First off, I do plan on going ahead and publishing the second issue of THE *NIXED REPORT. Then I can work on the first CD-ROM, which will have the first three issues instead of two along with some extra goodies.
I have some great news to start off with.
- I am getting a PowerBook G4 soon (500 Mhz, 256 MB RAM, 20 GB Hard Drive, 16 MB ATI Video, etc…) for experimentation purposes. lol
- I am also getting a new computer soon thanks to Justin! 😀
- I recently purchased a JVC Camcorder. Woot!
Now for the bad news:
- Still waiting for the PowerBook to get wiped out and reset.
- New notebook won’t get here until next week (USPS tends to move like molasses these days).
- I’m still trying to figure out the camcorder’s functions, including importing into Kino. Yay!
Now I want everyone to take a look at this. On September. 7, 2007, the whole event started. I want you guys to do a huge favor, because while there are plenty who would not agree with their point of view on an event such as 9/11, there are many parallels between them and what people are trying to do in order to promote Free and Open Source Software. Take a look at the link provided then watch CNN, ABC, FOX, C-SPAN, and any other cable news network you can find and see if there is any coverage of what they’re doing whatsoever. Then watch on September 11, 2007 and see if there is any coverage whatsoever by those same networks. If it is marginalized (i.e. made to look like said protest was very small when it may very well not be small) on all those networks, but a different story is told in other places online…. well, I’ll explain it in the next sentence. The main obstacle that these individuals are facing when it comes to having their voices heard is the same obstacle that you and I are facing: [Corrupt] Corporate America.
I have no problems or qualms with corporations as long as they do not go out of their way to do petty and harmful things to other people. Unfortunately, there are plenty of these corrupt corporations who have a massive amount of control over the mass media, whether it be television, radio, or print. While there may have been the Enrons, Haliburtons, and other companies that members of We Are Change have to deal with, there are two main companies/groups that we have to deal with:
- Microsoft
- The Business Software Alliance
It’s a symbiotic relationship of sorts between the two. One is supposed to make sure that users have shelled out an arm and a leg for their copies of software, yet it is used by the other to blackmail these same users. For now though, let us focus on the Redmond, Washington software company. In Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit 9/11, there was a brief clip that allegedly showed a meeting of many companies who were talking about Iraq (second invasion of… at least it was implied to me anyway), and one of the names dropped: Microsoft.
In the year 2000, they donated to both major political parties. Both the Democrats and Republicans were recipients of a significant sum of money from Microsoft. Heads I win, tails you lose. That’s the scenario I’m talking about. Don’t doubt for a second that the corporation in question has their hands in the cookie jars of many major media companies and groups.
That’s why it will take all kinds to prevent any real choice from being discarded. Linux-based systems do work and they work quite well. Heck, I was even able to run Warcraft III on my computer using WINE.
From taking the initiative to searching for something that’s right for you to get involved in, action must happen now. There is no more time for debate on how many angels can fit on the point of a pin. If Linux-based systems are thrown out the window, you can bet your bottom dollar that any *BSD-based system will be next, until there is only OS X, and for those who forgot the very company that owns a significant portion of Apple stock: Yeah, it’s Microsoft. So get up. Take action.
The Tux Project is a good place to start if you don’t know where to start.
I also plan on creating an evangilization page (like the Spread Firefox site) that will take the concept of BadVista and take it further. I’m talking letter writing campaigns to editors of print publications, talk show call-ins, C-SPAN call-ins, etc… So…. You’ve got two avenues so far to go down, with more and more popping up all the time. It’s your move now. What are you gonna do?