Well, occasionally I have to be reminded that you should just was pick your battles.
I just wasted several hours on a comment board at the otherwise excellent Ziff-Davis website.
The subject was Ed Bott, Windows worshipper, and his gleeful take on how people hated XP as much as they do Vista, and how one day soon it will all be moot as people learn to love Vista.
It turns out that many of his followers share his philosophies.
In short, it's a quagmire that a Linux fan would should stay away from at all costs.
Some people just don't get Linux, FOSS, or the fact that the war for the desktop is not over, it's only begun. And trying to convince them otherwise is like attempting to teach the proverbial pig to dance.
I know that some simply don't pull for the underdog. People who have never been to Florida loudly cheer for the Miami Hurricanes to crush Florida A&M. Yankee fans exist all over the country, screaming for them to get to the World series, ignoring their hometown team that's had some losing seasons lately.
And Microsoft shills love their operating system, and the overall "trusting" nature of Ballmer and company.
Whatever you do, don't waste your time trying to show them the benefits of the open-source movement. Their minds are made up.
What will turn them around is if Linux actually overtakes Windows as the OS of choice among the masses.
And there is where we promoters of FOSS have a real shot.
Take your grandmother, for instance. She's a sweet lady in her 80's who has never touched a computer in her life. She wants to take the plunge. Wal-Mart is selling bare-bones Vista systems for $600. She's thinking about buying one.
Now's your chance to do her one of the biggest favors that you ever have!
Go to TigerDirect (or any other online retailer that you trust. I trust TigerDirect). Put together a barebones (i.e. no OS) system. I just created a pretty sweet one with Intel dual-core, a gig of RAM, a DVD burner, and a 19" flat panel monitor for $529, plus shipping (about 30 bucks). This system is CONSIDERABLY hotter than the 600 dollar WM offering. Install Ubuntu, or a similar user-friendly Linux on it. Now, let Grandma learn how to compute free of DRM, WGA, and calls to Redmond to activate things. While you're at it, tell her all about spyware, viruses, and trojans, and have a good laugh about how the poor Windows users have to take proactive measures against them or else get infected.
Honest to goodness, there is simply no compelling reason for home users to run Windows. And you, the Linux proponent, can make it happen one user at a time.
