COVER -> MEMOIRS OF THE INFORMATION AGE
"HAHA! Hear that sucking sound, Billy Boy? It's the sound of money siphoned away from your Evil Empire!"
But then I formed a business and realized I needed those darn licenses for upgrades, tech support, to avoid legal problems and for tax purposes; plus, the "Evil Empire's" toys all played so nicely together. Most days, they get me where I wanted go. Pronto.
So I have reached this point, where I really think this movement is going about things the wrong way. I think that Linus Torvalds should have aligned himself with one (1) company that had the capacity to make a full-fledged assault on Mount Redmond (home of the evil empire) OS monopoly, based strictly on service. More on point, I see three functional flaws to this movement:
- lack of culpability/ "The No Blame Game";
- lack of standardization and peer oversight/"The Anarchy Game; and
- the needless repetition of work/ "The Time To Kill Game".
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Event # 213: WE LIKE THE FUNK
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The No Blame Game
Should you realistically expect technical support on a product that has been modified by the customer or a third-party? I am not talking about installation of the OS; obviously, due to what lawyers refer to as, "implied and express warranties of merchantability", you are owed some duties based on the simple fact you bought the thing. I also realize that the vendors of each flavor of Linux post tweaks - their tweaks.But who is responsible after you make your tweaks or install "Bubba's" tweaks? "Tweaked" code is not what you bought; "tweaked" code results in an altered product, possibly calling on the product that the manufacturer could not have reasonably anticipated (another legal catch phrase). Did you already forget those words of support desk diplomacy, "Due to incompatibilities in with your third-party products, your only option will be to re-install the operating system."?
IF you could identify a "tweak" that caused you a particular problem (doubtful), can you hold responsible the person who wrote the "tweak"? Probably not. Maybe for ordinary negligence, but remember you would have the burden of proving the negligence.
Another one of those darned legal principles that could come into play: lack of consideration (something of value exchanged for something of value) - you got it for free, so in many jurisdictions your maximum claim is zero. Finally, a crucial element of product liability is that someone placed a product into the stream of commerce; you get the tweaks for free so the commerce element may be a hard sell.
The Anarchy Game
Having toured a number of the Linux sites and forums, I am under the distinct impression that, considering that most Linux devotees are professional or semi-professional computer users, they are having one hell of a time.I think, on a percentage basis, Joe Q. Public, with his/her 10.6 years of schooling and seventh grade reading literacy, is enjoying much more uptime with their Windows and Mac PCs than these "pros".
Why?
Standardization (and Joe Q.'s resistance to fixing something that ain't broke.;O) Standardization of parts (and code IS a PART of an operating system) is what made the industrial revolution really rock. Freely interchangeable parts, uniform parts, parts that worked without a lot of technical knowledge in comparison to the task at hand.
"Hey man, this is Open Source, every part of it is free and freely exchanged."
"Yah, und who ist keeping track of zheeze changes? Vhell?"
This is where the anarchy really settles in: different people and companies, with different agenda's and skills, tossing out code left and right with no oversight (official Blame game rule #666). Apparently, much as I did when I was young and reckless, Linux users are willing to run the risk of incompatibilities (and a reduced feature set to boot), just to "flick off" the "Evil Empire".
"The path of least resistance, is what makes rivers and men crooked." [Elbert Hubbard] I guess that now applies to operating systems as well.
The Time To Kill Game
Will you lie on your death bed thinking,"I could have 'tweaked' that problem with the CD drivers...."?I hope not.
Statistics show that people in every industrialized nation are running around with less sleep and more stress. Do you really have the time to climb a new learning curve, to learn about a system that is, at best, marginal?
"Never have so many, suffered so much, so that so few, could be so happy." This quote would certainly apply to Linux devotees: thousands of people, working away on the exact same 'tweaks', 'tweaks' that should have been performed by the company they purchased the software from.
The way I see it, the only one's making or saving money, off this grassroots movement, are the distributors and a few software designers. But at least the price is right.
TAKE THE RISK OF INVOLVEMENT.
or make it.
On my Wish List is....