Julian's TUESDAY NIGHT NO NAMES has not been nominated for an Oscar this year but but I consider to it be a dark horse nominee for cult video of the year. Warning, unless you are in the league, and actually even if you are, you should only watch this video if you have absolutely nothing else to do.
To see the slide show of my Tuesday night hockey league click the link above. It's on Viddler.com because YouTube rejected it because it's over ten minutes long. As an artist, I felt unwilling to compromise the integrity of the show to meet YouTube's criteria so Viddler leaped into the gap.
Viddler seems to be a very good service, similar to YouTube but with fewer restrictions and the registration process was quicker as well.
JulianOnePlanet Publications 2009
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Sunday, February 15, 2009
THERE ARE TWO KINDS OF BREWERIES IN THE WORLD
There are two kinds of people in this world....those who divide the world into two kinds of people and those who don't....but seriously folks, the incongruous thing about the myriad of beers available in this world is that there are really only two kinds of breweries in the world. The first one is the kind that brews and sells the overwhelming majority of all the beer in the world....the commercial brewery. The second one is the craft brewery. In almost everything these two types of breweries do they are polar opposites.
The commercial brewery wants to sell as much beer as possible and there aren't really any limits to the amount of beer that can be brewed or sold. The craft brewery has quite limited brewing capacity and all the beer will sell out fairly quickly.
The commercial brewery wants to appeal to the widest possible demographic and so the beer is made with the least possible taste, colour and very low alcohol content. The craft brewery is brewing for a tiny segment of the population, likely less than 5% of all beer drinkers. Craft brews are very flavourful, meaning malty and/or hoppy. Crafts brews are colourful, appearing coppery or black as well as golden. Higher gravity brews from 5% up to 9% are the norm and light beers are rarely brewed.
The commercial breweries cut costs on ingredients whenever and wherever they can and using cheap cereal grains such as corn and wheat and rice not only saves money but eliminates annoying taste in the beer such as maltiness...heaven forbid! Hops are used sparingly at best. Craft breweries use only top quality brewer's barley such as two row barley. They buy in smaller quantities and pay extra for quality in order to get distinctive flavour in the finished beer. Hops of many varieties are used liberally both for bittering and finishing.
Commercial breweries blend very carefully for absolute consistency. Every time a batch is complete 10% goes into one of the many onsite storage tanks and if the latest batch is not the same as the last batch, blending takes place until it's exactly the same. In a craft brewery each batch is celebrated for it's uniqueness! Consistency isn't expected nor is it the overriding goal.
Big commercial breweries spend most of their brewing budgets on advertising and as little as possible on the beer itself. Craft breweries have little money for advertising and beyond labelling and local promos, they expect their loyal fans to spread the word while the beer speaks for itself and that's where the money is mostly spent.
The difference between commercial breweries and craft breweries is that commercial breweries compete with each other to see who can make the most money for their shareholders whereas craft brewers compete to see who can make the best beer.....quite a different thing.
The commercial brewery is a giant, industrial, multinational corporation that brews in gigantic batches for mass market distribution. The craft brewery is usually a local, small company brewing in tiny batches for distribution to local restaurants and pubs in casks and often for consumption on the premises on tap.
When we drink beer brewed by a giant commercial brewery, we are talking mostly about light bodied, fizzy, yellow lager that is sold the world over.
When we drink beer brewed by a craft brewery, we are usually drinking ales and we could be talking about beer that is brewed in a style of times gone by, or in the style of a small distant region or we could be talking about beer brewed in a new style that the brewer has created for the sake of increased variety.
So all this does beg the question doesn't it? Why do the big guys have 95% of the world's market share when craft breweries go to all this trouble to make great beer. Well, I guess that most people don't know much about beer, don't like it that much, but are thirsty and want to get a bit drunk. But for those of us that know something about beer, like it a lot and still want to get a bit drunk, we'll take craft brewed beer every time!
The commercial brewery wants to sell as much beer as possible and there aren't really any limits to the amount of beer that can be brewed or sold. The craft brewery has quite limited brewing capacity and all the beer will sell out fairly quickly.
