D
Dunamite
Guest
Chances are many users have at least one illegal program on their computer. Some of you may even have a copy of Windows that is pirated. Software piracy is theft, by any standard. Certainly for a Christian it is inexcusable.
And there are alternatives. Instead of using pirated software you can use free open source software (FOSS). Free means free to distribute and change, as in free license. It usually means free in $$ as well.
If you use MS Office at work and brought it home to use there as well, it is illegal. If you own a copy of Windows for one computer then you cannot install it on two computers. You need a licence for each machine. FOSS solves all of that.
Alternatives to MS Office that are free are: OpenOffice from openoffice.org. I have yet to find an Office file that it does not render properly. That includes Word, Excel and Powerpoint. OpenOffice can open them all.
If you just want Word compatibility you can use Abiword. If you want an open source desktop publisher there is Scribus.
Alternatives to Adobe Photoshop or Jasc Paintshop are the GIMP.
There are open source solutions to almost every problem. There are even online word processors, databases and spreadsheets. There are open source CD/DVD burners.
Free does not mean bad. They are often as good as their commercial counterparts and in some cases better because they are user driven, not market driven. There is more collaboration and fewer bugs in the end product because they are not rushed to the market to meet arbitrary deadlines.
If you want an even greater selection of of FOSS, then you can replace Windows as well with an open source OS such as Linux or Free BSD, which Mac OS/X is based on. Both are variations on Unix which is the backbone of many mainframe computers. With Linux you get even more choice because many FOSS runs only on Linux.This also solves the problem of illegal copies of Windows.
Windows is upgraded every five to eight years. In the meantime it is repeatedly patched as new vulnerabilities appear. Sometimes the patch causes problems of its own and the patchwork creates instability. Linux is updated regularly.
Ubuntu (a common Linux distribution) is updated twice a year in April and October. The version numbers shows its update history. I am on version 7.10 which shows it was released in October of 2007. The next version number will 8.04 due out next April. Users are already using version 8.10 and giving feedback to the developers and it will be discussed and tweaked many times before it is released next year. Each new version is given a trial name as well. Ubuntu is a South African word for behaving humanly and humanely in a community which mean I am who I am because of who we are together. The idea is that we go ahead together. Each new release is called a "herd" to keep up the African motif. And each herd is alphabetical with an adjective followed by an animal name. 7.04 was called Feisty Fawn, 7.10 is Gutsy Gibbon and 8.10 is being called Hardy Heron. Who says software developers have no sense of humor? BTW, Ubuntu has only been around for about four years, a relatively short timespan in computer history. Some kinds of Linux go back to the beginning of Linux in the early 1990s. There are literally hundreds of kinds of Linux, big and small, running on just about every chipset, in almost any language and meeting a specific need.
Linux is fun. The names of programs are full of meaning. Debian is one of the main Linux distributions and it comes from combining the names of the developers Debra and Ian. Gnome, a Linux desktop, stands for GNU Network Object Model Environment. GNU itself is an acronym for GNU's not Unix. Put the fun back into computing and try Linux.
There is nothing wrong with sticking with Windows if that is what you want, but just know that you do not have to pirate software to communicate with others or the open files. There are plenty of FOSS alternatives.
The Green Party of Canada (where I come from) has endorsed FOSS. The idea is that it favors small programs and makes better use of resources. For example, Linux can run from a floppy disk (without graphical user interface) or can run from a usb key or CD with full graphical user interface and programs. This includes the OS plus most applications such as OpenOffice, Firefox browser, GIMP photo editor, Thunderbird email client, Pidgin IM, Skype and lots more. This breathes new life into old hardware and keeps them out of landfills. My usb key Linux even has a 3D desktop and is lightning fast since it runs from RAM. It is very leading edge, but small.
Free software is also good because it keeps more money in your pocket that you can use for other things such as looking after basic needs or giving it to do God's work. It is a win - win situation.
Blessings,
Dunamite
And there are alternatives. Instead of using pirated software you can use free open source software (FOSS). Free means free to distribute and change, as in free license. It usually means free in $$ as well.
If you use MS Office at work and brought it home to use there as well, it is illegal. If you own a copy of Windows for one computer then you cannot install it on two computers. You need a licence for each machine. FOSS solves all of that.
Alternatives to MS Office that are free are: OpenOffice from openoffice.org. I have yet to find an Office file that it does not render properly. That includes Word, Excel and Powerpoint. OpenOffice can open them all.
If you just want Word compatibility you can use Abiword. If you want an open source desktop publisher there is Scribus.
Alternatives to Adobe Photoshop or Jasc Paintshop are the GIMP.
There are open source solutions to almost every problem. There are even online word processors, databases and spreadsheets. There are open source CD/DVD burners.
Free does not mean bad. They are often as good as their commercial counterparts and in some cases better because they are user driven, not market driven. There is more collaboration and fewer bugs in the end product because they are not rushed to the market to meet arbitrary deadlines.
If you want an even greater selection of of FOSS, then you can replace Windows as well with an open source OS such as Linux or Free BSD, which Mac OS/X is based on. Both are variations on Unix which is the backbone of many mainframe computers. With Linux you get even more choice because many FOSS runs only on Linux.This also solves the problem of illegal copies of Windows.
Windows is upgraded every five to eight years. In the meantime it is repeatedly patched as new vulnerabilities appear. Sometimes the patch causes problems of its own and the patchwork creates instability. Linux is updated regularly.
Ubuntu (a common Linux distribution) is updated twice a year in April and October. The version numbers shows its update history. I am on version 7.10 which shows it was released in October of 2007. The next version number will 8.04 due out next April. Users are already using version 8.10 and giving feedback to the developers and it will be discussed and tweaked many times before it is released next year. Each new version is given a trial name as well. Ubuntu is a South African word for behaving humanly and humanely in a community which mean I am who I am because of who we are together. The idea is that we go ahead together. Each new release is called a "herd" to keep up the African motif. And each herd is alphabetical with an adjective followed by an animal name. 7.04 was called Feisty Fawn, 7.10 is Gutsy Gibbon and 8.10 is being called Hardy Heron. Who says software developers have no sense of humor? BTW, Ubuntu has only been around for about four years, a relatively short timespan in computer history. Some kinds of Linux go back to the beginning of Linux in the early 1990s. There are literally hundreds of kinds of Linux, big and small, running on just about every chipset, in almost any language and meeting a specific need.
Linux is fun. The names of programs are full of meaning. Debian is one of the main Linux distributions and it comes from combining the names of the developers Debra and Ian. Gnome, a Linux desktop, stands for GNU Network Object Model Environment. GNU itself is an acronym for GNU's not Unix. Put the fun back into computing and try Linux.
There is nothing wrong with sticking with Windows if that is what you want, but just know that you do not have to pirate software to communicate with others or the open files. There are plenty of FOSS alternatives.
The Green Party of Canada (where I come from) has endorsed FOSS. The idea is that it favors small programs and makes better use of resources. For example, Linux can run from a floppy disk (without graphical user interface) or can run from a usb key or CD with full graphical user interface and programs. This includes the OS plus most applications such as OpenOffice, Firefox browser, GIMP photo editor, Thunderbird email client, Pidgin IM, Skype and lots more. This breathes new life into old hardware and keeps them out of landfills. My usb key Linux even has a 3D desktop and is lightning fast since it runs from RAM. It is very leading edge, but small.
Free software is also good because it keeps more money in your pocket that you can use for other things such as looking after basic needs or giving it to do God's work. It is a win - win situation.
Blessings,
Dunamite