Recently I am trying to inspire people to use Ubuntu; more and more. And the people often amazed why on the earth I am doing this? What is my benefit? Am I paid? Too many questions! But wait… I am here to answer them all, at least I can try!
Firstly: Canonical, the company behind this wonderful operating system, distributes Ubuntu for free, like free beer. I am using that one in my PC for free and Canonical doesn’t expect me to repay any cost. But I should repay, as Canonical gives me an wonderful opportunity to use one of the world’s best operating system for free. So I am promoting Ubuntu to others as a way of repaying.
Secondly: Lots of people in Bangladesh are using pirated software. They even have no idea what does pirated software means. Any software in Bangladesh is available for less than a dollar! And people think this is the only way to buy software. This fact turns Bangladesh into the second most pirated software using country. As a Bangladeshi I think this is my responsibility to aware people about the piracy. Bangladesh is a poor country, people can’t afford to buy the genuine software. So the alternative way for them to use Free Software. Among the Free Operating System, I found Ubuntu as a very user friendly. That’s why I am promoting Ubuntu to my country men.
Thirdly: When I see people around me dealing with Viruses, Crashes, Defragmentations, Windows Re-installations etc, I really pity for them. Everyday they are facing trouble using their PC. To some people in Bangladesh, installing Windows in every week is a routine work! To make their life smooth I suggest them to use Ubuntu, which is more stable, more secure and ofcourse ease-of-use.
Fourthly: Well… I am not completely selfless. I have my own issue in promoting Ubntu. It is difficult to be a different. Everybody around me is using Windows and I am using Ubuntu. So if I need to send any one a document, I’ve to convert that from .odt to .doc, as they are not using OpenOffice. And there are more example like that. If all were using Ubuntu then I don’t have to think about file compatibility or other issues. Also I would find lots of helping hands if I were in any problem with Ubuntu.
Yeap… that’s all.
Salaam. It's been a long time since your last post here. How's life?
Great post about Ubuntu btw. The first point you mentioned is absolutely correct. Companies like these should be supported. About piracy, of course I personally hate it, but there are many views about this issue, I guess you know what I mean.
About the third point you mentioned, I would not agree. I don't remember formatting my hdd or reinstalling windows other than when I'm installing a new version. I'm a heavy downloader, yet viruses and malware have never been an issue for me, and I only use freeware protection software. I guess an important thing about security which many people overlook is the security updates from Microsoft. Trust me, they are ESSENTIAL.
Nice to see your post again. Take care.
Nice to hear from you, after a long time. I am very busy right now, my life is just running on a fry pan.
Hmm… I had the same view when I was not that much acquainted with free and open source software. We have a common misconcept that we are not capable of buying genuine softwares, but we need to use them, as we have no other way so it's "kindda legal" for us to use pirated copies of original softwares. It would be if there is no ALTERNATIVE, but as a fact there IS ALTERNATIVE. Not only one, lots of them. From Photoshop to Matlab, office to webbrowser; everything has there alternatives in FOSS. Say I don't have a car but I've other means for travelling (i.e. public transports, taxi etc). So shall I steal other's car? If my job is getting done, I should be stick with my capacity. Isn't it?
Hmm… it seems that you are an advanced Windows user. When I was using windows, I also not THAT MUCH affected by viruses or malware or you-name-it. I used Avast, and I was quite happy with that. But BSOD or sudden system crashes were occurred frequently. And I knew a lot of people to whom installing windows in every month (or even every week) is a routine work whether it is XP or Vista. They are general users. And in computer world they are the majority. They don't even know what is de-fragmentation. For them virus is nightmare. Another point is you'll be able to know about the virus infection if your AntiVirus alert you about the virus. What if it does not do that? Than you'll never be aware of any virus of your PC, though there may be viruse(s) inside. So you cannot be sure.
Did you ever use Ubuntuor Linux Mint? Just take the taste by using any of those (for the new comers in linux in Bangladesh where net speed is slow, I prefer Linux Mint). Trust me, you'll not be disappointed!
Although I use quite a lot of open source software, I haven't actually tried out an OS. But Inshallah I'll check out Ubuntu some day.
BTW, I'm currently using Qubee wimax internet. 256kbps is nothing compared to the internet that's available abroad, but I'm really happy with it, and the speed remains almost constant.
That means 32kBps. Back in Bangladesh, in my home, I have connection from Bracnet. Their speed varied from 25kBps to 40kBps. The main problem of WiMAX in Bangladesh is that, the infrastructure for providing internet is not good, actually it is worse.
By the way here is my speed:
<img src="http://www.speedtest.net/result/714663821.png" alt="Speed test" />
whoa that's some awesome speed you got there.
I Like!