The commercial brewery wants to appeal to the widest possible demographic and so the beer is made with the least possible taste, colour and very low alcohol content. The craft brewery is brewing for a tiny segment of the population, likely less than 5% of all beer drinkers. Craft brews are very flavourful, meaning malty and/or hoppy. Crafts brews are colourful, appearing coppery or black as well as golden. Higher gravity brews from 5% up to 9% are the norm and light beers are rarely brewed.
The commercial breweries cut costs on ingredients whenever and wherever they can and using cheap cereal grains such as corn and wheat and rice not only saves money but eliminates annoying taste in the beer such as maltiness...heaven forbid! Hops are used sparingly at best. Craft breweries use only top quality brewer's barley such as two row barley. They buy in smaller quantities and pay extra for quality in order to get distinctive flavour in the finished beer. Hops of many varieties are used liberally both for bittering and finishing.
Commercial breweries blend very carefully for absolute consistency. Every time a batch is complete 10% goes into one of the many onsite storage tanks and if the latest batch is not the same as the last batch, blending takes place until it's exactly the same. In a craft brewery each batch is celebrated for it's uniqueness! Consistency isn't expected nor is it the overriding goal.
Big commercial breweries spend most of their brewing budgets on advertising and as little as possible on the beer itself. Craft breweries have little money for advertising and beyond labelling and local promos, they expect their loyal fans to spread the word while the beer speaks for itself and that's where the money is mostly spent.
The difference between commercial breweries and craft breweries is that commercial breweries compete with each other to see who can make the most money for their shareholders whereas craft brewers compete to see who can make the best beer.....quite a different thing.
The commercial brewery is a giant, industrial, multinational corporation that brews in gigantic batches for mass market distribution. The craft brewery is usually a local, small company brewing in tiny batches for distribution to local restaurants and pubs in casks and often for consumption on the premises on tap.
When we drink beer brewed by a giant commercial brewery, we are talking mostly about light bodied, fizzy, yellow lager that is sold the world over.
When we drink beer brewed by a craft brewery, we are usually drinking ales and we could be talking about beer that is brewed in a style of times gone by, or in the style of a small distant region or we could be talking about beer brewed in a new style that the brewer has created for the sake of increased variety.
So all this does beg the question doesn't it? Why do the big guys have 95% of the world's market share when craft breweries go to all this trouble to make great beer. Well, I guess that most people don't know much about beer, don't like it that much, but are thirsty and want to get a bit drunk. But for those of us that know something about beer, like it a lot and still want to get a bit drunk, we'll take craft brewed beer every time!
Friday, February 6, 2009
THE BEST BREWERY IN THE WORLD
julianoneplanet@gmail.com
Reasons To Drink Better Beer
1. Nothing is simple in this world and nothing is what it seems. Therefore I offer an ordinary reason as a first one. Better beer tastes better.
2. Better beer is green.....well not literally and not really but it's fashionable so it gets second place
Vancouver, a couple of decades ago, was a largely undiscovered green spot on the Pacific Rim that, as I recall, didn't have much interest in craft brewing.....there has been a minor revolution of sorts....at least a fashion trend towards better beer..... in some small circles that is like CAMRA for example.
I was doing some research last night that involved hanging out at the best brewery in the world. Nice work if you can get it you might say. And I'd agree with you. It was Cask Night at Dix Barbeque and Brewery and our good friend James Walton from Storm Brewing threw a great curve ball to the batters taking strikes at Canada's favourite pastime...namely drinking beer. James provided a fresh cask of apple cider. Made from Saltspring Island apples grown in a hundred year old orchard James pressed the apples in a press he made himself.....now that's craft brewing. As far away from real ale as Budweiser is, the Saltspring Island Cider was just as distant from big company cider such as Growers. Dry, slightly cloudy, very appley in the nose and on the tongue, not too fizzy and cool from the cask with a surprisingly long finish and going down quickly at $5.75 for the 20oz pint this was an ultra rare oportunity to drink locally made cider by one of Vancouvers best and most dedicated craft brewers.
But what's this "best brewery in the world" business all about anyway. Well dear reader, I don't make this statement lightly, I've done extensive research over many years with funding from several sources (I've drunk a lot of beer and many people have bought me pints). So here's a dissertation on the subject.
