Becuase Everything Else Sucks

Linux: The Anarchist’s Operating System?

By J. Milton
Published Sunday, November 4th, 2007, 11:29 pm
Filed under: Economic, Science and Technology, Society/Culture, Videos, US Politics

Disclaimer: As the resident techno-writer at a political blog, I’ll make this as layman as possible.

Tux

Most people don’t think twice about which operating system (OS) their computer runs. Ninety-five percent of home computers are currently running some flavor of Windows (98, XP, Vista, etc.), and another 4% run the Mac OS. Running a very distant 3rd place is Linux, the proverbial “little engine that could.” Linux is an open source OS that comes in dozens of flavors, and amongst the geek community, it is popularly viewed as the David to Microsoft’s Goliath. Over the last few years, one flavor of Linux (Ubuntu) has risen above it’s brethren and seems very close to the coveted “mainstream” status. Ubuntu’s rock star status has provoked quite a debate within the Linux community. Many geeks believe that Linux is “selling out” by pandering to the general public, while others passionately want their champion OS to challenge and defeat the Microsoft monopoly. This debate, however interesting and engaging, is ultimately irrelevant.

Linux will never reach popular desktop status. Why? The answer is deeply embedded in American economics. It’s the same reason that we’ll never have universal healthcare, as the insurance and pharmaceutical industries are enjoying a drunken orgy of profit. At some point in our history, capitalism ceased being about competition, consumer choice, and opportunity. It is now all about monopolies and unconstrained profit growth through CONTROL over the consumer. GuyFawkes over at the Technocrat blog describes it as a “rolling contractual relationship business model” wherein the consumer becomes the “asset” which large corporations in turn “track, analyze, trade, and manipulate.” I call it financial slavery. Think about car loans, mortgages, credit cards, and student loans. Everything is set up to lock you in, and bleed you over your lifetime.

This is why desktop Linux is “dead on arrival.” Linux is about freedom of choice and it’s low (or zero) price doesn’t give any leverage to companies looking for lock-in and control. It’s very nature is contrary to the typical computer purchasing experience. Today, Joe Consumer drives down to his local Big Box, whips out the plastic (they’ll sign you up on the spot if you don’t have one), and buys what he thinks is a “hot deal”. Until he realizes that he needs to fork over close to $600 just to get enough software (Office, anti-virus, anti-spyware, etc.) to run the thing. And in just a few short months he’ll realize that his hardware needs to be upgraded ($300 video card) so that his son can play the latest Doom/Unreal/Quake. And in another year, his office suite (another $150) will need a step up. And let’s not forget the interest he’s paying on his credit card for this purchase that he thought was a “hot deal.” Linux is cheap, has instant access to a ton of free and high-quality software, and in most cases, the latest version will run well on hardware that was cutting edge five years ago! It simply does not work with our current economic paradigm, thus it will never reach the masses. Unless…

Unless, the system changes. Here’s what GuyFawkes at Technocrat concludes:

“Linux adoption will continue, just as people like myself who have no mortgage, no overdraft, no hire purchase, no credit card debt, and no other rolling contract debts, like using linux wherever possible, because it is free not as in beer or speech, but free as in not leveraged against me, there will always be a core of people who feel this way, linux becomes what Karl Marx would have described as a “Political” choice, the workers control the means of production.
Windows is a capitalist OS.
Linux is an anarcho syndicalist OS.
Mac is a communist OS. (Chairman Jobs’ little red book)”

I understand the system, therefore I can make “political decisions” that let me take advantage of the system. The reality is that more and more people are waking up and making similar decisions. Doctors are opening up practices charging low prices, and not dealing with HMO’s, musicians are selling their music directly to consumers for whatever the consumer is willing to pay, and consumers are choosing to do business with these people. Will the current system of vendor-subsidized computer hardware and over-priced shrinkwrapped software collapse? Only if we, as consumers, are willing to make some political purchasing decisions. And surprisingly, we don’t have to sacrifice quality. Observe Vista and Linux on the desktop:

WPvideo 1.10

Are you in the market for a new, cheap computer? Do what I did. Get a used one, and install Linux Mint (my favorite) on it. As anarchist consumers, it is up to us to start the revolution.

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7 Responses to “Linux: The Anarchist’s Operating System?”

  1. Fantastic …Yes!!! Marvelous I think most miss the point, you don’t and definitely help in putting the ‘free’ back in ‘freedom’ by encouraging an ‘open source’ OS.

    Bravo and thanks, have a stack of books on Linux at this minute, some from the library, others from friends who are encouraging me to go Linux. Have been meaning to get crackin’ on ‘em but until this moment, I had put placed aside. Am now inspired and so have much to read before I sleep.

    But thanks to you I’ve discovered many ‘notable’ videos on the issue which I’ll gather and put in a playlist for other enthusiasts surfing by as well. Whatever, your posts are ‘worthy’ man, and simply had to tell you. Thanks again.

    btw, I’m going over to Ubuntuland and soon; yes, as soon as I realize what technically must be done. Imagine I’ll be heading off in a brand new Tux, too.

    camelien
    11/5/07 at 10:58 am

  2. […] J. Milton added an interesting post today on Linux: The Anarchist’s Operating System?.Here’s a small reading:And let’s not forget the interest he’s paying on his credit card for this purchase that he thought was a “hot deal.” Linux is cheap, has instant access to a ton of free and high-quality software, and in most cases, the latest version … […]

    www.topcreditcardsadvice.info » Linux: The Anarchist’s Operating System?
    11/5/07 at 1:41 pm

  3. Linux isn’t free as in $$$ or as in a free society. Install Linux (including Ubuntu) and try to print a color photo. You will soon realize that you can’t print that photo because the appropriate driver for your printer does not exist for Linux. Therefore you will need to go out and buy a new printer which Linux supports… If you calculate the TCO of owning Windows versus that of Linux, you will realize that Windows has a TCO that’s vastly cheaper than Linux. The mere fact that Linux takes 5 minutes to boot makes it an extremely expensive desktop OS because time is money. The list of reasons why Linux is expensive as a desktop OS goes on an on. I’ve personally calculated that it would cost me four times as much money to run Linux instead of Windows as a desktop OS.

