Episode: 429
Title: HPR0429: She went back to Windows
Source: https://hub.hackerpublicradio.org/ccdn.php?filename=/eps/hpr0429/hpr0429.mp3
Transcribed: 2025-10-07 20:22:33

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3
You're playing with my mind, baby
Always keeping me up doing wrong
I say you're playing with my mind, baby
You're always keeping me up doing wrong
I say you're playing with my mind, baby
I can't say your life's on, baby
But I can't see, I can't see nobody home
Hello, this is Lost in Bronx
I wasn't originally going to do an episode about this, but it's timely for me, so here goes
My wife bought a new laptop for work, and it runs Vista
We'd been a Linux only house for over a year, and hadn't found too many things we couldn't do on machines that didn't run Windows
Oh, a few games, maybe, or having to wait for up-to-date flash support, that sort of thing, minor stuff
Clearly it was a pleasure, just knowing there was no Microsoft in the house was something I took pride in, but no more
She needed to run a proprietary application for work, for which there is no false equivalent that I could find, no active project anyway
And she wanted a new machine that was all her own
Well, this last part I can certainly understand because sharing a machine with the rest of the house can be a real drag after a while
But this special app, which is Windows only of course, well, I couldn't get it up and running under wine
And she was unwilling to try a virtual machine or to dual boot, so that was that
I went through the options available, as I saw them at the time, and I mean they're simply worn on that it keep us a Linux house
We actually had a couple heated discussions along the way, but see, I'm the free and open source software enthusiast here
My seven year old, who is virulently anti-windows, don't know where he gets it, notwithstanding it's just me
Mrs. Bronx doesn't care what she runs, so long as it runs what she wants, she's married to me, not to the free as in speech content
As I've stated in other HPR episodes, FOSS is an inherently political statement, but only if you see it as FOSS
If you just see it as software, like she does, then all it needs to do is to friggin' job at hand
In fact, anything else gets in the way, I've seen her eyes glaze over enough times while I talk about software freedom to understand
I mean I'm slow, but I get there, and I get that, it's boring, at least the way I talk about it apparently
And she's stuck with me, and you know, it's just not her thing, I mean, whatever, no biggie
And yet it was for me, at least for a while
Now, this all came down a couple weeks ago, maybe a month, month and a half at the most, and the machine works fine
It has a little trouble getting online with our wireless routers sometimes, but only sometimes
Mostly it just works as that phrase goes, and it's reasonably fast for a two or three year old refurb unit of modest specs
Can't complain about that, especially since I'm not the one running it, and I guess that's the point here
It's not my machine, not my call
For me, the freedom side of things, the superiority of the software side of things
These trump most other concerns in computing
If that proprietary application simply had to be used, and it was up to me, then I'd have gone another route
VM, whatever I could figure out, and make easy to use
But I came to FOSS in increments, I came to it by inches, not all at once
I learned about the software, of course I'm still learning, and then I learned about the philosophies that drive it
It struck a chord, and I continued reading, listening, and using stuff
But there's no denying that much of it is pretty as so tarot
It can be damnnably hard to wrap your head around, unless you're talking about practicalities
You know, like open standards, vendor lock-in, etc.
I don't blame the average computer user for not getting free and open source software
We generally do a horrible job of selling it truth be told
Now politicians, on the other hand, I do blame since they're getting paid to understand sometimes complex issues
But that's episode fodder for another day
Regular folks, I give a pass
The philosophy of software freedom is bound up in elements of free speech, creativity, and reduced or non-existent monetary costs
All of which are good
But it's also composed of arcane terminology, sexism, attendancy towards social ineptitude, and computer-based criminality
None of which are good
And you can debate the accuracy of any one of the elements I've just mentioned till the crack of doom
But the sad fact is, the user, new to free and open source software, is met at the door by all these things
Or the accusation of them, and they don't engender love at first sight, even the good stuff
It's a sea change in attitude
And people, by and large, simply don't want new attitudes, it's work
And learning how to use machines that increase in complexity exponentially as new tech is introduced
Is more than just a pain in the ass, if not impossible
I mean, keep in mind that HPR listeners are computer and technology enthusiasts
For some it's a hobby, for others a passion, for some it's a career, and for others just a job, and for many I suspect it's a combination of these things
Yet, FOSS, by and large, is our bag here, it's what we're into
If we weren't, all of this, the tech, the applications, the philosophies, and politics, all of it would be as boring and impenetrable as hell
They've not, find someone who's into something you don't like, something you know they know a lot about
Ask them to talk to you about the underlying issues or philosophies involved, but not to stop when you start showing signs of drifting
See how that feels, that's what Mrs. Bronx, and a whole whole lot of other people are enduring
To them it's my numbing, and technical, and pick you into the point of inanity
It's a soteric yet containing of irritating practicalities, in short it's not what they'd prefer to think about
And if it sounds like I am a vista-apologist, remember I need peace in my home, in other words yeah, there comes a point when you have to live in the world
And sometimes the realization that it isn't a world of your making or choosing is hard
I liked having a Linux household, and that might happen for us again
But I'm a little more pragmatic now, if we can get what we want done with Linux, then fine, if not well
Nah, nah I can't do what I can't do this anymore, I'm talking drivel
We had a Linux household, and now we don't, and that bugs the living crap out of me
I am living in a world neither of my making or choosing, and I wish it were different
Now that should be liberating, practicalities by and large, relieve one of the burden of choice
I mean when your needs are imposed over, or trumping of your convictions, you can proceed with a clear conscience
And yet, what can I have done differently when the decision isn't mine, where do my obligations lie?