Dix only has craft brewed beer on tap. Yes, if you want a bottle of Bud or Canadian it's in the fridge. But the yellow beer drinkers usually choose Red Truck Lager, a craft brewed version of the worlds best selling type of lager. So let's just say that if you love yellow lager Dix has an excellent version. And like big company yellow lager, it doesn't have much taste so it's great for those aren't crazy about the taste of beer but are thirsty and/or want to get a shine on.
So is that why Dix is the best brewery in the world?...uh no. Is it the Red Truck Ale? Is it the Game Day Pilsner? Is it the Imperial Stout Is it the ESB? Or maybe it's the food..... Is it the Southern Pride Smoker that produces the beef ribs?....uh no...not all this great stuff.... is it the great staff or the period room or the north Yaletown location?...no not this good stuff either.......... Its the IPA....Derrick makes killer IPA.
Reasons To Drink Better Beer
1. Nothing is simple in this world and nothing is what it seems. Therefore I offer an ordinary reason as a first one. Better beer tastes better.
2. Better beer is green.....well not literally and not really but it's fashionable so it gets second place
Vancouver, a couple of decades ago, was a largely undiscovered green spot on the Pacific Rim that, as I recall, didn't have much interest in craft brewing.....there has been a minor revolution of sorts....at least a fashion trend towards better beer..... in some small circles that is like CAMRA for example.
I was doing some research last night that involved hanging out at the best brewery in the world. Nice work if you can get it you might say. And I'd agree with you. It was Cask Night at Dix Barbeque and Brewery and our good friend James Walton from Storm Brewing threw a great curve ball to the batters taking strikes at Canada's favourite pastime...namely drinking beer. James provided a fresh cask of apple cider. Made from Saltspring Island apples grown in a hundred year old orchard James pressed the apples in a press he made himself.....now that's craft brewing. As far away from real ale as Budweiser is, the Saltspring Island Cider was just as distant from big company cider such as Growers. Dry, slightly cloudy, very appley in the nose and on the tongue, not too fizzy and cool from the cask with a surprisingly long finish and going down quickly at $5.75 for the 20oz pint this was an ultra rare oportunity to drink locally made cider by one of Vancouvers best and most dedicated craft brewers.
But what's this "best brewery in the world" business all about anyway. Well dear reader, I don't make this statement lightly, I've done extensive research over many years with funding from several sources (I've drunk a lot of beer and many people have bought me pints). So here's a dissertation on the subject.
Dix only has craft brewed beer on tap. Yes, if you want a bottle of Bud or Canadian it's in the fridge. But the yellow beer drinkers usually choose Red Truck Lager, a craft brewed version of the worlds best selling type of lager. So let's just say that if you love yellow lager Dix has an excellent version. And like big company yellow lager, it doesn't have much taste so it's great for those aren't crazy about the taste of beer but are thirsty and/or want to get a shine on.
So is that why Dix is the best brewery in the world?...uh no. Is it the Red Truck Ale? Is it the Game Day Pilsner? Is it the Imperial Stout Is it the ESB? Or maybe it's the food..... Is it the Southern Pride Smoker that produces the beef ribs?....uh no...not all this great stuff.... is it the great staff or the period room or the north Yaletown location?...no not this good stuff either.......... Its the IPA....Derrick makes killer IPA.
Friday, January 9, 2009
THE POWER OF PET CELEBRITY
Is it ethical to anthropomorphize animals anyway? Well I'm not sure but a lot of people including celebrities think it's ok.
The fascination with celebrities in entertainment media has risen to such a great height that these people have become the new royalty. In many cases celebrities are as rich as royalty. The masses will line the streets to catch a glimpse of a movie star in a way that was reserved for visiting royalty in times gone by. I'd never line up for that myself of course...well maybe for King Brad and Queen Angelina, okay Princess Miley as well.
