Linux

I...am a Linux advocate. Admitting you have a problem is the first step in...uh...solving it?

Since around 1999, I have strongly supported the Linux platform. My dream of a perfect computer utopia would be to have one OS to rule them all. Screw these petty OMG MAC SUX and OMG WINDOWZ BLOWZ arguements. Mac is for elitists and overpaid artists while Windows is for the sopsucking business world. Both have their weaknesses and both have their strengths.

Don't get me wrong. I don't really HATE the Macintosh platform (but I do hate Windows. Nuff said.), and in fact in recent years I've grown to like it more since it's source is based on BSD. But Linux brings about a whole new level of security, stability, and customization.

Think of anything that you use today, electronics wise. Phones, routers, computers, calculators, mobile handheld devices...you name it. I bet $50 that any of these machines can run some version of Linux. Need proof? My router that handles network traffic runs a version of DD-WRT. My iPod runs iPodLinux. My phone, until recently a Razr V3, ran RAZRNix. This very webserver runs Mac OS X, which is based off Linux. Name it and someone will cram a kernel on it.

In fact, it is the very portability of Linux that sums up why I adore it. Pretty much any computer can boot Linux without destroying the data already on it, thanks to LiveCD distributions. Among these, I favor DSL (Damn Small Linux), since it's one of the smallest, feature-packed distros out there. Weighing in at only 50 megabytes, you'll be hard pressed to find a smaller distro with as many features. Think about it, in a flash you can load up a web server on any computer and run your site from there.

It doesn't stop there. My obsession with embedding Linux into everyday devices has me reverse-engineering several machines in order to fit some form of *nix on them. Got a cool PDA off some crackhead who doesn't know what USB is? No problem! Slap Linux on it and have a remote connection to all your digital life. Sure, the Name Brand crap might not run on it, but equivalents exist. And since most of Linux is covered under GNU Public License, it's open source nature allows the program to be updated anytime by anyone. No more waiting on the vendor to release a patch. In my experience, Linux security holes are fixed within days of being discovered.

Try that with your Windows Service Pack 803,551,852.

I spread the word, I try to educate. Any questions, flames, or praise, just use the Contact form.