I can't be held accountable for Microsoft's shortcomings certainly, but is there more I could have done to make
false alternatives more attractive or fundamental to Mrs. Brock's?
And the only answer I can come to and continually return to is no, she just wants it to work
Which is impossible to fault, and difficult to argue against
Oh, advocates often try when confronted by this sort of statement, but I have never heard a free software argument
that invalidates the need for ease and expediency
Okay, money and security are good ones, but in our case the money wasn't an issue and the security seems manageable, so what else is there?
I mean, especially now that it's a done deal, and she's happy with the machine and its software
Looking for alternatives is just more false pedantry, even in my head
Try as I might, I can think of no compelling reason at this time for her to switch
Maybe someday, if and when her VISTA install begins to crawl, it could be examined again as an option, but for the foreseeable future
The better solution appears to be the worse alternative
The better solution appears to be the worse alternative
The better solution appears to be the worse alternative
The better solution appears to be the worse alternative
The better solution appears to be the worse alternative
Rick, baby, that's what I'm going to flip side you head
I say to Rick, baby, that's what I'm going to flip side you head
Yeah, you got me so worried, got me talking out of my head
Yeah, you know I love it, and you know my love is true
I'm bringing all this up for selfish reasons
I don't have anyone in the real world that I can articulate this sentiment and perhaps argument too
No one in my circle of acquaintances is a Linux or FOSS advocate, and increasingly I am one
No, I don't shake the tambourine, I hate that shit, and I'm certainly not accomplished enough to even preach to the choir
But it's important to me
Now I'm not going to stand in front of the crowd on King Street and get mowed down for a cause
I don't get me wrong, I'm infinitely glad some people were willing to be
But I'm no zealot, use what works, right? That's me
And yet it bothers me, pure and simple, I wanted to overcome the software issues
And stay in the freer part of the computing spectrum, a little, little thing
Without realizing it, free and open source software has come to matter
And I'm not sure I can adequately express how rare and occurrence that has been in my life
Things just generally don't, and don't ask me to qualify that
In fact, I really don't think you should need me to since many of the smiles I've been treated to in my days have been vapid and expedient
And doubtlessly, some of those were yours
Now that's entirely okay because some of them were mine too
To be alive is to be practical
When you're not practical, you're that patriot guy that zealot bleeding in the street
Forging a new world order perhaps, but maybe missing dinner tonight
You're that asshole who used his ideals to bruise the heart in however small a way of one who cares
Ideally, the one who cares for the most
Now as Arthur Miller wrote denigratingly, the cats in that alley are practical
But if you'll pardon my boarding house for each credence saying, it ain't me
I'm not privileged, I am no one special
I wasn't born to be special, I'm not Richard Stallman or one of his thralls
Admire them how I may
Now yes, this is a lot of justification for a simple and simple-minded drama
But the plain fact is, all things accounted, there's nothing else to be done
Vista, friggin Vista, but there it is
Because there's a need, a cry in the proverbial dark, which Foss, as yet, hasn't answered
Maybe someday it will, but will the call still be going out by then?
Practicality being rooted in time and circumstance after all
Will anyone care to create the one that we need?
Does I'm telling you if I were to do it?
If I were to take the time to create such a project myself
Assuming, which I do not, it was even possible
Man, oh man, a chevets, the very technology was written for, would be long obsolete
Before it ever saw the light of day
Now I'm just being practical here, but as you can see, it cuts both ways
I don't die in the street maybe, but I'm not free
And that's a crap place to be, that's a crap place for a lot of us to be
Because I'm sure as hell not alone in this
Many people who like or are interested or potentially could be interested in free and open source software
Are shackled to proprietary solutions to relatively common problems
Some of those are due to IT fear or ignorance, but I'm telling you a lot of them
Two damn many are not
The solutions simply don't exist in Foss
As a movement, we have made incredible strides
But we have a long way to go and anyone who thinks differently is kidding themselves
Because my wife, Mrs. Bronx, who could give a rat-type pink ass about software freedom one way or the other
Took a good hard look at every single Foss solution that I could dig up
And what would be required to run them and judge them all on their own merits
And that weird, meandering trail through free and open source software applications
Eventually led to a closed, proprietary and very expensive product
Running on Windows Vista
Not heaven-honored, not by a long shot
But after all, and in the end, the best of all possible worlds
Law is so good like that
Don't you do it
Give me all you got like that
Don't you do it
My temperature shots so high
Don't you do it
My system is so light
This has been lost in Bronx
You can contact me at Lost in Bronx at gmail.com
That's L-O-S-T-N-B-R-O-M-X at gmail
Feel free to write and tell me just exactly how wrong I am
And how important working through the challenges of free and open source software truly is
Especially on projects and in professional environments that matter to the wider community
Because you know, I think I could stand to hear that sort of stuff right about now
Take care
Thank you for listening to Hack or Public Radio
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Thanks for watching
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