A Mepis User Rooting for Mageia...WHY NOT?

Today I read something very good: Mageia Alpha 1 will be ready for January, 2011!!!

At this point some users of other distros may be thinking "so what? My distro is much better anyway!"

Others might be secretly grinning while thinking "Look! A Mepis user rooting for Mageia!" "It seems that this guy is coming from the moons of Coockoo-land or Mepis is not such a good distro after all!"

Neither is true. Well, maybe I'm a bit crazy indeed...some colleagues say it is a vital requirement for my job! :P

But that has nothing to do with my support to Mageia, or the fact that I am learning to use Mandriva, or that my main OS is Mepis.

To me, the crazy ones are those who push only to favor their distro. That "MY distro is THE distro" mentality, in conjunction with a constant mudding of all the other distros is, in my honest opinion, what keeps many away from Linux.



True, I have my favorite distros: Mepis, Mandriva, Pardus, Antix...

Also, some Linux flavors out there don't please me much. But the fact that I dislike them does not mean those distributions or their communities are useless. If there are 2 people following them, that means those distros have something to offer. Is that so hard to understand? Still, some Linux fans, or better said, Distro Trolls, don't seem to understand it.

True, something happened among the ranks of Mandriva and that led to the birth of Mageia. Should we then be forced to choose one or the other? Should we, users of other distros, throw mud at both of them so that our distro may have less competition?

I have a question. Who are we competing against? Are we competing against someone? So, is choosing free software the equivalent of entering a giant arena?

This is not right. I don't even see free software as the competition against Microsoft or Apple. Why? Because Open Source belongs to a different model. Open Source is about learning, sharing and improving. The greedy ideology of the traditional business model and its compulsive "kill or be killed" philosophy do not fit well in Open Source mentality.

Let Microsoft and Apple do the competition against each other. Also, let them keep directing lots of resources trying to kill Free Software. So far, they haven't been successful in spite of all their money. They are wasting money trying to kill an idea...an idea that grows slowly, but that keeps growing thanks--paradoxically--to their abusive business practices.

Instead of competing against them --or against ourselves-- let's invest our time more wisely: let's support each other...let's root together for Mageia!!!

Astroturfing against MEPIS??

Today I learned something about Microsoft, bloggers, and forums. As I was browsing the Mepis Forum (I had posted a question, maybe a silly one, but still got some prompt and friendly help), I found this post by someone. He called Mepis 8.0 and Mepis 8.5 "losers" because, according to him, both Mepis editions had failed miserably to work properly.

Now, that's a possibility. The kernel version Mepis uses may not be fully compatible with some hardware specifications. That problem can be worked around, but it is not the kind of task a novice like me would like to undertake alone. That's where the communitiy support shines.

However, this "linux user" was not a newbie like I am. He described himself as "having 10 years of experience using Linux" and also "knowledgeable about forums"...That seemed to ring a bell on the mods and other community members. One of them said the original post was an example of "astroturfing".

Of course, I didn't have any idea what the word meant. After a little searching, I learned about this ugly side of the blogsphere, even though it is not restricted to it, or to Microsoft.

Anyway, if anybody is interested in learning about specific astroturfing cases by Microsoft, here are some examples.

Wow! They even gave away laptops?? Will they offer me one soon? :P

(note: the image was taken from El Blog de Enrique Dans)

Six types of Linux users you wouldn't like to deal with...

Linux is a community. Whoever hears of GNU/Linux has heard that. One big difference between Linux and Windows is the sense of identity that Linux creates. Some Linux users view GNU/Linux as a political movement, others as an economic one, and others as a personal one, which is fine. However, as in all communities, there are individuals that instead of contributing, work against the group and tend to turn outsiders against the good members of the group. Here are a few types of such Linux users I've come to identify:

1- The Linux-Supremacy pusher:

This type will die before acknowledging advantages of other Operating Systems. For him/her, Linux is the only OS worthy of existing and this type's only reason to live is destroying Windows. The problem with this Linux fan is that he/she offends and belittles Windows users, which turns many of them against Linux before even trying it.

2. The anti-capitalist freak:


For this Linux user, software is merely a political stand and nothing else counts. Whoever uses privative software is a servant of the evil machinery that enslaves the working class. The main problem of this type is his/her failure to recognize that most computer users don't view computing as a political activity; for them a computer is just a a tool for work or leisure as a hammer or a tennis racket would be. Thus, most people will view this type of Linux fan as a victim of an imaginary conspiracy and won't take his/her ideas seriously, even if they are true.

3. The Give-me-freebies Linux user:

This Linux user scoffs at those who use MacOSX or Windows. Whoever pays for an Operating System is a sucker and a total loser. This type loves the word "free"; not as in "freedom" but as in "free beer." They won't give a penny or lift a finger to support developers, either. With that attitude, they contribute more to the death of free software than even Microsoft.

4. The Selfish Linux user:

This user loves the feeling of being able to rescue systems, cleaning viruses, and doing things that the average Windows user wouldn't even imagine possible. However, instead of sharing this valuable knowledge, he/she uses Linux as a tool to acquire status, so sharing or teaching is out of the question. As in the comic strip above, that attitude contradicts totally the spirit of Free Software.

5. The MY-DISTRO Troll

This type is even more dangerous than the Linux-Supremacy Pusher. This one not only insults Windows and Mac users, but also all other Linux distros as well. For him/her, THE Linux is only his/her distribution and all others are pure junk. This troll fails to understand that a Windows or Mac user is just seeing Linux against Linux. Who would like to step into a group in which the same members bite and kill themselves? Microsoft is simply delighted with this troll's job.

6. The Ashamed Linux user:

This type is the opposite of the MY DISTRO one. He or she came into the Linux world because of lack of monetary resources. He/she views Free Software with embarrassment and often feels belittled when Windows users or Mac users show the capabilities of their OS. Basically, his/her attitude is like "I'm sorry I use Linux...if that causes you any inconvenience, please forgive me." He/she indirectly sends the message that Free Software is inferior than privative software, which certainly is NOT true. Free software is great and is nothing to be ashamed of. With GNU/Linux, individuals have the freedom to go anywhere they want: It's your computer, it's your destination!