Freelosophy

DISCLAIMER: This post is a kind-of eulogy for everything in the software world that is free and open-source. And hence, I'm sure, it is understood I'm not being paid by FOSS or someone... :D


"...that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain; that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom; and that this government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth." - Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, November 19, 1863


"Given a large enough beta-tester and co-developer base, almost every problem will be characterized quickly and the fix will be obvious to someone." - Eric Raymond, 1997


"Only wimps use tape backup: real men just upload their important stuff on ftp, and let the rest of the world mirror it ;)" - Linus Torvalds, 1996






If you're wondering why I'm blabbering about all these oldies here and now (Lincoln was old, Raymond and Torvalds, on the other hand, not so much...), you must not have been in touch with me or at he very least, my FB profile and status updates. I've been in touch with one of the most important sensations I have ever been into. By the way, this is the first post I'm typing on my laptop. I always wanted to do this - be free! Free as in freedom. Freedom from finding software that can serve all my purposes and yet, be free (this time, as in cost :P). Freedom from figuratively looking over the shoulder all the time trying to see if someone knows that you are actually using pirated software. In this aspect, India is very much ahead than probably any other nation in the world. Let me put this into perspective - pick up like 20 computer users in India, 19 of them use any of the versions of Windows. And of those 19, about 10 still use Windows XP. Of those 10 people, about 8 have never spent a buck (literally) on the Windows software they use or most of the times, not even for any other compatible software that they need to use on their machines like, for instance, Photoshop, MS Office, Matlab et al. OK, what is this post about? You might've guessed it - Linux.

First things first : It costs you only the time it takes to download it. Almost every version (a Linux version is called a Distro, short for distribution.) comes free. being true Indians as we all are, we like to get things for free.On the other hand, we have a never ending paranoia. Why is he giving this thing to us for free? It is probably defective, probably sub-standard. I had the similar doubts about Linux back in December '09. Did you know that, linux is probably the most standarized of all the operating systems available? Virtually every big corporation (and I'm talking real BIG) uses one of the Linux distributions - Red Hat Enterprise Linux, Ubuntu, Mandriva et. al. (Most likely Red Hat, though.)


Why did I venture into this? I've been asked this a lot - at least ever since I started rallying about Linux and especially Ubuntu to any living soul I know :D. OK, why? Back in December, I was planning on buying a laptop and had started researching for a good one (and so far, I have found it). What I found common with all brands was - laptops with Windows cost a considerable amount more than those without the same. It was during that period that I learnt a lot (a LOT) about things like processor architectures, OS architectures and other technical things. The irony is that - I was supposed to have known them for like 3 subjects that I took and yet, I found the fun in those subjects. Mostly because, knowing things is different from learning them (for like an exam or for an assignment). So, i thought, what other options do I have - for an Operating System. I wanted it to be cheap and or once in my life, I wanted it to be legal. On my desktop, I use a shared (between friends and all) version of Windows XP, which incidentally, cost me nothing :). I wanted my laptop to be totally free (except for the hardware, of course) and yet, legal, cutting-edge, and reasonably user-friendly. That was when I stumbled upon Linux. I pored over thousands of lines of reports, bench-mark tests, and technical details and ended up choosing Ubuntu, especially because it was just about a CD's size and of course, meant for personal users.


Now that I've answered the obvious question, another question. Linux is free, huh? What if it's all a conspiracy and all they want is your personal data and corrupt it all. (Trust me, I've been actually asked this.) Let's face it guys, you are not the center of the universe. No one is out there to get you, let alone all the silly things that make up your data. No one simply cares. And even if they do, Linux is at the very least as safe as the other options you have. Viruses, on the other hand, are a totally different issue. They are not aimed personally at anyone, no? Well, this next thing is not so much because of Linux's (come to think of it, any *NIX), omnipotence, but because of the smaller user-base of the *NIX OSes. There are practically (I can't emphasize this enough) no wild viruses for Linux - as of now, at least. That certainly is one less thing to worry about, don't you think?


True, Linux comes with a learning curve, a very long one at that. I've been using Linux for about 2+ years now, and yet, learn at least one new thing every week - try to beat that with Windows. And, I'm not even talking about any software, just the OS by itself.


Well, I'll leave you to figure out the rest of Linux. If you are at all into technology, I suggest you start using Linux - not great for games, but the thrill of learning something so pure...unbeatable!!


An excellent article I read about the differences in philosophies is here...do go through it and of course hit the Distro websites.




Ubuntu - My personal favorite
CentOS - My second favorite, just a clone of Red Hat Enterprise Linux - Stability
Fedora - Just a cutting edge version of Red Hat
Distrowatch - Reading material on all the Distributions


"...the Linux philosophy is "laugh in the face of danger". Oops. Wrong one. "Do it yourself". That's it." 

- Linus Torvalds, 1996

Cheers!!


P.S.: Image courtesy: Wikimedia Commons.

Nerd Alert

Here I am. Back to grill people with my views :P. Well, it's a new year and I am totally bored and hope the exams end soon and the college opens soon. On other notes, try listening to Where were you by Alan Jackson - a beautifully put song about the 9/11 tragedy. And what i'm doing during these holidays? (like you'd even care, but I wanna say it. :P) I've been watching South Park and learning Linux and watching movies. I've probably watched more movies in these holidays than all the last year combined :P. Well, first things first. An acknowledgement to make - this post is mainly inspired from the blog of one of my close friends. The post is called : Why do some Nerds hate other Nerds? (actually, go ahead and check out the blog, it is very nice!).


Now, no surprises about the topic of this post, right? The picture and the other post make it very clear. What I'm trying to put here is the explanation of the stereotype and try to end the stigma about being a Nerd. Well, I've been called a nerd like a million times and the people who call me that do so in a tone akin to their believing that being a nerd is an unforgivable crime. Well, let me put things in perspective here : being a nerd isn't a crime. Actually, I need to define a nerd before jumping any further explanation. Here is what Wikipedia says is a Nerd:

Nerd is a term often bearing a derogatory connotation or stereotype, that refers to a person who passionately pursues intellectual activities, esoteric knowledge, or other obscure interests that are age-inappropriate rather than engaging in more social or popular activities. Therefore, a nerd is often excluded from physical activity and considered a loner by peers, or will tend to associate with like-minded people.

 That is very accurate. And for all you 3 Idiots fans out there: Chhatur (the muggu from the movie, a.k.a. Silencer) is not a nerd - he is a muggu (and for a definition of this term, go through Five Point Someone by Chetan Bhagat). It is a common misconception of people to feel that all muggus are nerds and vice-versa. Alright, let me not digress. Fine, with the definition clear, I fail to understand why people see being a nerd as a negative. For one thing, let's face it, nerds are cool! Whether it be about having esoteric knowledge or having lot more knowledge about things some people can't even start to comprehend. Actually, sometimes I feel that, the nerd way-of-life is the only one that can guarantee success. No, I'm not saying others to follow it unless you are born to be one, but the discrimination kills me (not literally... ;)). And about the stereotype of nerds having thick glasses, formal clothing and...well, look at the picture it gives a good idea. Well, nerds are not always like that :). And people who make fun of nerds are actually kind of jealous (no??) because the other person knows more than them. This is just a weird behavioral pattern I'm trying to explain and mean no offense to anyone. And, please stop the discrimination against nerds - we are humans too! :P


Fine, I think I've gotten through fairly well and have a great time. And of course, NERD ALERT!! :P

And all the best for your exam(s), placements and other tests. :D