    But the real problem with Linux is not technical… It’s ethical and moral. Linux users have been brainwashed into believing it’s a great OS, when they are in fact not productive at all using it. They in turn brainwash other people into believing Linux is great so that they can maintain their own personal position within the community. Basically, this is the way a sect operates…On the surface Linux appears to be about sharing, but in reality it’s about despotism and mind control. A quick visit to your local (unfriendly) Linux forum will confirm this. Try asking a simple question like why your PDA works with Windows but not with Linux and you will be verbally crucified on the spot.

    Microsoft wants your wallet, but Linux wants your time (in truck loads) and the sovereign right to humiliate you on a daily basis. For me the choice really isn’t difficult to make…

    Anna
    11/7/07 at 5:39 am

  4. Anna, if this was 2001, a few of your points would be valid. In 2007, I print color photos just fine. In fact, I configured my HP Photosmart to print from my Linux desktop in about 2 minutes, and I am still waiting for the Vista drivers for my wife’s laptop. In fact, your contention that I would need to “go out and buy a new printer which Linux supports” is completely the opposite of reality. Hardware support for older peripherals is EXCELLENT under Linux, which should encourage people to BREAK THE UPGRADE CYCLE!!! For example, my HP Photosmart printer has worked well for years under both Linux and Windows XP. However, when my wife bought a new laptop, we were floored to find there were no Vista drivers released to support the printer. That’s because………………. drumroll ………………… big proprietary software (ala Windows Vista) DRIVES new hardware purchases. And in turn, those hardware vendors support the Microsoft monopoly.

    The neat concept about Linux is that you can buy second-hand computer equipment at swap or on Ebay for a steal, and it will *COOK*! Most people don’t need a brand new quad-core desktop with 4GB of RAM. They just need to get on the web, surf, and check email. And if you’re a geek who really does want a quad-core, Linux still has you covered. Anna, did you watch my video???

    Some reality checks:

    1. Linux does not take 5 minutes to boot. My Ubuntu desktop takes just over 1 minute. Vista is about 20 seconds, although with all the services that continue to load in the background after I get to the desktop, the total time for Vista is close to *3* minutes before I can actually *do* anything. Eighty seconds in Ubuntu, and I’m ready to roll.

    2. Ethical and moral problems with Linux? Brainwashing? A sect? Mind-control?! Outside of the fact that you’re trapped in an X-Files episode, the problem with these assertions is that the Linux community is far too diverse with a bazillion different agendas. A cult requires someone with direct and absolute control, and with close to one hundred flavors of Linux, that person just doesn’t exist. I know some Linux users that HATE Linus Torvalds. I mean they *HATE* him. And he started the frickin’ thing. Now, Mac users are different. If you want to label somebody a cult, look no further than the Jobs clan. :-)

    3. Linux forums are just like any other part of the web. Some forums hate noobs, and others treat you like you just won the lottery. Find me a community that does not span this range.

    4. Your PDA works fine with Linux if it’s Palm. If it’s Windows-based, you’re pretty well screwed. Windows will never release Linux drivers. Mac users get screwed sometimes too. But they’ve got a pile of money to create their own hardware. Linux does require you to be a “political” consumer. I think I said that in the article. (See, that was much easier than a crucifixion!)

    5. Linux doesn’t want your time or your humiliation. Linux doesn’t want anything. There are too many companies, too many strategic directions, and too many developers. There is no “Linux”, per se. And this is the point of my article. It’s part of the reason why Linux will continue to FAIL in the market. It doesn’t economically enslave you! But, if you want to fix up an old computer, or just get off the hardware upgrade cycle, Linux is a great solution.

    And I’m not a zealot. REALLY. I use Windows every day. I think XP is a really good OS. But by realizing how things work, I get some control back. And that’s my whole point. *You* should own your computer. And with our current system, your computer owns *you*.

    J. Milton
    11/7/07 at 5:10 pm

  5. http://www.electrocomputerwarehouse.com

    sofia
    11/13/07 at 12:44 am

  6. I swear I’m going to hit the next person who uses the term “anarcho-syndicalist.” It’s not anarchism; it’s a hip term for good old fashioned socialism (a very general label, but accurate), which is ultimately INVOLUNTARY, unless you assume that everyone will fall in line and walk the drab socialist walk. In that case, it’s just damn naive.

    P.S. Linux rocks, but you’re correct when you point out that it will never have mass appeal, and you are also correct in your account of why it won’t. But PLEASE, just say “socialist;” there’s no shame in that. There IS shame in hiding behind misleading labels.

    Seth C.
    03/25/08 at 5:47 pm

  7. “At some point in our history, capitalism ceased being about competition, consumer choice, and opportunity. It is now all about monopolies and unconstrained profit growth through CONTROL over the consumer.”

    That would be a result of the government intervening in the econoomy and favoring certain businesses over others, therefore giving them an unfair competition advantage.

    Ethan Lee Vita
    04/17/08 at 7:52 am

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