Spy der Mann's Journal: My viewpoint on Windows after switching to Linux.

Remember this borg guy called Bill Gates? Well, I'm finally free from him, and from everything that he represents.

I'd like to share a thought with you guys. Perhaps it might help someone who's doubting on switching to Linux . The original post was written on one of the Microsoft stories. Everytime Microsoft plays dirty on you is a reason to switch.

Yesterday I switched to Linux from Windows. My Linux of choice was PCLinuxOS, which I find powerful and yet guiding (you can read my review on my journal). Anyway, what I wanted to share is that when I used to be a prisoner - and slave - of Windows, everytime I read these news on Slashdot ("Microsoft forces this update on you!", "Windows phones home", "Windows spies on your browsing habits", "Windows antipiracy measures screw up your install"), I used to get irritated and mad at Microsoft.

But just today, I felt very different when reading these news. For the simple reason that my main install is Linux. How? Well, let me tell you how I felt.

I felt like a spectator watching the tragedy from a tower far away, and giving thanks for not having been there. Or, as mexicans say, i felt like if I was watching the bullfight from behind the barrier. I was no longer angry, nor desperate. I was...

Safe.

Being a V for Vendetta fan, I can compare with the feeling Evey had when she was under the rain, after having decided to go against the system, to the last consequences. Her thoughts and actions were completely free from the government. I can tell how she felt.

It was a feeling of freedom. It was a feeling of power.
It was a feeling of being able to fight against the Statu Quo. I wasn't part of the system anymore. I felt like Neo after going in the matrix and realizing I *CAN* change things.

I was no longer a victim. I was no longer a survivor. I became... a fighter.

I no longer need to hack my way through Microsoft's limitations. I no longer need to download a crack to bypass the stupid region encoding or DRM imposed by Windows just to backup my movies or music CDs. I no longer need to fear the dreaded Windows update screwing up my system. I no longer fear the waste of time of installing, re-registering and cracking Windows "Genuine Advantage" every time I upgrade my hardware.

I AM FREE!

For ages, I had complained about our slavery to Windows and the lack of Linux user-friendliness that kept us in that slavery. And now I feel that PCLinuxOS had build the bridge that I needed to do the switch. To put it in biblical terms, PCLinuxOS was, at least for me, the Moses we needed to get away from the evil Pharaoh.

I am beyond Windows now. I have transcended. I am immune. I am free.

Now, does that mean I'm going to become another of those elitist Linux "fanbois" that blame everything on the user? Hell no! The path towards freedom is still very rough, and I'm convinced that the more cross-platform applications there are, the easier that path will become. And I said path towards freedom, not towards Linux. Because when ReactOS comes out, it will be the same freedom - but with a different choice. You can't promote freedom with a dictatorship. You need to let people choose.

But I disgress.

This power, this freedom, this liberty, is a feeling that can't really be explained. You NEED to experience it. After you do, you will never go back.

So, if you decide to switch, and if Ubuntu doesn't meet your expectations, try PCLinuxOS. Just don't be an idiot like I was, and backup your data. You need to do it, anyway!

I sigh with relief now. We're living interesting times. Every year that passes, Linux gets better. And friendlier.

I can see it... Microsoft's doom is approaching - it's very close, just waiting for something to happen. Soon Microsoft will fall. All empires do. And I feel grateful for being an eye-witness.

Goodbye, Microsoft. You will never be missed.

Sincerely,
M.
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