Oh Linux, how do I love thee?

Let me count the ways...an open letter to Linux

Way number 1: You breathe new life into old hardware. They should age PCs in dog years. Here's a trusted dog year calendar that helped me better determine the age of my Laptop. My three-year old laptop is going on 25 dog years now, and Windows is like the Army, and 25 year old recruits are starting to get too old to put on the front lines. The average Windows PC lasts three to four years, which at best, would give my laptop a little less than a year to accept its demise. Thanks to you, my laptop should get at least another three years in it, three years of happy blissful churning away of bits and bytes. And thanks again for all the money you have saved me by allowing me to hold on to my aging computer and eliminate the need to put up for the cost of a new laptop.

Way number 2: You run so very fast. I love to just watch you spinning away, launching applications so quickly, executing my programs swiftly. You save me all that time. I still remember how it was before we met, when Windows would freeze, when it would take up all my memory, when it would get slower and slower with each Windows update, when boot up times and the time to load my desktop would increase with every restart, when after every application I would install I would need to close Windows and bring it back up. But those days are over now; I'm much more productive now; I get more work done in significantly less time.

Way number 3: You're just easy to get along with. You don't get in my way or hog my system resources. You just let things be, while I do my work, check my e-mail, and chat with friends. Your package managers update all my software at once; I don't have to worry about every individual application flooding my network, checking to see if updates are available. I don't have to worry about that silly registry that would always get errors or get infected and start launching malicious software. All your software is simple to use; it's familiar; there's nothing really new to learn; I can just go about my business as usual, on rare occasion using your exquisite communities for help when the need arises. Remember when I had problems before? I'd sit on support lines, feeling like a second rate customer. Is this what all my money was paying for? But now I don't pay at all; all those thousands of dollars I save, and now I have a whole world community reaching out to help me.

Way number 4: I feel safer with you. You're just much more secure. When there are bugs or security issues with you, I can expect them to be fixed quickly, not just once a month or when it seems convenient. And maybe it's just my imagination, but when you say a bug is fixed, it's really fixed; I don't find that bug again six months later after another update or another upgrade. You have a good head on your shoulders, and when you say you're going to do something right, that's exactly what you do. You never try to blame me, the user, first for the problem, and then you don't try to say its the fault of third party software, and then you don't tell me that despite the existence of the problem that the likelihood of anyone exploiting it is non-existent. No, you go right out, and you take care of it. You make me feel safe, and for that, I thank you.

Way number 5: You're the best. You support all my hardware. You have all my favorite applications, and they're free. You save me tens of thousands of dollars, because I don't need to buy software just to use a word processor or send an e-mail; you don't even charge me anything to be my friend. No, you're completely willing to work away on my computer, free of charge, and you do this faster and better than the guy who is trying to take me for every penny I'm worth.

Thank You,
Your secret admirer

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Comments (9)

6. 07-02-2008 06:51

Love is in the ether ...

Such a nice post, I hope I'll be able to persuade a few friends with this one.

http://www.kipdola.com

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Jelle De Loecker

7. 07-02-2008 10:40

Power to the users

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now I don't pay at all; all those thousands of dollars I save, and now I have a whole world community reaching out to help me.

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With Linux community behind my back, I can overcome any obstacle when one arises. With such support, I feel strong working in a Linux-based system. Quite the opposite in the dominant OS coming from Redmond.

http://siryes.blogspot.com/

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SirYes

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