[PLUG] Please Sign The Petition

Sat Apr 11 22:38:35 IST 2015

Awesome !!

I have been exclusively using linux for close to a decade, but the points
mentioned by Amarendra make complete sense.
I am a linux user because it is the "right tool" *for me*, not because MS
Windows is "bad/evil"
I am thinking of moving to OSX because it is *nix under the hood, and all
the "right tools" are available for OSX as well. (cost of hardware is
holding me back, but not for long)

-Mandar

On Sat, Apr 11, 2015 at 10:10 PM, Amarendra Godbole <
amarendra.godbole at gmail.com> wrote:

> Hi Milind,
>
> Though I understand the desire and need to be "in control" of your
> life and your software, which is a laudable goal, I am confused at the
> anti-Microsoft stance taken by many FOSS people, since it deflects
> slightly from the original goal of being "in control" - Microsoft is
> not the only software company that makes "proprietary" software, but
> you also have Apple, Google, IBM, HP, Lenovo, Nvidia, Hitachi,
> Toshiba, VMWare, Citrix, and pretty much EVERY company in the world
> that in the business of software. I don't see such hue and cry against
> Apple for instance. Linux happily accepts closed0-source drivers
> ("binary blobs"), so shouldn't those driver manufacturers be in the
> same boat as Microsoft? Are you willing to throw out Apple, and others
> from India?
>
> Secondly, the common man uses "right tools for the job" -- have you
> considered if Linux provides the right tools in every instance to
> replace those produced by Microsoft? Consumers are way smart than you
> or me think, and they precisely know what software fulfils their needs
> - and they go for it. There is a big lesson there itself -- make the
> "right" tool and adoption shouldn't be a problem. Have you ever
> thought too much choice may be a big problem? Hell, Linux has dozens
> of distros', equivalent number of desktop look and feel, which only
> makes the geek happy. Guess what? Consumers are confused, and they
> look at Apple and Microsoft to provide a single user-experience, that
> can seamlessly transcend releases and work exactly the same way each
> time. Maybe FOSS should focus on unifying their tools and experience,
> rather than breaking it into BOSS and tons of other distros. And that
> seems to be the single-largest failure for Linux to displace several
> popular operating systems - lack of a unified strategy. Of course, I
> am not denying other innovative ideas that were born from Linux. So
> no, considering the lack of unified strategy, lack of support (BOSS
> Linux has support?), and lack of "right tools", the adoption will
> remain stable as it was a decade ago.
>
> Where are the replacement "right tools"?
> - How do you propose to replace the extensive supply-chains, and other
> public utility systems that are deployed on Windows?
> - How do you propose to replace the extensive manufacturing systems
> that are deployed on Windows?
> - How do you propose to replace the extensive life-critical software
> in hospitals that is deployed on Windows?
>
> As for "your language", I think Linux got it all wrong. The computer
> was invented in English speaking countries, the software was invented
> in English speaking countries, so it goes without saying it has a
> strong English lineage. Its much easy to adapt to a new language, than
> adapting the tool to your local language. Do you modify a hammer
> because it doesn't fit the grooves of your hands? Localizing it for
> mass adoption is a good idea, provided everything else first functions
> flawlessly. Linux focused on localization too early, and the i18n
> layer made it more unstable, as well as buggy - not to mention it
> scares every developer shitless (ask anyone who has had to deal with
> wide-character array operations). If you don't believe me, check the %
> of code dedicated to i18n/l10n efforts in any Linux utility, as
> against a BSD utility, and you'll get the idea. I guess it is more
> important to focus on getting the job done right, than such secondary
> features - one reason why consumers repeatedly reject Linux.
>
> <rant>
> If you really want freedom, the BSD license is as free as it can get.
> And nobody in the BSD world carries the moral baggage around, they
> actually focus on quality of their work. No wonder the *BSD, even
> though providing less features, are rock solid operating systems - the
> way it should be.
>
> And slightly on a tangential, why is this burning desire to be "in
> control" of software? Do we know or force "full disclosure of
> internals" of the medicine we take, or the LED TV set, or the car that
> we drive, or heck the airplane we fly in? By the FOSS yardstick, all
> these consumer products should make their designs and internal details
> open and available for tinkering..., else one should not be using it.
> And if this happens, you'll actually be turning the clock backwards
> for Indians!When we are comfortable handing our lives to Airbus or
> Boeing, and don't make a hue or cry about it, making such cry about
> software doesn't seem quiet right.
> </rant>
>
> So no, I am not signing the petition. Linux, simply, is not the "right
> tool for the job", and it is buggy. I choose to spend my time being
> more productive, and Apple and BSD satisfies that need. Crying about
> Microsoft being evil and proprietary when I use several other
> proprietary forms in my daily life is being hypocrite. And I hope
> Indian Government focuses on the right tools for the job, and if
> Microsoft provides them, so be it. (BTW, your petition provides no
> shred of evidence for Microsoft's corruption, apart from the licensing
> fees, which can hardly be called corruption. Your argument about this
> amount could be used for public good doesn't hold ground, since most
> softwrae systems for public good are actually deployed on Windows -
> moving them to Linux would require order of magnitude investment.)
>
> -Amarendra
>
>
> On Fri, Apr 10, 2015 at 8:38 PM, Milind Oka <oak445 at gmail.com> wrote:
> > I agree all your points but how many Indians will understand them ?
> People
> > have been using different linux distros in IIT's and in research
> institutes
> > for past 10 years
> > and giving lectures on FOSS but it has no effect on the country's
> mentality.
> >
> > My simple point is kick Microsoft as early as possible by any means. For
> the
> > time being, call the OS as Bharat  OS! The site name is indeed
> > www.bosslinux.in
> >
> > Do you want to say Microsoft follows all the ethics in trade practices ?
> >
> > Everything is fair in Love & War and it is a War against Microsoft &
> > Corruption !
> >
> > I hope I have given sufficient justification.
> >
> > Pl. sign the petition and help our country in this regard as much as
> > possible.
> >
> > regards,
> >
> > Milind
> >
> >
> >
> > On 11-04-2015 08:31, Mayuresh wrote:
> >>
> >> On Sat, Apr 11, 2015 at 06:51:35AM +0530, Milind Oka wrote:
> >>>
> >>> It is another Linux Base OS localized for 18 Indian Languages. They
> >>> (CDAC) have improved the kernel also
> >>> according to their claim.
> >>
> >> So, is it not more appropriate to call it <youe flavor> Linux? Like most
> >> other flavors do? (Say Bharat Linux?)
> >>
> >> Android doesn't call itself Android Linux, which could be debated in
> >> itself. For the sake of argument it is because of heavy customization
> for
> >> different kind of devices.
> >>
> >> What would be the justification for BOSS to not use Linux as its last
> >> name? And if the justification is that they did something drastically
> >> different grounds up, a purely technical question is why was it needed
> >> (i.e. isn't Linux sufficiently flexible already to create a localized
> >> flavor?)
> >>
> >> Mayuresh
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> >
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