I kid, I kid. I have no intention of changing operating systems, at least until Linux finally is ready for the Deskop.
Plan 9 still is nice, though!
Much is foul in the state of computing today. Proprietary software is used throughout the industry as well as on the majority of personal computers. The promised Linux Desktop revolution, announced since years, has not happened so far, and people are beginning to doubt it ever will happen.
This madness must end.
No longer can we use proprietary software! Be it the proprietary operating system we use, or closed source drivers, protocols that are neither open nor standardized, or even embedded firmware in devices.
No longer must people get away with “I use Mac OS X because it’s userfriendly”, when large parts of their OS are completely closed and locking them in.
No longer can “Well, I use Windows XP, but it’s ok, I run Cygwin under it!” be tolerated, lest we all lose our GNU-given freedom.
No longer can we just watch the proliferation of patents, software or otherwise, spreading like a cancer and trying to smother our liberty.
We must stand up and fight! We must retake our freedom! We can not stand and watch as the walls grow closer, not wait until they suffocate us!
Today I’m doing the first step towards my personal free software freedom. And this freedom can not, it must not depend only on some license, or development model considerations. Licenses are manmade. The Tao of Operating Systems is bigger than that.
I’m switching to an Operating System that is pure in itself, whose radiant beauty enlightens the galaxy of computing. One which treats all resources equally, in its infinite wisdom. One which uses the only true encoding – UTF-8 – everywhere. One whose name is funny, and not some ego boosting thing (say what, Linus?).
UNIX may be dying. BSD may be dead. But from the ashes of sockets and ioctl rose the phoenix that is Plan 9.
Replacing a tried-and-true installation of Windows XP with an equally able setup of Plan 9 is easy. You just install Plan 9 — there is no need to bother with backups, partitioning, or selecting packages. After an installation procedure taking some twenty minutes, you reboot into a new, blissful existence. Plan 9 is the Tao, and the Tao is Plan 9.
I want to take this opportunity to ask everyone of you, my readers, to get yourself a Plan 9 installation/live CD. In the month of April, set yourself the task of converting at least five computers from a proprietary, egoistically named, or user-friendly Operating System to the salvation that is Plan 9. Do not try to reason with the unbelievers you encounter, for you will encounter them, and they shall not be swayed from the path of darkness. Only through force can you rescue them from this downward spiral, the lefthand path, the path of usable systems and working devices. By the sword you shall spread the righteousness and glory of the path of light. Plan 9 is the Tao, and the Tao is Plan 9.
Go forth, and spread it.
Remember: The open source zealot’s blood is the seed of Freedom’s tree. This is madness, you say? Madness? This is Plan 9!
Screenshots of my new Plan 9 system will follow as soon as I get my screenshot file working.
Plan 9 is the Tao, and the Tao is Plan 9.