Why choose GNU/Linux? The three F's and more...

1. Freedom to use
2. Freedom to modify
3. Freedom to distribute.

Please do note here, I do NOT mean monetary freedom (nor do GNU). GNU/Linux is designed to allow users to use their operating system in the way they desire. It allows them to change the source code to meet their requirements. It allows them to distrubute all GNU copylefted software to anyone they desire, and pass on the same rights provided to them.

An important thing to understand here, is that not all distributions of GNU/Linux provide all three of these freedoms. That is because, along with GNU Free Software, they sometimes add commercial components, or any other software that is not copylefted. Such software restricts its usage. However, you may have the liberty to remove such components from the distribution(uninstall) and use the rest of the OS freely. Whether this can be done varies from distribution to distribution.

Besides the 3 F's, here's why you might want to use GNU/Linux:
-> It is highly customizable
-> It can be made to run on a very wide range of hardware configurations
-> Easy support is available for it online at forums and websites.
-> The updates to software can be made very regularly. You can stay at the cutting-edge of software development
-> Many distributions are also cost nothing. Costs are generally for transfer of media, or maybe support, and not for the product itself.
-> An amazingly large variety of software is available for GNU/Linux.

I could go into details of each of these points, but this will suffice for now, I hope!
Next article will be on How to get GNU/Linux...

Disorder!

1... 2... 3... 4... 5... 1... 2... 3... 4... 5... 1... 2... 3... 4... 5...
1... 2... 3... 4... 5... 1... 2... 3... 4... 5... 1... 2... 3... 4... 5...
1... 2... 3... 4... 5... 1... 2... 3... 4.., 5... 1... 2... 3... 4... 5...
1... 2... 3.., 4... 5... 1... 2... 3... 4... 5... 1... 2... 3... 4... 5...
1... 2... 3.,. 4... 5... 1... 2... 3.,. 4... 5... 1... 2... 3... 4... 5...
1... 2... 3... 4... 5... 1... 2... 3... 4... 5... 1... 2... 3.,. 4... 5...
1... 2... 3... 4... 5... 1... 2... 3... 4... 5... 1... 2... 3... 4... 5...
1... 2... 3... 4... 5... 1... 2... 3... 4... 5... 1... 2... 3... 4... 5...
1... 2... 3... 4... 5... 1... 2... 3... 4.., 5... 1... 2... 3,.. 4... 5...
1... 2... 3... 4... 5... 1... 2... 3... 4... 5... 1... 2... 3... 4... 5...
1... 2.,. 3... 4... 5... 1.., 2... 3... 4... 5... 1... 2... 3... 4.,. 5...
1... 2... 3... 4... 5... 1... 2... 3... 4... 5... 1... 2... 3... 4... 5...
1... 2... 3... 4... 5... 1.., 2... 3... 4... 5... 1... 2... 3... 4... 5...
1... 2... 3... 4... 5... 1... 2... 3... 4... 5... 1... 2... 3... 4... 5...
1... 2... 3... 4... 5... 1... 2.,. 3... 4... 5... 1... 2... 3... 4... 5...
1... 2... 3... 4... 5... 1... 2... 3... 4... 5... 1... 2... 3... 4... 5...
1... 2... 3... 4... 5... 1.,. 2... 3... 4... 5... 1... 2... 3... 4... 5...
1... 2... 3... 4... 5... 1... 2... 3... 4... 5... 1... 2... 3... 4... 5...
1... 2... 3... 4... 5... 1... 2... 3... 4... 5... 1... 2... 3... 4... 5...
1... 2... 3... 4... 5... 1... 2... 3... 4... 5... 1... 2... 3... 4.., 5...
1... 2... 3... 4... 5... 1... 2... 3.., 4... 5... 1... 2... 3... 4... 5...
1... 2... 3... 4... 5.., 1... 2... 3.,. 4... 5... 1... 2... 3... 4... 5...
1... 2... 3... 4... 5... 1... 2... 3... 4... 5... 1... 2... 3... 4... 5...
1... 2... 3.,. 4... 5... 1... 2... 3... 4... 5... 1... 2... 3... 4... 5...
1... 2... 3... 4... 5... 1... 2... 3... 4... 5... 1... 2... 3... 4... 5...
1... 2... 3... 4... 5... 1... 2... 3... 4... 5... 1... 2... 3... 4.., 5...
1... 2... 3,.. 4... 5... 1... 2... 3... 4... 5... 1... 2... 3... 4... 5...
1... 2... 3... 4... 5... 1... 2.,. 3... 4... 5... 1.., 2... 3... 4... 5...
1... 2... 3... 4.,. 5... 1... 2... 3... 4... 5... 1... 2... 3... 4... 5...
1... 2... 3... 4... 5... 1... 2... 3... 4... 5... 1.., 2... 3... 4... 5...
1... 2... 3... 4... 5... 1... 2... 3... 4... 5... 1... 2... 3... 4... 5...
1... 2... 3... 4... 5... 1... 2... 3... 4... 5... 1... 2.,. 3... 4... 5...
1... 2... 3... 4... 5... 1... 2... 3... 4... 5... 1... 2... 3... 4... 5...
1... 2... 3... 4... 5... 1... 2... 3... 4... 5... 1.,. 2... 3... 4... 5...


