GearWERKZ TechBlog

This article scares me:

http://linuxlock.blogspot.com/2008/12/linux-stop-holding-our-kids-back.html

It does not scare me because there are people out there who will not recommend the use of LINUX. I admit myself that I recognize the limitations of LINUX for the common user. I do not go around tilting at windmills insisting that LINUX is right for everyone. There are certain users of whom it would be a benefit, and there are others for whom it would not.

Follow up:

What frightens me is how many people out there do not know things that they perhaps should be aware of, at least before they go and tell others that there is only one option. At its worst extrapolation, the responder indicates that we should fear a conspiracy theory of organizations who will tell us that Windows is the only Operating System on the planet. I will not buy into that, just yet. Skipping that, where this causes me concern is my own experience in seeing how people default to preset values that they have either been marketing-programmed into believing in, or have been raised to buy into.

Most people that come to me for help in buying a new PC will insist on buying an Intel-powered PC. They are unwilling to consider an AMD processor, even though in almost every case it will be cheaper. They do this, and then start crying about the cost. There are cases today where buying an Intel CPU-equipped desktop is the right way to go, but you should never buy something as expensive as a PC without at least considering the options.

Most people who come to me for advice on buying a laptop are pre-set on buying a Dell. Then when I walk them through the configuration screen, they immediately complain because the $499 laptop they saw advertised shoots up by $200 at the first option that is added. OK, then, I think to myself, then you need to be willing to consider other options. I can not help you if you are only willing to consider the vanilla options that Madison Garden has programmed you to head towards when faced with a consumer technical purchase.

No, Sony is not the only company on the planet that makes good TVs. There are other MP3 players besides the iPod. There are other form factor options for a laptop besides 14, 15, and 17” screens. There are more ways to record TV besides TiVo. My “job”, if it is anything, is to try to present alternative options to consumer purchases than you would have perhaps considered if someone else did not mention it.

Where I get really scared about with this mentality is where it comes to software apps. A lot of times a person comes to me to ask whether or not they should use Norton or McAffee. The conversation becomes quite lengthy when I immediately respond that they should use neither. I personally recommend AVG Anti-Virus or Avast.

I will not get into a lengthy discussion of the finer points and justifications for each of the freeware apps that I use. The point is that, for just about every software package that you have been programmed to seek out when there is a problem or something new that you need to add to your PC’s capability, there is a freeware app that will cost you nothing but offers as much of the functionality of the app as you are going to use. In a lot of cases, there are freeware apps that are equally or more powerful than their commercially sold competitor. The only thing that it takes is for you to have the patience and courage to try. Below is an abbreviated list of the freeware apps that I use within my current operating system environment:

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