David M Williams
Wednesday, 31 December 2008 12:23
Opinion and Analysis
Page 2 of 6
Software releases
Software wise, the year kicked off with
the release of Perl 5.10, the first major update to this major scripting language (which was the basis for PHP) in five years.
In April, of course,
Ubuntu 8.04 – Hardy Heron – hit the scene. With long term support (LTS) Hardy Heron was, at that time, the best Linux release available for consumers and end users. Brand spanking new features included the
native Windows Wubi installer and
the uncomplicated firewall known as UFW.
It wasn’t long until we were looking forward to Ubuntu 8.10 –
Intrepid Ibex - which sought to hit the peaks of performance with pervasive Internet access and equal responsiveness regardless of quality of hardware.
Mid-year we saw
Firefox 3 make a splash with nothing less than a Guinness Book of Records entry for the most downloaded piece of software within a single 24-hour period.
Firefox 3 was pretty impressive. It consumes
far less memory than Internet Explorer does and while Windows evangelists told me that Internet Explorer’s excessive memory consumption was actually a “good thing” in Windows Vista, that turned out to be bollocks because comparing Firefox 3 and Internet Explorer on the same Vista box
still showed Firefox as being in the lead.
Windows Vista
Actually, this poor memory consumption of Windows Vista is, among other things, one reason why people have been searching for something better. Yes, we will have readers say they use Vista every day and it is solid as a rock but nobody can deny that overall, the level of contentment with Vista is not nearly as high as that for Windows XP, 2000 or ’98. In many ways Windows Vista is like the modern Windows ME – a dismal sick leprous dog that only turned up so it could cough up its stomach contents on your carpet. I made a case for
how Windows Vista is turning people to Linux.
If you need more, here’s
100 reasons why Linux beats Windows too.
Advocacy
A bit of Linux advocacy never goes astray. I exhorted readers to support their
local Linux user group - or love their LUG, you might say.
I invoked imagery from the so-called “Good Book” to ask corporate IT types if they are like a sow that is washed and cleaned and then just goes and dips in the mud again? Or, less cryptically,
do they merely default to Windows because it’s “safe” without regard for what’s “best.”
Think about human relationships. Why do some girls always complain they fall for the wrong guy? Freud called this repetition compulsion and companies really need to be sure they can legitimately justify their choice of operating platform based on reasons beyond simply tradition.
In fact, to help companies make a case, I detailed
five network security FOSS apps, explained how Linux can answer “
why is my network slow” without having to worry about the multi-thousand dollar proprietary systems you could buy (which generally provide a wrapper around these self-same open source tools!) and provided some
FOSS alternatives to SharePoint (and, along the way, I point out how SharePoint spoils the anti-Linux argument that “Windows programs are graphical and friendly.”)
In these modern days it’s certainly prudent for businesses to be looking at
Linux-based virtualisation as a way of slashing hardware costs (and thus saving jobs!)
Netbooks –
page 1
Software releases, Windows Vista and open source advocacy – page 2
The war against Microsoft’s war against Linux –
pages 3 and 4
Why Small Business Server sucks and Linux alternatives –
page 4
Education, why open source makes sense –
page 5
Hard-core tech, festive fun and 2009! -
page 6