Such is the power of celebrity in media in these times that whatever the stars do, the masses will do. The image of a celebrity holding a small hot pink coloured dog is a poignant example of how animals are used as entertainment by humans. But that was back in the eighties when pretty in pink was "in". There's a new trend in Hollywood that has several celebrities dyeing their dogs green as an ecological fashion statement. People wear what the stars wear and the stars are constantly showered with samples of products from businesses hoping that a star will use a product and drive demand for these products skyward which it often does. Pets and pet accessories are among these products. The copy cat fashion trends run the gambit from clothing and accessories to simply keeping the same kind of pets that celebrities own in order to be fashionable. The small dog fashion trend is obvious on the streets of cities everywhere. Look for example at the long upward trend in Jack Russell terriers because of Eddie on the hit TV sitcom Frasier. But during these times of global warming and economic uncertainty it would be definitely "out" to own a Hummer of a dog. The trend is to Smart dogs like a Chihuahua. Hybrid dogs are big too...or should I say popular. Dyeing small dogs different colours was stepping over the line wasn't it? It looks so unnatural that even those looking to make a fashion statement of the most visually riveting kind were uncomfortable with this...but some people still did it. Alright so if dyeing dogs pink is too much, what is acceptable at the lower end of the pet social ladder. Do you know that gold fish colours are enhanced by fish food additives? Yes! Some fish foods contain products to make goldfish golder. I'm sure some goldfish owners enjoy the individual personalities of their pets but let's face it, a goldfish in a bowl is a living ornament. I guess the goldest goldfish are the most conceited ones and why not?... the best ornaments are gold ones. Are naturally gold goldfish are more desirable than enhanced ones? Can anyone tell the difference? After all, enhancements are big these days!...Maybe not as big as before the market decline. But I digress.
There are earrings for dogs, salons for shampooing, pedicures and even pet perfume! Many a woman's fashion get up would not be complete without a giant knock off purse with a little dog's head poking out of the top. It's right out of control when money is no object. Divathedog.com has dog beds shaped like cars...Furcedes and Furrari of course. Or how about a Paris Hilton nighty or floral dog tank?
Can a dog be humiliated by being forced to wear funny fashion accessories? Would he be less humiliated if the earrings were at least a D colour brilliant cut and nearly flawless and not just cubic zirconia ? At the very least they'd be Swarovski crystal.
How about putting fake reindeer antlers on a dog. That seems harmless doesn't it? And it is the season to be jolly. Would it be better if the antlers were real. Well the Grinch tried it on his dog Max and the poor little bugger pitched face first into the snow! Now that surely is cruelty to animals. Maybe the sense of humiliation varies from dog to dog depending on how dim witted the dog. A Doberman or a German Shepard would surely be mortified but an Afghan Hound might be too stupid to worry about it. The funny thing is that Poodles wear the stupidest things of all and they really pull if off quite well.
It's clear that the richer the owner the more likely the pet is to have name brand clothing. After all, even if Fido can't read labels, the neighbours likely can, depending on the neighbourhood of course.
I'm not influenced at all by the power of celebrity, but my own cat Nicky for example loves Guess and she doesn't seem to care that those jeans make her look fat. I've encouraged her to worry a little more about what others think but this kitten walks her own path.
First Published in The Metro Pet Gazette January 2009
JulianOnePlanet Publications 2009
The fascination with celebrities in entertainment media has risen to such a great height that these people have become the new royalty. In many cases celebrities are as rich as royalty. The masses will line the streets to catch a glimpse of a movie star in a way that was reserved for visiting royalty in times gone by. I'd never line up for that myself of course...well maybe for King Brad and Queen Angelina, okay Princess Miley as well.
Such is the power of celebrity in media in these times that whatever the stars do, the masses will do. The image of a celebrity holding a small hot pink coloured dog is a poignant example of how animals are used as entertainment by humans. But that was back in the eighties when pretty in pink was "in". There's a new trend in Hollywood that has several celebrities dyeing their dogs green as an ecological fashion statement. People wear what the stars wear and the stars are constantly showered with samples of products from businesses hoping that a star will use a product and drive demand for these products skyward which it often does. Pets and pet accessories are among these products. The copy cat fashion trends run the gambit from clothing and accessories to simply keeping the same kind of pets that celebrities own in order to be fashionable. The small dog fashion trend is obvious on the streets of cities everywhere. Look for example at the long upward trend in Jack Russell terriers because of Eddie on the hit TV sitcom Frasier. But during these times of global warming and economic uncertainty it would be definitely "out" to own a Hummer of a dog. The trend is to Smart dogs like a Chihuahua. Hybrid dogs are big too...or should I say popular. Dyeing small dogs different colours was stepping over the line wasn't it? It looks so unnatural that even those looking to make a fashion statement of the most visually riveting kind were uncomfortable with this...but some people still did it. Alright so if dyeing dogs pink is too much, what is acceptable at the lower end of the pet social ladder. Do you know that gold fish colours are enhanced by fish food additives? Yes! Some fish foods contain products to make goldfish golder. I'm sure some goldfish owners enjoy the individual personalities of their pets but let's face it, a goldfish in a bowl is a living ornament. I guess the goldest goldfish are the most conceited ones and why not?... the best ornaments are gold ones. Are naturally gold goldfish are more desirable than enhanced ones? Can anyone tell the difference? After all, enhancements are big these days!...Maybe not as big as before the market decline. But I digress.
