On Tue, 22 Jan 2002 16:04:47 +1300 David McNab <david at rebirthing.co.nz> writes:
> In the 60s through 80s, geekiness was a social stigma - personified > by > 'nerds' with their pocket-protectors, thick-rimmed glasses and > programmable calculators, never ever getting the girls. > > Interestingly, in the 90s, geekiness started to become quite hip, > even > to the extent that the main character of the 90s' most significant > movie, The Matrix, is the geekiest of the geek. Yeah, being a technology Guru is cool. :) > IMO, what will determine the outcome of this war is whether the > mass > users will take it on themselves to gain even just a slightly > deeper > understanding of what the Internet is from a technical point of > view, > and not regard the 'under the hood' matters as the realm of social > outcasts. Yep. But most people don't WANT to know things like this. All they want to know is this: Does it do what I need to do? Does it's price fit in my budget? Will I get help if it breaks or stops working? They don't WANT to know HOW it works or WHY. They just want to get through life with a minimum of knowledge. Thats MOST people, like my parents or my brother and sisters. I'm the only one in my immediate family who WANTS to know how things work and WHY. :) > > Linux by its very nature strongly encourages technical learning, > but > for every Linux box on the desktop, there are 50 W--dows boxes, > with > an operating system that increasingly encourages technical > ignorance. But Linux, thanks to GUI interfaces, is getting closer and closer to being very very ignorant friendly. :) By that I mean that a well writen GUI makes it so that the workings of the OS do not HAVE to be well known in order to USE the OS. All you have to know is what buttons to push or what programs to run to do what you need to do. In DOS I had to learn lots of commands and their uses in order to really get around and do the things that I wanted to do. The Help interface was very very usefull in that process. But on Windows, its almost OBVIOUSE how to do things, the learning curve is incredibly low. :) > So it's up to everyone with even an ounce of technical know-how to > educate everyone they can, to the best of their ability, to start > comprehending the issues involved, and making purchasing decisions > that encourage, rather than discourage, internet freedom. I agree. You Gurus need to do everything in your power to bring others up to your level of understanding and knowledge, even skill. > For instance, > > * Prefer Linux > * If one *must* have windows, then *don't* buy XP Definitely. I MUST have windows, because of the programs that I like to use, and the games I like to play, but I'm not getting XP. > * Learn how to determine if any new hardware has any copy > restrictions, and don't buy it Yep. > * Boycott ISPs that impose restrictions of any kind Sure thing. > * Set up blacklists of ISPs and web hosts that cave in to threats > (eg > from Church of Scientology) Well, someone else can setup and maintain a blacklist. I'll just contribute whenever possible. :) > * Stop buying CDs and DVDs, especially from labels that deploy > copy-protection NAh! I'll buy CDs and DVDs, because they are just so cool, but I won't buy from people that try to stop me from copying data. In those cases I'll try to find a way to get the same data by OTHER means. If you know what I mean. :) > * Attend more live gigs and other performances Well, I do like LIVE stuff sometimes. > * Don't buy VCRs or hire videos that resist copying But I MUST have a VCR. I've got tapes I want to watch, and tapes I want to copy. :) But I won't buy any copy protection devices. And if I do I would really like to have some way of defeating it. > If the masses vote with their wallets, and reject any technology > that > compromises the free exchange of material, the War will become a > foregone conclusion. I agree. Make it BAD for business to take away our right to do whatever we want with our own stuff. ________________________________________________________________ GET INTERNET ACCESS FROM JUNO! Juno offers FREE or PREMIUM Internet access for less! Join Juno today! For your FREE software, visit: http://dl.www.juno.com/get/web/. _______________________________________________ Chat mailing list Chat at freenetproject.org http://lists.freenetproject.org/mailman/listinfo/chat
