and to you!
> 
----
well stated
----
> Free Software Security
> - ---------------------
> Each person that I can get off the pay-upgrade or be vulnerable forked path, 
> is potentially one less box that will mess up the net for me, the economy and 
> you.
> 
----
The profit needs of corporations conflict with the desires of the user
base. Open source obviously offers another option.

While I think I am enthused by the changes with Red Hat Fedora, Debian
clearly becomes more attractive simply because it isn't subject to any
corporate whim or need to derive profit.
----
> Free Software Anti-Entropy
> - ---------------------
> 
----
If you intend to reuse this section - it need to be condensed a bit and
spell checked for errors.
----
> EULAs
> - --------
> 
> My father uses Windows XP.  He does not understand (I have tried to make him 
> understand) that he has given Microsoft has the right to make changes to his 
> computer, alter data and programs and track the hardware he uses.  On a 
> day-to-day basis, most users probably don't care about these sorts of 
> provisions, nor are they effected by them.  But they could be.
----
Face it - most people just want to use a computer that works - they
aren't interested in the economics, politics unless/until they are
forced to. The switch from Win98 to WinXP or Mac OS9 to Mac OSX might
motivate people if the cost of repurchase of software and hardware gets
too high or they are locked out of some of their files. Luckily for
Microsoft, the hardware prices are so low that it obscures how much
money their software costs.
----
> Fair Use and Privacy
> - ------------
> If you see holes in the opinions I expressed above, point them out.  It really 
> comes down to freedom.  Do I want my data, my computer, the internet and 
> therefore my life corporatized to make money for others OR do I want to keep 
> my freedom?  And, why would I NOT want to share that freedom with others?
> 
> So, my question back is, why would I not want to "be doing most people a 
> favor" by getting them to switch to Linux?
----
Once again we are back to the political issues that most people are
concerned with until it concerns them.

I suppose that the anti-abortionist believes that he is doing someone a
favor by proselytizing his position or getting his government to pass a
law that prohibits it. If nothing else, telling people that you possess
a better solution implies a certain amount of arrogance and often
suggests that the non-user is ignorant. It is after all about choice and
while people are generally resistant to change, they do eventually
recognize a better value or a better product.

Specifically, people generally don't recognize:
- that there is a very robust offering of software for free (or mostly
free)
- that this software continually evolves/improves.
- that the open source / Free Software actually is a choice they can
make.
- that open source / Free Software is available because there isn't any
profit structure to pay for marketing/advertising.

More importantly, Matthew Szulik, CEO of Red Hat offered that Linux
isn't yet ready for the desktop users - i.e. the masses because the ease
of use, drivers for various hardware, etc. still hasn't arrived. His
point is mostly valid - Linux is probably at the stage when Windows 95
was released but thankfully, technological advances at a much quicker
pace these days and it is catching up fast.

The Macintosh suffers not only from all of the proprietary arguments but
also from partial integration into the BSD underneath it and an ambition
of little to distinguish itself other than being not-Microsoft. 

Finally, I look at your conclusion to "why would I not want to be doing
most people a favor by getting them to switch to Linux?"

Lemme see...I can't run Pro Tools on Linux. I can't run Filemaker Pro on
Linux, nor Quark Express, etc. Other people are likely to give you
similar arguments. Also, they want plug & play accessories. 

Craig