I wonder if any of you read that line by line. Unlikely. Our brain catches the pattern, and we move along to see what's next. Some people may not have even bothered to look down here. (I don't think that would be a very large number, because there's a bit of curiosity in each one of us).
Now, that pattern is how our life is. Now, what did you read? 1... 2... 3... 4... 5...?
Is that all that's written above? Well, not really. There are commas spread about randomly in the matrix. Did you notice them at first glance? Or did you notice them after I mentioned them? Well, that's, as I said, life.

All lives go through a very fixed pattern. Fixed stages. Fixed phases. So that, at a distance, there really is no difference. Birth. Learning to crawl, walk, talk. Learning about surroundings. Learning about behaviour. Learning, in general, to see the pattern, and go along with it. Then another generation goes through the same series.

Now, take out your magnifying glasses. Do all ants look identical? Hmmm. Maybe. Okay, now how about a microscope? Whoa!!!! There are major differences!!! Just like the commas in the matrix. But did you really bother to try that out? Putting an ant under a microscope? Well, I didn't. Though I would be interested in doing it sometime. But I know from the patterns I've seen in life that there are bound to be things which I'll observe to prove that it's not really a pattern.

I'm not just playing around with words. The bulk of us don't really bother to inspect whether or not there exists a pattern. We just assume that there is or isn't. Some of us do so coz we've already been fooled by deviations from the obvious so often. Lets look at those who do observe. Lets say, researchers. Or scientists. Graham Bell invented Telephone. How? By observing something that made something fall out of a pattern. And what did he do? Created another pattern. Now almost every house has a telephone. It's become a mandatory component of any household. Now, much later, came the cell phone. Deviation from pattern? And brought in a pattern from that.

Now, what does that mean? Ok, we come back to our third law of thermodynamics: Entropy increases (Disorder increases) with time. That's not all. It, sort of means, we try to set some things to what we call “order” by actually giving rise to disorder. Well, that's not really as bad as it might sound. In the sense, the “disorder” is something physical. But are we getting into some sort of order at a mental level?

Say, I invent a desk with shelves. So I've caused another deviation from the norm. But my things are much tidier. I access them with less worry. Or, say, I invented a weird car. It helps me get to work faster, safe more fuel, listen to excellent music while I go to work. Or, maybe, a microwave. I waste less food since I can store it in the fridge and reheat it and eat it the next day.

But what that's coming to is that we want something called “Peace of mind”. Or whatever level of that we can get. Bring down tension, bring down brute work, relax the mind. So that we can use that brain in an area which doesn't yet have these soothers. We can't have an automatic programming machine. Or a fully automated stock broker. So we need to save our strain for working on those, in the hope that someday we could automate those too. How long will this go on? Frankly, it'll go on forever. We'll automate all the things we see around us now, but by that time, somebody who was spending his time with all the soothers will imagine something that we don't see around us. That'll come out as some Sci-Fi book or movie. Then, it'll enter minds of young re-discovery enthusiasts (miniature scientists) who will get into research and make the Sci-Fi a reality. Meanwhile we'll have something else to dream about...

I think you got the point. But these scientists aren't all that large in number. So what we call “Rapid progress” is just an inkling of things to come. The rest of the working population's busy providing a self-consistent structure by which the entire population attempts to survive. Yes, we would still have the aberrations of short life, physical and mental handicaps, and so on. They form their own pattern.

Now, lets say, we decided that all the research and the deviation from patterns that it causes, is unnatural. (Just to see how it looks). That means no new inventions. Great! So we'd know how the existing products function. Would we? Who would fix bugs? Hmmm. Isn't fixing bugs also a deviation from nature? After all, error is part of nature, just like we have handicaps. So stop servicing products. Well, if we're not going to make new products, and not going to service any, then what about manufacturing? We have an expanding population. So maybe our production should just meet the Growth Rate. And choice of product isn't required. Quality? Huh! Not natural. Say, the machines take in chemicals and modify them! Dangerous! Scrap them! Houses? Nah. Other animals don't protect themselves with materials that make you choke and cough. Go back to caves. No fire, please. Unless it starts off by itself. And then you can observe what direction the other animals seem to be going in, and follow them, hoping not get run over by a herd. Now, we have reached eternal bliss. No artificial disorder. Disorder, as it is: natural. That is certainly progress. After all, aren't today's scientists struggling to make stuff as natural as they can? Or is there something missing in the above discussion? Oh, heck! Sorry, guys! This blog is totally unnatural! You weren't supposed to read it either! Now you've deviated from nature!!!!!!!!!