| wIndependence Day Essay: Microsoft Free since July 06, 2001 |
by Ron Lauzon (July 25, 2002)
DNRC: Lord of All Things That Are Fattening
RIAA, MPAA: 'Keep your grubby laws off my computer'.
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Microsoft Free since July 06, 2001
Running Mandrake Linux 8.2
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On July 6, 2001, I declared my independence from Microsoft.
I had been a devout Microsoft user for many, many years - from DOS 2.1 on up to Win2000. But in the last few years, I was getting more and more dissatisfied with Windows.
Mainly:
A growing theme in Windows that you had to use Microsoft tools to do anything.
A frustration that I could not automate simple tasks like I could in the Unix environments that I used. With Windows, you had to write a new app – and hope that the software you needed to interface with had an API that was documented.
A realization that with every ‘upgrade’ to Windows, I had to get more hardware and that I really didn't get much more use/stability/etc. from the ‘upgraded’ version. But the ‘straw that broke the camel's back’ and made me make the decision to leave Microsoft behind was WinXP.
Microsoft was going to lock XP to a particular PC. So that if you wanted to upgrade your hardware ‘too much’, you had to ask Microsoft's permission to use you’re legally purchased copy of XP on it. With Microsoft acting more like IBM of old, I asked myself how long it would be before they license XP based on how fast your PC is.
Then, to add insult to injury, WinXP would purposely not play MP3s correctly – kow-towing to the RIAA.
At that point, I realized that if I didn't break Microsoft's hold on me that they would end up telling me what I could or could not do with my PC.
I thought about my options: Mac or Linux. That was pretty much a no-brainer. Apple is just a Microsoft that didn't make it. I was already somewhat knowledgeable in Unix. So I decided to try out Linux again. I had tried Linux back in the early Mandrake 7.x days, but I was afraid of making the leap then.
At this point, I made my goals and plan of attack. I needed an attainable set of goals. Complete replacement of Microsoft software did not seem feasible. So I made two goals:Ideal goal: Replacement of all Microsoft products that I own.
Realistic goal:Eliminate my dependence on Microsoft products. (i.e. If I had to, I could do with out them.) If I could make my ideal goal, then great. But what I was really shooting for was the realistic goal.
Some months earlier, to make backups work easier for my system, I replaced my internal hard drives with removable drives. These are cartridges that you fill with standard IDE hard drives. You shut the system down and swap out the drives you want. This arrangement would let me bypass the hassles of Windows' queer notion that that it has to be the only OS on the drive.
So I made a trip to CompUSA to pick up Mandrake 8.0 and a new 40 GB hard drive. I picked a free weekend, pulled out my Win2000 drive, swapped in the new drive and installed Mandrake.
To my pleasant surprise, Mandrake installed far faster and easier than Win2000 on my hardware. Plus it booted in ¼ the time and ran twice as fast. A very good first impression.
I spent a few hours making myself familiar with Linux. I had never used KDE before, but it came quickly. I found that KDE's interface very smooth and much easier to use than Windows. For example: when moving/copying a file in Windows, you need to remember several rules - copy is default when dragging to a different drive, move is default when dragging to the same drive, unless you hold the Alt or Ctrl keys, etc. KDE just popped up a small context menu and asked every time – no rule list required.
Next, I went back to Win2000 and listed out the applications that I use:- Mail
- News
- Web browsing
- Money management
- Graphic editing
- Spreadsheets
- Word processing
- PDA desktop
Then I went back to Linux and looked to see what it offered for these applications. Again, to my pleasant surprise, Linux satisfied 95% of my application needs right out of the box – for free!- K-Mail for mail.
- Pan for news.
- Konqueror and Mozilla for web browsing.
- GIMP for graphic editing.
- Gnumeric or Star Office for spreadsheets.
- Star Office for word processing.
- Jpilot for my PDA desktop.
However, not all my needs were met. I couldn't find a good replacement for Quicken. I tried GnuCash and it didn't meet my needs then. I tried a few other freebees and didn't find a good match either.
I also ran into a few other minor problems.- My HP 2000cse printer worked under Linux, but to get photo quality printing, I had to use the Windows drivers.
