| wIndependence Day Essay: The Ballad of My wIndependence |
by Arjun Nath (August 1, 2002)
Listen all ye gentlefolk, Oh come listen to me.
Here is the short story of how my freedom came to be.
Listen all ye from far away and listen ye from near,
And listen all ye folks out there who hold your freedom dear.
This happened a fair while ago when I was a lad in school,
They didn't give me the best; they thought I was a fool.
They bought from the Redmond Giant, a big Ogre was he.
They forced me to use his wares, and he tried to bind me.
He's big and bad and selfish, a bully with no spine,
And the only thing that's dear to him is the bottom line.
He'll squeeze you as much he can and bend you to his will.
He cares naught for you my friend, only money in his till.
You may not do as you please, you must toe the line,
And even if you do as he says, things aren't guaranteed to be fine.
And if your human curiosity, dares to show its face,
The greedy giant and his lawyer trolls would put you in your place.
One fine day, I got my hands on a little bird named Tux,
But I was new to computing machines and I didn't know enough.
I wasn't quite ready yet; the penguin was new to me.
I tried to load the desktop but hadn't any luck.
Exams were round the corner and time was running thin,
So I packed the little penguin and vowed I would return.
I swore I'd try and try again or in hell I would burn.
Then when my tests were done and there was time to kill,
I unpacked the little penguin, I simply had to tweak his bill.
This time I knew a bit more, I had confidence and skill,
In a little while, I strived and tried, and finally climbed the hill.
Now I love little penguin Tux, each day I love him more,
He stands for freedom to peek and poke, and freedom to explore.
There's freedom to explore, my friends, or not if you will.
You can make or break or excavate and feel the creator's thrill.
You can write your code in Java, in C or C plus plus,
Or you may choose from many others, Assembler if you must.
There's always a decent choice for you, whatever be your task.
Just open up your eyes my friends, you only have to ask.
Tux was made by many good folk, spread across the lands.
By people who live far away, working in a band.
Excellence is their motto and nothing less will do.
Money is not the point with them, believe me 'tis true.
So listen all ye from far away and listen ye from near,
And listen all ye folks out there who hold your freedom dear.
The bad news is: there are others, of the greedy ilk,
They'll try and try to sell you the muck they should never have built.
They'll squeeze and press and bend you, and then squeeze some more
And when they've done with you, they'll leave and lock the door.
So beware, my friends, of those bad men who only care for cash,
Innovation takes a backseat and they don't give a dash.
No freedom to discover, no freedom to invent.
No freedom to share with friends, your money is ill spent.
Turn to the little penguin, friends, heed my good advice,
Its easier than you might think, you needn't worry twice.
You're free to learn and free to share, not a penny need you pay,
And there's good help everywhere, to aid you on your way.
That's the end of my little story and I hope the gist is clear.
I've explained to ye from far away and to ye from near,
And I pray its clear to all ye folks who hold your freedom dear.
Talk back! Do you have comments or questions about this story? talkback here
Please note: The opinions expressed in this essay are those of the writer, not of the management or staff of DesktopLinux.com.
(Click here for further information)
|
|
|
Approaching the Linux Desktop
The purpose of this paper is to help organizations evaluate the Linux desktop against their own enterprise needs and discover what benefits the Linux desktop might bring to their organizations.
Migrating To Linux: Application Challenges and Solutions
Several solutions exist to help organizations migrate in an orderly fashion from Windows to Linux desktops. This paper establishes the characteristics of an ideal cross-platform solution and reviews these alternatives in light of this ideal standard. The paper takes a closer look at the pros and cons of various solutions and outlines the business benefits that can be achieved.
Linux Advantages: Publicly Available Information on Linux Software
This paper offers a brief summary of readily-available Linux information to help businesses sort out this widely misunderstood operating system.
Top 5 Strategies for Managing Linux
Despite continuous evolution in the manageability of Linux, a 2006 survey cited manageability concerns as a top reason why organizations are hesitating to adopt Linux. Levanta believes Linux can be as manageable, if not more so, than other operating systems by following key strategies. These strategic recommendations were developed from experiences in numerous customer environments, both large and small.
Why Choose Novell for Linux?
This paper outlines the benefits of switching to the Linux platform and choosing Novell as a high-performance, enterprise solution.
Enterprise Linux Selection Guide
Considering moving your enterprise to the Linux operating system? Since there are so many similar versions, choosing the right one can be tough. This paper offers a clear process to help you make an informed decision and get the features, support, and cost that are right for your business and technical needs.
Overcoming Challenges in Managing Linux
Levanta has created a new administration model with innovative technology that breaks down the barriers to making the most of Linux systems. This paper will provide an in-depth look at the workings of Levanta’s product, the first Linux appliance of its kind.
SUSE Linux Enterprise 10 for Retail Businesses
Discover why major retailers have switched to SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop in the back office. SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10 is a low-cost desktop that offers a complete set of productivity applications and interoperates seamlessly with the other Windows, Macintosh and UNIX desktops in your store.
Moving to a Linux Desktop
Migrating from Windows to Linux on the desktop can be a substantial undertaking because it has the potential for touching -- and perhaps disrupting -- every user in your organization. Unlike a data center (server and infrastructure) migration that is largely transparent to users, the cultural and administrative transitions and environment readiness required to support a Linux desktop migration are extensive.
Seven Good Reasons to Exchange Exchange
This paper describes seven compelling reasons why you should switch from Exchange to Scalix.
|
|
|
|
|
news feed