[BALUG-Talk] Linux references in an essay

[David Fetter]

On Wed, Feb 11, 2009 at 11:31:01AM -0800, Baptiste wrote:
> Here are sentences about Linux I wrote in an essay. I'd like to know
> what you think of those..  The essay is about the principle of open
> sources as applied to the education system.  It's not scientific..
> it's for an eng.1A class....
> 
> 
> Parts of my essay:
> 
> << * Linux, as an operating system, provides a more customizable environment
> for knowledgeable users, by opposition to *Apple's Mac OS* and *Microsoft
> Windows*.

Linux doesn't exist "by opposition" (more properly, "in opposition")
to anything.  It's a dynamic thing which people participate in for
their own purposes.

> Even though it isn't as famous, it is widely used for organizations
> that need secured and specific settings of computer networks.>>

I don't know what you mean by "isn't as famous."  It's an operating
system which has dominated the server arena since about 2001, not
coincidentally when the last economic collapse occurred.  When pennies
count, "free as in beer" counts, too.

> - this is a footnote in my text. The aim is to connect it to
> something the reader might know.

A common reader's first knowing encounter with Free software is very
likely Firefox.

> - I should add something about the "one laptop per child" to it..

Why?

> + can I say: Google increases its power by *opening its sources*??
> Is it right to say *opening their sources* here?*

Google has gotten some good will in the FOSS community by opening its
sources, but IBM is a much better example of ROI.  They went from
doing lots of new stuff in that awful monster known as AIX to making
Linux their default *n*x and saved a huge bundle in the process.

> * or is it right to say :     "Open source systems"
> 
> Thank you so much!

De rien ;)

Cheers,
David (qui parle français comme une vache espagnole)
> 
> 
> baptiste

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-- 
David Fetter <david at fetter.org> http://fetter.org/
Phone: +1 415 235 3778  AIM: dfetter666  Yahoo!: dfetter
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