Do I have time for this?
Thoughts from the vaults...
Thursday 17 July 2008, 11:38 AM
Whats beyond your Windows?
With Windows XP now officially into it's end-of-life phase, and Vista waiting in the OEM wings, BitSmith has been road testing some alternatives...
The vast majority of road users are drivers (for which read Windows users). They sit in endless traffic jams, sometimes of their own making. They often use their cars where it might be quicker to walk, or cycle, or take public transport (did someone say Mac?) because they're conditioned to using their cars for every task involving travel. It's the only way they know.
Linux users are the motorcyclists of the tech world. They make progress while the drivers sit in the same old traffic jams. Like motorcyclists, Linux users are frequently misunderstood, sometimes even purposely misinterpreted, by the car lobby simply because they somehow exploit freedoms most drivers cannot understand or imagine.
Like motorcyclists, Linux users have seized an alternative. The huge majority of Windows folk are content to sit in their metaphorical cars comfortable in the knowledge that they are "safe" while linux is somehow "dangerous" even if it takes twice as long, and costs twice as much as necessary, for the car driver to get there.
Linux evangelists meanwhile (Dispatch riders) are seen as a breed apart. We all know they're mad, and therefore to be treated with the utmost caution. Humour them, but try not to make eye contact, and for the love of God don't get in their way. They're on a mission, and nothing, but nothing, will stop them.
Every so often our metaphorical car driver will look at a motorcycle filtering past and fleetingly wonder if they too could be making better progress, if they too could be more efficient, less expensive, less damaging to the environment, and still get there sooner with less stress. But so very few will make that jump.
They're comfortable, these Windows users, and we all like being comfortable, don't we? Think about it the next time you're sitting in traffic and a motorcycle glides past... What would it take for you to make the switch?
The vast majority of road users are drivers (for which read Windows users). They sit in endless traffic jams, sometimes of their own making. They often use their cars where it might be quicker to walk, or cycle, or take public transport (did someone say Mac?) because they're conditioned to using their cars for every task involving travel. It's the only way they know.
Linux users are the motorcyclists of the tech world. They make progress while the drivers sit in the same old traffic jams. Like motorcyclists, Linux users are frequently misunderstood, sometimes even purposely misinterpreted, by the car lobby simply because they somehow exploit freedoms most drivers cannot understand or imagine.
Like motorcyclists, Linux users have seized an alternative. The huge majority of Windows folk are content to sit in their metaphorical cars comfortable in the knowledge that they are "safe" while linux is somehow "dangerous" even if it takes twice as long, and costs twice as much as necessary, for the car driver to get there.
Linux evangelists meanwhile (Dispatch riders) are seen as a breed apart. We all know they're mad, and therefore to be treated with the utmost caution. Humour them, but try not to make eye contact, and for the love of God don't get in their way. They're on a mission, and nothing, but nothing, will stop them.
Every so often our metaphorical car driver will look at a motorcycle filtering past and fleetingly wonder if they too could be making better progress, if they too could be more efficient, less expensive, less damaging to the environment, and still get there sooner with less stress. But so very few will make that jump.
They're comfortable, these Windows users, and we all like being comfortable, don't we? Think about it the next time you're sitting in traffic and a motorcycle glides past... What would it take for you to make the switch?
