I wrote this as a response to a BBC request for 100 words about why you are faithful to Windows, Linux or OSX. Admittedly it’s 169 words, but I sent it anyway and I’ve put it up here for posterity too…
I have been using Linux for over 7 years now. All the machines I have owned have been homebuilt and never come with Windows provided. Linux allows me to avoid spending another 200 quid on Windows and Office. It comes with everything I need. A secure web browser (Firefox), complete office package (OpenOffice), art programs (Gimp), you name it. I don’t have to put up with Microsoft’s self-modifying EULA that now permits them to have access to everything on your computer. I don’t need to install numerous drivers to make everything work, it all just comes as part of the kernel, or a package through the package management system. I don’t have time to go chasing around the loose ends that Windows has, the extra costs, the security holes, the updates, the add-ons, etc. Linux, Ubuntu, Mandrake, Fedora, Suse; they all work. They were put together by people who do it for the love, not for the money. It’s global collaboration at the most personal level. And it works.
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