There are earrings for dogs, salons for shampooing, pedicures and even pet perfume! Many a woman's fashion get up would not be complete without a giant knock off purse with a little dog's head poking out of the top. It's right out of control when money is no object. Divathedog.com has dog beds shaped like cars...Furcedes and Furrari of course. Or how about a Paris Hilton nighty or floral dog tank?
Can a dog be humiliated by being forced to wear funny fashion accessories? Would he be less humiliated if the earrings were at least a D colour brilliant cut and nearly flawless and not just cubic zirconia ? At the very least they'd be Swarovski crystal.
How about putting fake reindeer antlers on a dog. That seems harmless doesn't it? And it is the season to be jolly. Would it be better if the antlers were real. Well the Grinch tried it on his dog Max and the poor little bugger pitched face first into the snow! Now that surely is cruelty to animals. Maybe the sense of humiliation varies from dog to dog depending on how dim witted the dog. A Doberman or a German Shepard would surely be mortified but an Afghan Hound might be too stupid to worry about it. The funny thing is that Poodles wear the stupidest things of all and they really pull if off quite well.
It's clear that the richer the owner the more likely the pet is to have name brand clothing. After all, even if Fido can't read labels, the neighbours likely can, depending on the neighbourhood of course.
I'm not influenced at all by the power of celebrity, but my own cat Nicky for example loves Guess and she doesn't seem to care that those jeans make her look fat. I've encouraged her to worry a little more about what others think but this kitten walks her own path.
First Published in The Metro Pet Gazette January 2009
JulianOnePlanet Publications 2009
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Thursday, December 11, 2008
December 9th 2008
ONCE SILVER.........NOW STEEL!
Recently the Royal Canadian Mint took the next step in the continuing debasement of Canada's currency which began in 1922. Since 1998 the majority of our coins have been minted in steel with copper or nickel plating. Who cares? You ask. Well, in the days when was currency was valuable rather than token, the folks who owned it were rich because the hard currency itself in the form of high carat gold or silver held its value in the tangible asset, not in the promise of purchasing power and backed by the government of the day. Today if you have a million dollars in hand it will be worth less tomorrow than today due to inflation. If you keep it under your mattress it will be worthless in a few years. If our money was still valuable, wealth would be in the hands of citizens rather than governments. The mint would be forced to purchase precious metal from the mines and related industries instead of just making base metal tokens. Actual wealth would be placed in the hands of the people instead of virtually worthless paper and steel tokens and it would hold its value!...workers could save money without being forced to invest it. Governments couldn't print money to pay debts because it would have to buy gold and silver to do it.........Accountability would be required.
As demoralizing as this sounds, Canadians still own one of the world's great mints! The Royal Canadian Mint continues to mint legal tender coins in precious metal. In recent years, a full spectrum of coins made of the world's finest gold and silver have been offered with low premiums and entirely tax free! Silver dollars are once again offered in sterling (.925) silver after more than 70 years and the full line of Maple Leaf coins are minted with a finess of .9999.
Most citizens in most parts of the world have very limited access if any, to this form of gold and silver. Here in Canada, at the time of this writing, a one ounce Gold Maple Leaf can be had for less than an ordinary worker's pay for one week. And a one ounce Silver Maple Leaf costs about one hour's pay. In times when workers were paid in gold and silver, an ounce of gold would have fed an entire family for a year and an ounce of silver would have done the same for a month! Silver particularly is incredibly cheap by historical standards.
