Open Source Revolution?
January 11, 2008
What is sometimes hailed as an open source revolution hasn’t really caught my eye up until now. With the introduction of Windows Vista, the newest operating system from Microsoft, many users have been turned off by its usability problems.
I’ve known what open source is for a while, using products like the internet browser Firefox, but I haven’t really gone all in and used an entirely different operating system than the safe Windows XP, which some people are actually reverting to, as they find that Vista is a piece of crap.
I recently bought a micro-laptop, like the one at right. It’s an Asus Eee PC and it is barely bigger than a common DVD case. It weighs just more than two pounds and has built-in wireless internet connectivity. The kicker is that it doesn’t run any windows operating system. It runs a customized version of Linux, an open source operating system. Some people might be worried about using a relatively new OS like this version of Linux, but the amount of viruses written for Linux systems, like Apple systems, is extremely small compared to the amount written for Windows systems.
Anyway, I just wanted to post on how I’m incorporating open source software into my life and that it isn’t just for geeks anymore; open source can offer a lot to everyday users. We might see a blossoming of the use of open source applications in the future, especially if Microsoft doesn’t do anything to fix the Vista mess.
Entry Filed under: technology. Tags: asus, computers, laptop, linux, open source, pc, software, technology, vista, windows.
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1.
symbolik | January 11, 2008 at 11:21 pm
Please follow up with your experiences in using the Eee PC – I am always interested to learn about the impressions Microsoft users have when digging into Open-Source software (good and bad – nothing is perfect). Best regards!
2.
rickabbo | January 12, 2008 at 5:06 pm
Yeah I’m really excited to see how it compares to the Windows operating systems I’ve used over the years.
3.
undhon392 | January 12, 2008 at 6:27 pm
So how did you get “tuned into” open source, and did you have someone help you with it? I hear good things, but am afraid to take the plunge without support…just curious
KMP
4.
rickabbo | January 12, 2008 at 8:23 pm
The computer comes with, I think, a 2 year warranty along with automatic updates to the software. So the support side is somewhat taken care of. With any technology, there are massive amounts of support forums to help out, but as for direct company support I haven’t looked into it. I’ll post more about it when I get the laptop, hopefully Monday!