Re: My 138 $ Amazon order ( for 6pm today ).

On 2024-05-02 7:07 p.m., chrisv wrote:

rbowman wrote:
 

chrisv wrote:

>
Is WinDOS the right choice for most people?  I suppose, but GNU/Linux is
also a great choice, for many.  Also, the availability of a viable FOSS
alternative, in case M$ or Apple (or the government) go off the rails,
is *huge*.

>
It's a gross generalization particularly today but roll back 30 years
Unix/Linux was a developer's platform and Windows was a consumer product.
It didn't last long but Microsoft Bob was an indication of the audience
they thought they were dealing with.
>
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Bob
>
Microsoft Works wasn't ready for the enterprise either.
>
I don't know if Linux would exist if Unix licensing hadn't been such a CF.

 Some FOSS OS would have risen.  If not GNU/Linux, something else.
 It's a necessary thing, in our modern society.

I have to agree that if open-source weren't available, there is no telling what the corporations would already have forced onto us in terms of surveillance. The mere fact that it is no longer possible to install Windows without being forced to enter a Microsoft account speaks volumes about where the tech world is going.
However, we can only wonder how long the alternative will be around. As Lunduke showed during the week, GNOME is bleeding money and has less than a year to go financially. Since it is the base of many distributions and a few desktop environments, I can only hope that their impending bankruptcy won't matter.
--
Andrzej (Andre) Matuch
TG: @AndrzejMatuch
Catholic, paleoconservative, Christ is king.