Artemis P. Fonswick's Journal: This is genius

I have to give props to NanoGator for this brilliant comment.

The reason Linux fanatics annoy me is not because of the OS they use. I couldn't care less what fucking OS anybody uses. I use Windows XP because I'm comfortable with it and it does what I need it to do without any problems. Does that mean I hate Linux or Mac? Of course not. I have no problem sitting down to a machine running OSX or any Linux flavor. I'm actually quite comfortable with any OS because I've done everything from software development to video/image editing on just about every platform.

I have no problem using Macs. I think they're sharp and sexy, but the desktop environment leaves a bit to be desired. For one, that fucking dock pisses me off to no end. But I am still capable of using it without looking like a retard.

And Linux, hell, I think it's really cool to have an open OS. I also love the freedom of being able to choose from all those nifty desktop environments. Sure, I'll sit down and tinker with Linux from time to time...but most of the time I don't want to be bothered with all that crap. It's annoying. The PC is a tool for me. I use it to make software or videos or websites, and I don't want to have to put up with all the "options". I fucking hate options. I had a girlfriend once who loved options. "Where do you want to go eat tonight?" I would ask. "Well, there's that cute Chinese place down the street or there's that fancy Italian restaurant that just opened up or we could always stay at home...there's this in the fridge or this or this or we can get this..." ad nauseum. I didn't want a fucking laundry list. I know what the fuck kind of food is out there. I was just fucking curious as to what she felt like eating. You know...it's great to have all those things available, but when I'm doing something every day (like eating), I don't want to put up with all that shit. Hell, I could eat fucking Lucky Charms every day for the rest of my life and I would be a happy man...that's just the kind of guy I am.

Now this is where the Linux fanatics and their annoying behavior comes in. Alright, so you use Linux...big fucking deal. You're supporting the "cause"...I couldn't care less. What pisses me off is when you start acting so superior because you didn't pay for your OS. The truth is, nobody cares about you. You toss out all your BSOD jokes and Bill Gates misquotes and then you wonder why Joe Consumer isn't jumping onto the Linux train.

Well have news for you...

• I've been using Windows as my primary OS for 6 years now and I haven't had a BSOD in probably 4 years.
• I highly respect Bill Gates as both a businessman and software developer. You can jab at him all you want, but that's not going to change the fact that the man obviously has his shit together.
• Joe Consumer will never jump onto the Linux train because
  1. For the most part, he's a moron
  2. Like me, he probably doesn't want to be bothered with an OS he has to tinker with
  3. He doesn't want to belong to your "community" because you come off as an elitist asshole
• Why the fuck should it make a difference what OS you use? You say I'm supporting the evil Microsoft? Yeah, so...they make quality software that I am comfortable using. Get a team of actual professional designers to work on Linux and maybe you can make it as clean and comfortable as Windows. I build my own PCs because I like to have more control over my machine, but you don't see me trashing people who buy Dells (even though I dislike Dell). They want something that will run right out of the box and I understand that. They're not stupid or lazy, they're just willing to spend the extra money to avoid the hassle of configuring and troubleshooting a new machine.

I honestly don't know where I'm going with this. I started off praising NanoGator for his ecellent analogy and then proceeded to go off on a little tangent. I guess my point is that if you're someone who would say a statement like this:

If Microsoft built cars, the Linux community would make a car that was powered by the sun, was reliable, five times as fast, twice as easy to drive, and available freely - but only 5 percent of the people would use it.

then I think you're an asshole and you should STFU because no one wants to listen to your ignorant bullshit.

Some questions

[guybarr]

I couldn't care less what fucking OS anybody uses.

would you care about data obsolescence ?
what happens if your supplier goes tits-up, and you're left with a bunch of data in a closed, proprietary format which you cannot access.

would you care about about using simple, text-based formats (html, xml, latex), so that all text-manipulation tools (sed, awk, perls, cvs ...) will work on them automatically ?
In fact, when writing my MSc thesis (not in CS, BTW), I've found that having the data, and written docum