Why switch to Ubuntu.
I found this article, “The best reason yet to use Ubuntu”:http://www.hotubuntunews.com/blog_7.shtml, on digg.com the other day. It outlines Microsoft’s newest anti-piracy tactic:
bq. Basically, in layman’s terms, buyers of retail copies of Windows Vista will be able to transfer their software to a new machine only once. If they want to move their software a second time, they will have to buy a new copy of the operating system. If you buy your computer with the operating system pre-installed, you are not permitted to transfer it at all.
The author’s response to this tactic is to urge his readers to switch to “Ubuntu”:http://www.ubuntu.com/. I would definitely have to agree. I have been using Ubuntu, off and on, for the last several months and really like it. It is simple to use and simple to administer. In my opinion, it is the first version of Linux that stands a chance of becoming a proper desktop OS.
On the other hand, I wonder how this move by Microsoft will affect sales of Vista. After reading the article, my first response was to decide not to buy Vista. Actually, my first response to try and figure out how to buy a Mac, but a split second later I decided to never purchase Vista.
If I purchase a piece of software, I should have the right to a) install the software on as many computers as I own and b) the right to transfer that software from one computer to another. Although I say this with one caveat for non OS software and that is that although I feel that I should have the right to install purchased software on as many computers as I own, I do believe that I should only use the software on one computer at a time. My second point pertains to operating systems. If I buy a new computer, I should have the right to transfer that OS to the new computer (this assumes that the computer did not come preinstalled with an OS). I should not have to go out and buy a new license, or a new copy, of windows in order to use it on my new computer.