Julian suggests, next time and every time you get paid in paper or electronically, go to your local coin dealer such as( J & M Coin and Stamp) and exchange some of it for Gold and Silver Maple Leaf Coins with the knowledge that this is REAL Canadian money. Let's put the wealth in the hands of the people who earn it!
copyright 2008
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
LINUX, THE LITTLE OPERATING SYSTEM THAT COULD
If you are using a computer with Microsoft Windows installed and you've never heard of Linux, then this is a very important article for you. In my humble opinion, from a security perspective, for financial reasons, for good computer technology reasons and for philosophical reasons it makes sense to change to Linux.
Please forward this to any of your Windows using friends.....better cut and paste tho' 'cause they'll likely be afraid to open an attachment!
In 1998 a virus killed my Windows 98 OS and hard drive. Like many, at the time, I didn't know of any alternatives to Microsoft. My Toshiba computer came with Windows installed. It was vulnerable to security breaches and I accepted the risks...but then I got lucky. My friend and neighbour is a computer scientist and when I told him my tale of woe he said "I don't use Microsoft, I use Linux".
When Dan (Starfish Systems ) introduced me to Linux, my personal computing environment changed forever.
I began to use a computer that is largely unaffected by viruses, spyware, malware and its operating system is free.
Yes FREE. Not only free to acquire, as in free beer, but free to distribute or modify, as in free speech.
In addition Linux is a lean and efficient operating system that doesn't necessarily require hardware upgrades each time a new version is released (I'm composing this message on my old 1998 NEC Versa LX, 366mhz, 256 RAM, 40gHD. I don't think I could run Vista at all on this old laptop on which I'm still running Linux RedHat 9.0. )
The processer, at 366mhz, is borderline obsolete, but the O/S , while old, is still very relevant for today, (it's five years old). This is not to say that updating isn't due. I also have 2.8ghz Acer Travelmate with a gig of Ram. Since I bought it used on Ebay, it came with XP installed but Ubuntu 8.04 partitioned my hard drive and I'm able to keep XP safely on the other side in it's cage. Of course my next move is to buy a new hard drive and get Windows off my computer altogether.
Here's a couple of links to two of the most well known operating systems that are based on the linux kernel.
Unbuntu is free because African billionaire, philanthropist and technologist Mark Shuttleworth is doing the world a big favour.
RedHat is almost free because it makes its money by offering support services. There are also many other versions of Linux that are available on line for nothing more than the price of a cd.
And the source code for Linux will always be free by the nature of its GNU license (thanks Richard Stahlman.)
It's exactly the opposite of the Microsoft/Apple ways of doing business. (Mac computers are great, no doubt about it. But Mac/Apple is not the subject of this article.) Linux is open source, community share ware. The former are proprietary products sold to maximize shareholder profits (the Bill and Melinda Foundation aside.)
Linux has been growing in popularity by leaps and bounds over the years and now counts its users in the millions worldwide. Servers, laptops, desktops and hand held devices all run Linux very well. Most popular software is available for Linux and major hardware manufacturers are offering machines with Linux as a native install. My most recent computer acquisition was a Nokia N8OO internet tablet that runs Linux.
Over the years my rage towards Microsoft subsided since my Redhat computer was unaffected by viruses and the like. And after a couple of years I finally got over the fear of opening attachments. And since XP came with a built in firewall that dampened the flames of the attackers somewhat I didn't hear about viruses so much from my friends and in the news. But then last month, a close friend told me that her XP computer had contracted many viruses and crashed her hard drive...OVER A DECADE SINCE IT HAPPENED TO ME!..
And guess what? my friend thinks it's her fault and that she should have been more careful. And now, two weeks later and down a day's pay, she's back up and running XP again with a clean install. And my sister recently bought a Vista laptop..she has a friend back east who's a Microsoft pro and she was up 'till late installing all the latest and required security and antivirus software.....that will likely be going on for a long time.
As I write this I'm listening to a news article on CKNW about the latest virus that is spread by Facebook...."the more things change the more they remain the same."
I think my computer should protect me not the other way round. After all this if you need three good reasons to switch to Linux, here they are.
1. Security
2. Security
3. Security
The following link is to one of the most important computer articles I've EVER read.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2003/10/06/linux_vs_windows_viruses/
The narrow path is often steeper as well. And of the many people that I've talked to about my Linux computer over the years I can only think of one who's switched from Windows. So why do I bother? I dunno....just tryin' to help.