- My USB scanner was unsupported as well.
- I also had some issues with my USB cradle for my Visor.
During all this time, I was using Linux more and more for my daily work on my PC – and liking far better than Windows. It booted up quicker. It ran faster. It didn't crash (don't believe anyone that says that you can't get a Blue Screen on Win2000 – you can and do). I dreaded going back to Windows for anything. But I still had to run a few Windows apps.
It didn't take me long to locate VMWare. It was a bit pricy at $300, but it still cheaper than a new printer. Plus it left me an 'out' if I needed to run some Windows software once in a while. In about a couple of hours (mostly Windows install time), I had a Win98 virtual machine (which, interestingly enough, runs faster as a virtual machine than when in full control). That temporarily took care of Quicken and the printer.
The Visor bugged me for a while. I plugged in my serial cradle and that got me by, but I really liked the USB speed. It took a while to figure out how to get it to work and the solution was much easier than I thought. All I had to do was edit the /etc/sysconfig/usb file to turn on Visor support. So the Pilot Desktop under Win98 went into the bit bucket. Replaced by pilot-xfer, Jpilot and a couple of shell scripts.
I took care of the scanner by simply getting rid of it. I really hadn't used it in the last year or so. There was no point in getting a new one that was supported.
The Quicken replacement took the longest. I finally settled on MoneyDance. If theKompany had gotten Kapital done sooner, I probably would have gone with that instead. After a couple of hours with the source for pilot-xfer and a minor change to a shell script, I had a utility that converted my Palm's Expense database into a QIF file that MoneyDance could import.
By July, I met my goal of eliminating my dependance on Microsoft. 99.9% of my work is done with Linux. The 0.1% left is for the few times I need to print photo quality pictures on my printer and when I do my taxes (darn Intuit still doesn't support Linux). In a year or so, I will be replacing my printer and I will get one that is fully supported under Linux.
As I tell people at work, I will never, ever go back to Windows. There's nothing that Windows can do that Linux can't to better, faster and cheaper. My usual response to a a Windows problem at work is 'Gee, I don't have that problem with Linux'.
I tell people how good Linux is so often that I wrote this up:
Linux Buddhism I do not like to suffer.
Being a computer professional,
When my computer crashes, I suffer.
When my computer runs slow, I suffer.
When my computer gets infected with a virus, I suffer.
When my computer gets hacked, I suffer.
I realized that nearly all of my suffering was caused by Microsoft.
Microsoft wrote the OS that crashes.
Every version of Windows runs slower than the previous on the same hardware.
Microsoft's policy is that security is an afterthought -
Microsoft allows malicious people to infect my system or break into it.
Microsoft software costs an exorbitant amount of money for what I get.
So in June of 2001, I decided to make the switch to Linux.
I have yet to regret my decision.
Every day, at work, I renew my happiness that I use Linux at home. (They pay me to use Windows at work. I can put up with suffering if enough money is involved.)
My system almost never crashes (only when I do something really stupid as root).
My system boots up and runs over twice as fast as Win2000.
My system never gets infected by a virus.
My system is pretty much hack proof.
I no longer suffer since I started using Linux.
I don't believe that anyone likes to suffer.
I want people to be happy.
So I tell people they should use Linux.
Some people listen.
Some people don't.
Do not expect me to preach Linux.
Do not expect me to laugh at you for not running Linux.
The path to enlightenment is something that must be discovered on ones own.
But...
When you complain that your PalmOS device doesn't sync with Windows...
When you complain that your PC crashes...
When you complain that your PC runs slower with the latest Windows . . .
When you complain that your PC has been infected with a virus - again . . .
When you complain that your PC has been hacked - again . . .
When you complain about how much money you spent upgrading to the latest Microsoft product . . .
Expect me to calmly smile.
Expect me to quietly remind you of the path to enlightenment
The path that leads away from suffering (i.e. Microsoft).
The path to Linux.
So on July 6, 2002, I will be celebrating my one full year of enlightenment.
One full year of being independent of Microsoft.
One full year of happiness.
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Please note: The opinions expressed in this essay are those of the writer, not of the management or staff of DesktopLinux.com.
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