A declaration of love for Linux
The beauty of using Linux in 2013 is that you end up forgetting that it’s a piece of software made by the community for the community, and that most people live in a closed world when it comes to computing.
Such is the aesthetic pleasure, the ease of use, the effectiveness of it.
And you forget that what most people pay for, you get for free. You get a great user interface, you get freedom of choice, you get lots of good software, you get a great community, you get great support, all for free.
Sure, there are some paid software too, and it’s perfectly ok, but generally speaking, you are free.
As [Richard Stallman][1] puts it:
"Free software is a matter of liberty, not price. To understand the concept, you should think of free as in free speech, not as in free beer."
Because Internet Explorer is free, Safari is free, iMovie is free. As in free beer. Not as in free speech. You can’t go into the iMovie source files, change its icon and send it to your friend. You can do it with free (or, libre) software.
So I say, as a user who gets lots of satisfaction (and earns a living too) thanks to a great, wonderful, amazing, smart collective work, why don’t you browse to your favorite distribution website and support it, either through donations or by purchasing official merchandise? Or maybe join local Linux User Groups, donate some, and/or help out. Or all of the above. Doesn’t it sound like a brilliant idea?
Give some love back, because Linux and Open Source is an act of love towards you ????
If you’re a Linux user, think of how sad it is to be, say, a user of Apple PCs. Where nothing is allowed, everything is boring, and most stuff are paid for. Or think of how horrible it is to be a Windows user, spending your time browsing malware website to get some weird free software, getting infected in the process, and running anti virus software in the vain hope that the situation could get better instead of worse, and finally resorting to "some guy" to get the pc fixed, or buying a new one altogether.
Think, weep, then rejoice, because you use Linux.
So, shell out some bucks and feel good about it!