Cheers,
JulianOnePlanet Publications copyright 2008
for those who understand, no explanation is necessary, for those who cannot understand, no explanation is possible.
Please forward this to any of your Windows using friends.....better cut and paste tho' 'cause they'll likely be afraid to open an attachment!
In 1998 a virus killed my Windows 98 OS and hard drive. Like many, at the time, I didn't know of any alternatives to Microsoft. My Toshiba computer came with Windows installed. It was vulnerable to security breaches and I accepted the risks...but then I got lucky. My friend and neighbour is a computer scientist and when I told him my tale of woe he said "I don't use Microsoft, I use Linux".
When Dan (Starfish Systems ) introduced me to Linux, my personal computing environment changed forever.
I began to use a computer that is largely unaffected by viruses, spyware, malware and its operating system is free.
Yes FREE. Not only free to acquire, as in free beer, but free to distribute or modify, as in free speech.
In addition Linux is a lean and efficient operating system that doesn't necessarily require hardware upgrades each time a new version is released (I'm composing this message on my old 1998 NEC Versa LX, 366mhz, 256 RAM, 40gHD. I don't think I could run Vista at all on this old laptop on which I'm still running Linux RedHat 9.0. )
The processer, at 366mhz, is borderline obsolete, but the O/S , while old, is still very relevant for today, (it's five years old). This is not to say that updating isn't due. I also have 2.8ghz Acer Travelmate with a gig of Ram. Since I bought it used on Ebay, it came with XP installed but Ubuntu 8.04 partitioned my hard drive and I'm able to keep XP safely on the other side in it's cage. Of course my next move is to buy a new hard drive and get Windows off my computer altogether.
Here's a couple of links to two of the most well known operating systems that are based on the linux kernel.
Unbuntu is free because African billionaire, philanthropist and technologist Mark Shuttleworth is doing the world a big favour.
RedHat is almost free because it makes its money by offering support services. There are also many other versions of Linux that are available on line for nothing more than the price of a cd.
And the source code for Linux will always be free by the nature of its GNU license (thanks Richard Stahlman.)
It's exactly the opposite of the Microsoft/Apple ways of doing business. (Mac computers are great, no doubt about it. But Mac/Apple is not the subject of this article.) Linux is open source, community share ware. The former are proprietary products sold to maximize shareholder profits (the Bill and Melinda Foundation aside.)
Linux has been growing in popularity by leaps and bounds over the years and now counts its users in the millions worldwide. Servers, laptops, desktops and hand held devices all run Linux very well. Most popular software is available for Linux and major hardware manufacturers are offering machines with Linux as a native install. My most recent computer acquisition was a Nokia N8OO internet tablet that runs Linux.
Over the years my rage towards Microsoft subsided since my Redhat computer was unaffected by viruses and the like. And after a couple of years I finally got over the fear of opening attachments. And since XP came with a built in firewall that dampened the flames of the attackers somewhat I didn't hear about viruses so much from my friends and in the news. But then last month, a close friend told me that her XP computer had contracted many viruses and crashed her hard drive...OVER A DECADE SINCE IT HAPPENED TO ME!..
And guess what? my friend thinks it's her fault and that she should have been more careful. And now, two weeks later and down a day's pay, she's back up and running XP again with a clean install. And my sister recently bought a Vista laptop..she has a friend back east who's a Microsoft pro and she was up 'till late installing all the latest and required security and antivirus software.....that will likely be going on for a long time.
As I write this I'm listening to a news article on CKNW about the latest virus that is spread by Facebook...."the more things change the more they remain the same."
I think my computer should protect me not the other way round. After all this if you need three good reasons to switch to Linux, here they are.
1. Security
2. Security
3. Security
The following link is to one of the most important computer articles I've EVER read.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2003/10/06/linux_vs_windows_viruses/
The narrow path is often steeper as well. And of the many people that I've talked to about my Linux computer over the years I can only think of one who's switched from Windows. So why do I bother? I dunno....just tryin' to help.
Cheers,
JulianOnePlanet Publications copyright 2008
for those who understand, no explanation is necessary, for those who cannot understand, no explanation is possible.
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