daverea.com

Looks as if Microsoft is jumping on the band wagon and griping louder about people who pirate their software. Their threats are growing a little louder: “If you use our software without paying for it, we’re going to take away the updates that make it useful to you.”

Most folks who know me know that I’m not a terribly big fan of governments that take my money and restrict my freedoms – and my beliefs swing the same way for software. I don’t particularly care how purportedly-well your software works… If you want me to pay you to place restrictions on me, you’ve got another thing coming.

This forms the “love” portion of my love-hate relationship with Linux. Sure, my Linux box may be a recalcitrant little bitch when it comes to installing new things or accomplishing some of those tasks that “just work” under Windows, but I still love it. Because it doesn’t serve me with conditions, controls or limitations. I don’t have to prove anything to anybody in order to take full advantage of everything Linux has to offer.

And with this new announcement, the good old boys at Microsoft have finally pushed me over the edge. This is my emancipation proclaimation, and June 9th will be my independence day. On my 25th birthday, I will go 100% Microsoft-free. I’ll relegate my Windows install CDs to the relic bin, I’ll format my Windows PC, and I’ll bask in the liberating glow of Open Source.

Don’t misunderstand – I don’t derive personality or self-worth from the software I use… But I do believe in Freedom (as in Libre, as well as Gratis) as my way of life. And my decision to go Microsoft-free supports this way of life.