** Darren Mansell <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> [2007-08-23 11:09]: > On Thu, 2007-08-23 at 10:57 +0100, alan c wrote: > > Phil Bull wrote: > > > On Thu, 2007-08-23 at 10:19 +0100, Matthew Larsen wrote: > > >> Well thats the biggest threat to linux: If Microsoft charged > > >> reasonable licenses for their software (ie £20 for Vista > > >> Ultimate), FOSS would be blown out of the water. > > > > > > I really have to disagree on that point. In my experience, very few > > > people use Ubuntu because it's free. It is a factor, of course - > > > it makes it easier for people to try it out, and people aren't > > > worried about being out-of-pocket if they don't like what they see. > > > But it's almost never the real reason that they switched. > > > > > > Most of the people I know who have switched to Ubuntu have done so > > > because of the better security and speed improvement. These people > > > were sick to the back teeth of having to deal with viruses and > > > spyware, and were victims of the usual Windows slowdown which kicks > > > in a few months after installation. Having a cheaper Vista license > > > doesn't solve either of these problems. > > > > My first serious use of linux was from a purchased retail box pack of > > Suse 9.1 from amazon, costing 60 uk pounds. > > -- > > alan cocks > > Kubuntu user#10391 > > Same here. I paid £60 for a Mandrake powerpack without ever paying for > Windows before. ** end quote [Darren Mansell]
I'll third that, although I did actually purchase an OEM copy of Windows 3.1 way back when. My first PC was an IBM PS/2 model L40 laptop and I only finally gave in and got an x86 machine (386sx20 to be precise) because OS/2 made the hardware useable (windows was a toy compared to my Amiga on which I created advertising material for IBM!). Somewhere I do have a couple of Windows 95 licenses, although I can't remember from and a Windows 98 one which is old stock. I followed Linux on the IBM internal forums since there was one on getting it running on my L40 (is there still the patch for the floppy drive option when you compile the kernel?), and finally got hold of a copy of Caldera - boo, hiss ;) - Open Linux Base 1.1 from PC World (yes they had copies of Linux on the shelves back in 1996/7 ish), then bought a copy of Red Hat Linux 6.0 from a friend who ended up with two copies due to being impatient for the first one ordered to arrive and seeing one in PC World. I also bought a selection of Linux CDs from the Linux Emporium to try out various distributions, so I suspect I've probably spent about the same on Linux as I have on Windows (ignoring licenses provided on machines which I think only totals one copy of Windows 2000 on a laptop). Cost is not the issue, although it is the reason I wouldn't entertain purchasing a copy of Red Hat anymore. I use Linux because, although I've been using Windows for longer (back to 3.0 right up to XP as I have to for work, although I've not touched Vista yet), Linux is easier to use, easier to fix, easier to configure and more reliable - that's not even getting into more secure and the virus/malware issues. -- Paul Tansom | Aptanet Ltd. | http://www.aptanet.com/ | 023 9238 0001 ====================================================================== Registered in England | Company No: 4905028 | Registered Office: Crawford House, Hambledon Road, Denmead, Waterlooville, Hants, PO7 6NU -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.kubuntu.org/UKTeam/
