(A tall gringo sticking out like a sore thumb in Machu Picchu, Peru)
Other pictures from the Great Peruvian Excursion of 2007
This is the corner of cyberspace inhabited by Terrell Prude' Jr., Steve Walker, and our friends. We use it to host email and Web service for certain people that we think are cool. While this is primarily Terrell's site, Steve makes very frequent use of it. We met while working at the Microsoft Corporation several years back and have been friends since.
Well, dudes and dudettes, I'm from San Francisco, California, in the United States. I'm very much a social liberal. I'm a geek. I've traveled to quite a few countries. I am a proud card-carrying member of both the Free Software Foundation (FSF) and the National Rifle Association (NRA). I'll bet you don't see that combination everyday. :-)
Waitasec...how could a San Francisco liberal like me agree with the NRA? The FSF, sure, but the NRA?? Well, I am a member of both organizations precisely because I am a liberal. Both organizations fight for our freedom, including my freedom to be the liberal that I am. I encourage you to read this paper, written by me. It is because very brave people were willing to fight for freedom--and black people especially should remember this!--that there can be a "President Obama" at all. That freedom--precious freedom--is maintained only by a citizenry that can fight back if necessary. Just ask any survivor of Auschwitz. Just ask this guy's family. And then, ask this guy's family.
There's a very good reason that many Jewish people have the motto, "Never again!"
For exactly the same reasons, I'm a Free Software advocate and have been "Microsoft Free Since 2003", as my email signature sometimes says. Free Software is not just technically excellent--though it surely is that--but it is also a form of exercising and demanding your right to basic civil freedoms. It's much more than just "open source."
I am a fan of LTSP, especially
in education. I am also a minor warrior in the fight against email spam
and have written an article or two on the subject.
While I personally have way too many computers already (what true geek doesn't?), if I needed another one, I'd certainly buy one of these. Yes, they run GNU/Linux...and yes, they're rock-solid.
This is Thomas Jefferson's early draft of that great foundation document of the United States, the Declaration of Independence. This early draft better reflects the heated emotion and bitter disappointment of the Founding Fathers in the behaviour of the British government toward them. It gives context to the final version, which is what most people have read.
The Declaration of Independence - Jefferson's Early Draft
This is an article by Dave Gutteridge describing why so many people continue to use MS Windows, Dreamweaver, and other proprietary software. It's because it's still so easy to pirate it. Despite some press releases to the contrary, Microsoft doesn't really want to stop piracy. Highly recommended reading; Mr. Gutteridge clearly gets it. I have seen exactly the same thing here in the United States that he aparently is seeing in Japan.
Why So Many People Continue with Proprietary Software--One Major Factor
This is a piece by R. Scott Belford, Founder and Director of the Hawaii
Open Source Education Foundation (HOSEF). As one who deals with
schools a lot, he has noticed an interesting phenomenon that he calls
"OPM Addiction," especially in public schools. I had heard this term
many times from my Dad growing up. It dovetails very nicely with Dave
Gutteridge's article.
This is something that we, as taxpayers, need to hold our school boards accountable for.
"OPM Addiction" in Public Schools
This article by Richard Stallman describes the dangers in succumbing to the above. The issue is "social inertia," as Stallman describes it, and he nails human nature spot-on. He describes perfectly why so many people casually pirate software. Microsoft counts on this "social inertia" to keep its monopoly. We must fight this. Using GNU/Linux or a BSD operating system (e. g. OpenBSD) is one very effective way to do so.
Michael Robertson, of Linspire (nee Lindows) and MP3.com fame, did a
great piece on why OEM's continue to blare "we recommend Microsoft
Whatever" on their Web sites. It's not because Microsoft software
is better (it's not). Rather, it's because of annual kickbacks
and "co-marketing dollars" that Microsoft gives to these big OEM's like
HP, Dell, Gateway, etc. It's much like how big-money lobbyists in
the United States donate to both the Democratic and Republican
parties. The implied threat is, "if you don't tow our line, we'll
cut off our money supply--but only to you, not your competitors--and you'll thus lose in the election/marketplace." Hmm...sounds a lot like OPM Addiction....
The real reason OEM's keep saying "we recommend Microsoft"
The Linux Terminal Server Project (LTSP). This is how most businesses should be setting up their LAN's. Security, control, and productivity go way up, all while maintaining user-friendliness and considerably reducing costs.
The K12 Linux Terminal Server Project (originally K12LTSP, now called K12Linux). This is how most schools should be setting up their LAN's. It is a turnkey LTSP setup, using Red Hat's Fedora GNU/Linux. There is also an "Enterprise Linux" version using CentOS, which is what I use at home. I cannot recommend it strongly enough.
The OpenBSD Project. This is my
primary tool against email spammers. With OpenBSD, I have achieved a
99.5% spam rejection rate. This is just with OpenBSD's spamd program;
it's so effective that I do not currently use SpamAssassin or any other
server-side tools. Despite the project leader's well-known acidity, the
OpenBSD team's commitment to Free Software, security, and open
specifications cannot be denied. Through their amazing work, they have
helped the online community immensely.
The LibreOffice Suite.
Formerly known as OpenOffice.org,
this is Free Software's answer to Microsoft Office. Available for
GNU/Linux, MS Windows, and Mac OS X, LibreOffice is a true drop-in
replacement for Microsoft Office. for years, I used it at work all the time
with all my MS Office-using colleagues, and they had no idea that I'm
using "something different." It's that seamless. I haven't
used MS Office in years...I haven't had to.
Why Dell and Apple don't include LibreOffice instead of
Microsoft Works or AppleWorks is beyond me.
The Mozilla Firefox Web Browser. This is the browser that everybody should be using, especially Microsoft Windows users. Internet Exploder is just too insecure and is a vector for far too many malware attacks.
The Mozilla Thunderbird Email Client. This is my favorite email client, not only because it works exceedingly well, but also because its junk mail filter is the best client-side junk filter I've seen yet. In my case, it doesn't get very much exercise, thanks to the OpenBSD spamtrap mentioned previously.
The GNU Project. Without the GNU Project, started by Richard M. Stallman, the Free Software Movement as we know it would not exist. I thank him and the FSF every day that I use a computer. In January 2007, I finally joined the FSF as a card-carrying member, and I am firmly behind the new GNU General Public License, Version 3. If we don't fight for and defend our basic civil freedoms, including those involving computers and technology, then we deserve what we get.
The Bill of Rights. It seems that every time a new administration gets into office, our Constitutional rights come under fire. With the George W. Bush Administration, it was our First and Fourth Amendment rights. With the Bill Clinton Administration before that, it was our Second and Ninth Amendment rights. And both the Democrats and Republicans always seem to want to ignore the Tenth Amendment. Do these "lawmakers" even bother to read the Constitution that they swore to defend and uphold?
Contact Information: Please feel free to email me at microman at (the domain name for this Web site).
