Linux is NOT a Crusade!

After my article about Novell, i received at least one comment ( and more always come in ) which makes me really annoyed. Although i replied in a lengthy fashion, i feel it deserves its own article. It's something that gets to me, and i just don't understand the mentality behind it:

Why do so many people treat Linux as a crusade?!?

I really don't get it. I have stated my reasons for using Linux, none of which come down to some arbitrary ( almost religious ) crusade against Microsoft. I've been part of the free software community for a while, and have noticed that it seems to be more against Microsoft than Apple, which honestly i find really odd. I see free software as something that i don't pay for and that i can do whatever i want with. But i also need to be practical.

I don't hate NVidia because i have to install a binary blob if i want some decent 3D Graphics, nor do i blame the kernel developers, because what they do isn't easy, even with hardware specs.

I don't hate Opera because i can't see their source code. Sure, it'd be really nice, but the software costs nothing, and in my opinion, is better than the alternatives. Browsing is really high on my priority list, so i want the best experience i can get.

I don't hate Microsoft because they were early to the desktop OS market and Apple made some silly business decisions ( which they still stick to oddly enough ). I'm referring to their insistence of bundling the OS with the hardware. Had they decided to put in the effort and build a kernel to support anything, they'd probably be number one and Microsoft might be known for something else.

What i do hate is people who think it is their task ( or maybe righteous calling ) to hate Microsoft for having built a business out of their OS market, such that it is hard for anyone else to enter the market. That's capitalism people. Microsoft just conduct business in the way that almost any other company in a capitalist industrialized society does. I'm not so much into big business, i dislike all the trickery and deceit, but that's just how it is. If something else that is better than Windows ( in cost or features ) comes along, it will slowly gain market share, but for that to happen, people need to have a reason to switch. Cost and features is part of it, but so is community interaction.

Years ago i installed Mandrake ( now Mandriva ) Linux on my mothers home PC, and she loved it. But there were problems. She couldn't walk into a shop and buy any hardware, she needed to call me first to see if it would work. She also had issues receiving and sending certain files to friends via email, such as Microsoft Word documents. Your normal non-tech member of society finds these things to be an issue. It's not Microsoft's fault. But so many people in the Linux community love to blame them for it. As Linux grows in popularity, which it clearly is, more hardware manufacturers will strive to support Linux. And with forward thinking companies like Novell, document, service and protocol compatibility will slowly fall into place. The Wine project is another great idea, and allows people to run Microsoft Office and Adobe Photoshop on Linux. Personally, i have no need for either of those, but not one of the professional artists that i have worked with would replace Photoshop with Gimp ( even tho i prefer Gimp ). Samba allows for protocol compatibility, again making life easier to integrate a network of mixed OS. And there are some zealots out there saying, "But why mix them, you don't need Windows and Mac, just use Linux", but that's not the way it works in big business.

So why should i care if some people are getting a bit overzealous?

Firstly, it gives me a bad name. When i say i'm a Linux user, some people actually say, "Oh, one of those" or "Ok, i won't mention Microsoft" or even hide an XBox behind a curtain and put away their Windows Mobile phone. And honestly, i don't like that. If i were to buy a gaming console ( other than my Wii ), i'd probably buy an XBox. Shock, Gasp, Horror, Linux guy wants XBox. My reasoning is that out of the 3 big current generation consoles, Microsoft have the best community support. If i have access to a Windows PC, i can make a game and sell it on the XBox. Sony and Nintendo don't allow that.

Secondly, what might rise if some Tux Crusade destroys Microsoft? Linux doesn't have the market share yet, so it'd probably be Apple. I'm very convinced that on the scale of proprietariness, Apple rank higher than Microsoft. One OS, only Apple hardware, no attempts to disassemble anything, we can't try and install the OS anywhere, their EULA even prevented users from using their own boot camp ( no other OS on the hardware ), and i'm not allowed to talk about the rest. And in my opinion, i'd rather use the Windows desktop to the Mac desktop. Kernel, not so much, Mac is much more stable and less issues with malware and viruses, but the coming from a Linux background where i feel Windows isn't configurable enough, OS X doesn't even have a task manager/bar/window list. I can't even change the shortcuts, so after a day of work i come home and have to get used to Alt+Tab again, and Home and End actually doing what i expect. So i'd rather have Microsoft, who seem a little willing to bend to pressure, up there than Apple.

Thirdly, it maintains the general view of Linux as a geek OS. Bearing in mind that the people who shout loudest are most frequently recognized, i don't like the thought of the Linux user base of consisting only of a bunch over overzealous nerds. I've heard of shop assistants say, "Use Linux if you want to write your own drivers", which is the rubbish that prevents adoption. If it's not for everyone, then the free software movement has failed. Anyone should feel comfortable using it in the way they want, and as a Linux contributor, it's part of my job to assist people in feeling good about using Linux, not complaining that things don't work as they should ( like myself and my colleagues do when using Mac OS X ).

And finally, it scares people. I've seen articles where people refer to Linux as a cult. People warn of getting in the community, saying that its like a secret organization that you need a special handshake ( or maybe some driver code ) to join. This is not good for Linux as a product. Maintaining a cult status will always scare people ( you may think the Jedi cloak is cool too, but the girl next door is really afraid of you ), so at some stage someone well known needs to come in and dispel these myths. And when Microsoft become the biggest seller of SUSE Linux, these myths move away quickly.

This rampant crusade does nothing but tarnish the image of the Linux community and really prevents people from moving forward. Maybe i'll get zealous about it when i can visit a Flash heavy site in any Linux browser and not fear the consequences, or walk into a shop and just buy some hardware knowing that it'll plug and play, or when i can buy a game that'll just run. 

And for that i'm very thankful that Novell have a Silverlight port, because it means that i don't fear visiting some Silverlight sites. I'm thankful for the Linux Driver Project, because maybe soon i won't have to look up hardware details online before buying something. I'm thankful for Wine, because i can play Red Alert 1, Starcraft, Diablo 2, and many other games. I'm thankful for Mono, because the .NET framework doesn't suck, and if i do need to write something that it is suited for, i can without buying Windows. I'm thankful for Canonical for making the community that develops for Linux bigger. I'm thankful for Trolltech, because they helped make KDE the next gen desktop that it is becoming. And all of the people behind these things deserve credit. Because they don't just sit at home and complain about the unfairness of business in a capitalist society, and they accept that it is merely the way it works. And maybe all the Microsoft haters should stop trolling the internet for porn and places to spread their word, and actually get involved. Make an icon, put up a banner, write an unbiased article, anything to make a difference to the community, and invite new users. Make Linux more friendly. Help a new user. Because at some stage, we were all n00bs, and it sucked. The constant banter about how evil Microsoft is doesn't benefit anyone, so stop wasting time on it and do something productive!