[BadVista Advocate] Vista owners

[Don Hensley]

Something I'm a bit curious about: Does anyone on this list actually have a 
Vista box up and running?

One of the real problems I have, is that as all my systems are GNU/Linux (I 
left Windows behind quite some time ago), I really am hard pressed to 
actually get into technical problems with Vista.

I can read what information is available, and I can see the impossible problem 
presented in the "If you can't open it, you don't own it" aspect of any 
proprietary software.

And the underling problems with DRM are apparent as a simple exercise in 
logic.

The problem is "How do I explain to a Vista user, or prospective Vista user, 
exactly what Freedom his software lacks (and what freedoms he is giving up by 
using Vista), when I don't even use it at all?"

That is a point by point issue that perhaps we could work on getting into a 
form that might reach "Joe Sixpack", or "Anonymous".

Every time I get serious about explaining this, I see eyeballs glaze over. 
Well what can I say, I am an engineer by training, a hacker by inclination  
(not the hacker the news media has corrupted the honorable title into).

So how do I reach the average end user?

I don't believe it's a requirement to reach "Granny", she will come to it on 
her own, or go with whatever the family geek sets up for her. (I get all my 
'old people' because either I am recommended, or they have had such a bad 
experience with Windows that they are out searching for something better, and 
run across me).

So long as it's set up for them, they are the easiest bunch I know of to get 
to be happy GNU/Linux users. Notice that I am in a de facto manner, simply 
becoming a non evil Redmond for them. I have made it all work, from the first 
time they use it, I hold their hand as long as is needed, and am available to 
help (i.e.; fix it.) when they do have a problem.

This is not "Joe Sixpack" gets a distro and tries to install it... Games????? 
where are games??? No Second Life! Why!!

But then gaming is not often a big thing with my clients, maybe poker or 
solitaire. Frozen Bubble is always a big hit.

So any suggestions would help. That's what I would like to see, a FAQ that is 
written to show point by point why one not only should, but will benefit from 
using GNU/Linux and why one should not, and will not benefit from using 
Vista.

Why giving up some things that Microsoft is using to entice you (and 
developers) with, is the right thing to do. And why it's going to ultimately 
benefit them to forgo some of those poisonous things.

And the FAQ needs to be in easy to understand terms and verbiage.

As Jacob and I not long ago discovered, what seems obvious to one person (or 
age group) may not be obvious at all to another. This is one of the things 
that needs to be considered when creating any sort of "come on over, this is 
great" sort of page, be it a FAQ or otherwise.

I await some feedback from all of you.

As most of you know (I hope) feedback that does not agree with my take is fine 
with me.

I'll leave you all with this observation about life (at least my life, and 
I'll bet yours too):

"I have never, ever, not once, learned anything from someone that agreed with 
me." If he agreed what was there to learn from him?

Don.
-- 
GNU/Linux is the future.
Join the FSF: http://www.fsf.org/register_form?referrer=4458
Get the Real Facts: http://BadVista.org