few days ago I reported a news story to a colleague that was circulated on the Internet:
After the Russian teacher Alexander Ponosov was charged by Microsoft have installed the illegal software the Minister Leonid Reiman agency Itar Tass said: "... by 2009 will install on all computers of the Russian schools only free software, which will replace the commercial software used far .
The news seemed interesting because in Italy the only answer to piracy seems to be to buy licenses for tens of thousands of euro for each school.
My colleague told me:
" ... truth be told, this news confirms my ideas.
Linux is an operating system for developing countries ... "
confess that at first the answer he gave me a little 'discomfort. I read it as if the fellow had said that free software is a powerful B-series, good for those who can not afford the best solutions.
I normally use Linux with KDE (at home) and Windows XP (at school), I know perfectly well that, for the use which I do, the first has nothing to envy to the second. Linux wins in stability, security, usability, GUI and also ease of use.
I have avoided responding immediately and to never respond to a claim when you are annoyed by something!
fact the night I took advice ... I actually agree with him: Proprietary software is for "rich" free software is for "poor."
| Proprietary | Free Software |
| is perfect, except inexplicably crash, lose data, acting strangely ... | has errors (bugs) and has a mechanism to report them and vote for the above bug to fix. |
| is manufactured by companies out of reach. | is produced collaboratively by a myriad of developers, which often can be contacted easily. |
| updates are terrible, often forcing them to change the hardware and make the "old" their documents. | updates are awaited with curiosity, they often offer new features that make the most powerful tools we already have. |
| If you have problems should contact a service center. | In case of problems is easy to find a community of people available to help. |
| puts the emphasis on private property. | inspire collaboration. |
| It's simple, but difficult. | is complex but not complicated |
| Only those who can produce big. | Anyone can contribute to a project in many different ways. |
| is popular thanks to "smart" campaigns. | It spreads only for its quality. |
| is for buyers to find solutions to their problems. | It is for people trying to solve their problems with others. |
It is probably for this reason that I prefer it!
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