[NBLUG/talk] How to send a message to Mr. Gates

Lincoln Peters lincoln_peters at hotmail.com
Fri Aug 15 19:50:04 PDT 2003


I wonder...do they make her use MS Office?  Or might they let her switch to 
OpenOffice?  Now THAT might generate some media attention!




Lincoln




>From: Nancy Harrison <vulpia at sonic.net>
>Reply-To: talk at nblug.org
>To: talk at nblug.org
>Subject: Re: [NBLUG/talk] How to send a message to Mr. Gates
>Date: Fri, 15 Aug 2003 17:21:39 -0700
>
>Good letter, Suzanne! Interesting that I also wrote a letter to Ms. Walker
>on the same subject - use Macintosh and Linux (remember she may have
>the problem that the Washington Post won't let her!)  - NHarrison
>
>On Friday, August 15, 2003, at 12:08  PM, Suzanne Aldrich wrote:
>
>>This is an email I wrote to a journalist who got hit with the Blaster 
>>worm:
>>
>>From: Suzanne Aldrich <aigeanta at sonic.net>
>>Date: Fri Aug 15, 2003  11:35:27  AM US/Pacific
>>To: walkerl at washpost.com
>>Subject: How to send a message to Mr. Gates
>>
>>Dear Ms. Walker,
>>
>>In response to your article "Worms Shouldn't Break Windows" 
>>(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A54937-2003Aug13.html):
>>
>>I am a young female computer professional who works with Windows, MacOSX, 
>>and RedHat Linux on a daily basis. The easiest to use by far is MacOSX, 
>>and Apple hardware is also well-designed (disclosure: I own some Apple 
>>stock). If you're on a tight budget, RedHat Linux is a great choice. I 
>>have found that the funky old PC I put RedHat on runs faster, and the 
>>drivers support hardware better than Windows. The HP Deskjet output looks 
>>better, and my D-link network card actually works, which I couldn't get it 
>>to do with Windows. For years I have been hearing complaints that there 
>>isn't enough software available for Mac and Linux, yet I have never had an 
>>issue with finding tools or creating documents that could be shared with 
>>the entire world. Meanwhile, I see people using Word, a horribly 
>>monolithic and unusable excuse for a word processor, having trouble even 
>>sharing documents between different versions. In addition, I have never 
>>been infected with a virus, trojan, or worm and I generally don't use 
>>antivirus software. The fact is, Microsoft tends to leave a lot of ports 
>>open and services running, and they don't give you the ability to block 
>>pop-ups and third-party cookies with IE, but do let you download and 
>>execute all sorts of malicious code in email if you don't modify default 
>>settings in Outlook.
>>
>>I think the reason Microsoft's software is so poor is because they have a 
>>development process not unlike an assembly line, they're trying to build 
>>too many pieces of software into an obsolete monolithic structure, and 
>>they're making a huge profit by not investing in security. Why do people 
>>take this? The herd mentality has forced many into the Microsoft corner, 
>>as everyone tends to use what they know from work or school environments. 
>>There is also not enough publicity for Linux as a desktop system. I think 
>>now is the time to spread the gospel, as people who are sick and tired of 
>>patching Windows every week look for an alternative.
>>
>>Open-source software is "distributed in source under licenses guaranteeing 
>>anybody rights to freely use, modify, and redistribute, the code" 
>>(http://www.catb.org/~esr/jargon/). What this means is that I can download 
>>the source code that comprises an open-source software project, modify it 
>>to my heart's content, build an executable program, and re-distribute the 
>>changes I made to the source. The whole point of this is that programmers 
>>want tools that work, so they built them. With proprietary software, if 
>>there is a bug or security hole you have to wait around until the company 
>>fixes it, but if it's open source the community itself can address the 
>>problem immediately and without any obstruction. You can see how 
>>inherently democratic this process is. In addition, peer-review has led to 
>>almost bug-free pieces of software, like TeX 
>>(http://truetex.com/knuthchk.htm) and collaboration on a massive scale has 
>>led to viable competitors to Microsoft, like OpenOffice 
>>(http://www.openoffice.org) which rivals MS Office after only a few years 
>>of development.
>>
>>The best part is that not only is open-source software more secure, it's 
>>also free! Take one! If you have a PC with a CD burner, go to 
>>http://www.redhat.com/download/howto_download.html and follow the 
>>directions. If that's too heavy-duty for you, there are numerous Linux 
>>User Groups (http://www.linux.org/groups/usa/) that hold installfests to 
>>put Linux on newbie's computers and seminars to teach them how to use it. 
>>If you have any extra time to fiddle around, I highly recommend trying out 
>>RedHat, which is only one of the many flavors of Linux. Another piece of 
>>open-source software I highly recommend is Mozilla 
>>(http://www.mozilla.org), which is an Internet browser that rose from the 
>>ashes of Netscape. It can easily be installed on Windows, Mac, or Linux. 
>>Mozilla lets you block pop-up ads and third-party cookies extremely 
>>easily, and it has a built-in mail client that isn't vulnerable to the 
>>kind of attacks that Outlook succumbs to.
>>
>>The reason I've spent so long on this to convince you to try something new 
>>is not because I'm making any money on it, but because I believe in it and 
>>I think it makes the world a better place. The best way to send a message 
>>to Bill Gates is to stop buying his crappy software.
>>
>>Sincerely,
>>
>>Suzanne Aldrich
>>sjaconsulting.com
>>
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