1. Do not install software unless it is completely necessary. Extra software slows down your system. If you don’t need it, don’t install it. In fact, go into your control panel, select ‘Add/Remove Programs’, and remove any programs that you don’t use. Make sure that you don’t need it before removing it or consult an IT specialist to be sure.
2. Do not install toolbars. If a program requests permission to install a toolbar in your version of MS Internet Explorer, just say no. Most toolbars contain spyware and malware that will slow your system down.
3. Keep your startup programs to a minimum. Look in your system tray and see all the icons there (small little icons next to your system clock). Chances are, there are several programs that you don’t even know about. Configure those programs so that they do not run at startup (check that program’s documentation or consult an IT specialist).
4. Defragment your drive regularly. Run the defragment utility by going to Start > Programs> Accessories > System Tools about once a month. This makes sure that your hard drive files are in order and they can be accessed quickly.
5. Keep your anti-virus and anti-spyware software up to date. I recommend AVG Anti-Virus for Windows computers. They have a free version for personal use as well as inexpensive versions for companies. I also recommend Adaware and Spybot Search & Destroy to keep spyware off your computer. Always remember to keep these programs up to date as well.
6. Be careful of the websites you visit. Viruses and spyware can enter your computer through websites that have malicious code in them.
7. Configure your computer for automatic updates. I don’t like Microsoft automatically updating any system, but is the best way to keep your computer secure. Go into your control panel and click on Automatic Updates. Adjust those settings accordingly.

Those of us who are active in the tech industry know that Microsoft has been throwing patent threats since late 2006. They claim that the GNU/Linux operating system as well as other free software packages like OpenOffice.org violate 235 patents, yet they refuse to show us the code. Why? I think because they are just trying to make us think they have some sort of power, and they are intimidating Linux distributors such as Novel, Linspire, and Xandros. The thing I find amusing is that they are calling these deals “cross-licensing and patent-liability indemnification pacts¹“, so it actually goes both ways. Microsoft agrees not to sue the above mentioned companies, but on the other hand, the above mentioned companies agrees not to sue Microsoft. My first theory about this hoopla is that Microsoft is trying to get as many companies in on this deal as they can before the open source community discover the patents that Microsoft is violating themselves. Why else would Microsoft have put that security for them in the deal if they had nothing to worry about? Clearly, they have some concerns there.

Another theory is that Microsoft could simply be trying to shove open source in the pits media-wise. They are trying to make them look like the victims and open source communities look like a bunch of hackers (the good kind) in their basements hacking together code and copying all Microsoft’s good ideas. Any time I see Steve Ballmer on the ‘net, he seems to be shedding negative light on something. I wouldn’t put it past him to be making all this up to put the negative vibe on open source to boost their own sales. Microsoft’s Get the Facts section of their website is proof that they are to the point on calling out Linux by name which means they are admitting that they are a competitor and threat to their future sales.

So what’s going to happen now? I don’t think Microsoft is going to have any patent lawsuits with companies or individuals because then they would actually have to have more than empty threats. Microsoft will continue to cry “no fair” while the open source community continues to grow, and Microsoft’s market share will continue to shrink. Do I think this is the beginning of the end for Microsoft? No. Although other people on the ‘net think it is, I believe the two entities can coexist. There is still a use for proprietary software, and they have proven that they can make it work.

¹ http://www.linuxtoday.com/news_story.php3?ltsn=2007-07-02-019-26-OS-BZ-MS

Office Software

OpenOffice.org

OpenOffice is the best alternative to MS Office and other proprietary solutions. This multi-platform office suite will open and save in virtually any format making it the most compatible suite out there.

Abiword

Abiword is a multi-platform word processing system that is comparable to MS Word yet extremely lightweight.

PDFCreator

PDFCreator easily creates PDFs from any Windows program. Use it like a printer in Word, StarCalc or any other Windows application.

System Tools

IZArc

IZArc is the ultimate freeware archive utility supporting many archive formats like: 7-ZIP, A, ACE, ARC, ARJ, B64, BH, BIN, BZ2, BZA, C2D, CAB, CDI, CPIO, DEB, ENC, GCA, GZ, GZA, HA, IMG, ISO, JAR, LHA, LIB, LZH, MDF, MBF, MIM, NRG, PAK, PDI, PK3, RAR, RPM, TAR, TAZ, TBZ, TGZ, TZ, UUE, WAR, XXE, YZ1, Z, ZIP, ZOO. With a modern easy-to-use interface, IZArc provides support for most compressed and encoded files, as well as access to many powerful features and tools. It allows you to drag and drop files from and to Windows Explorer, create and extract archives directly in Windows Explorer, create multiple archives spanning disks, creating self-extracting archives, repair damaged zip archives, converting from one archive type to another, view and write comments and many more.

7-Zip

This is a great tool to manage compressed archives in multiple formats.

TightVNC

This allows you to access your computer remotely. I use it all the time to access my computer away from the office.

Filezilla

This is a powerful FTP client that is way more stable than using IE.

Clamwin

A free anti virus for Windows

AVG Free Edition

It’s not open-source, but still a great anti-virus for personal use.

Web / Chat / Email

Pidgin

Formally called Gaim, Pidgin is the best IM client I’ve ever seen, as it’s compatible with virtually all protocols including AIM, MSN, Yahoo, Google (Jabber), Jabber, etc.

Firefox

The best web browser in my opinion with many customizations available.

Mozilla Thunderbird

My personal favorite for email. I have it manage all my company email, personal email, and RSS feeds.

Graphic Design

The Gimp

The Gimp is the free & open source solution comparable to Adobe Photoshop that’s perfect to any graphic designer. See gimp.org/windows for Windows installation packages.

Paint.net

Microsoft Paint…but souped up.

Text Editors

PSPad

This is one of the nest editors available on the Windows platform.

Notepad2

Another great text editor for code, etc.

Scintilla

Yet another text editor for Windows and other platforms.

Notepad++

Notepad++ is a free source code editor (and Notepad replacement), which supports several programming languages, running under the MS Windows environment.

Multimedia

Media Coder

MediaCoder is a free universal audio/video batch transcoder distributed under GPL license, which nicely integrates lots of excellent audio/video codecs and tools from the open source community into an all-in-one solution, capable of transcoding among different audio/video formats.

Audacity

Audacity is free, open source software for recording and editing sounds.

Web Server Related

Web Developer Server Suite

I haven’t used this suite itself, but I have used all the included packages on my Linux servers every day.

Apache

With a market share of over 59%, Apache is the most popular software for serving web pages on the HTTP. Plus, it’s free software!

MySQL

The database system I use every day.

PHP

Web scripting language no server should be without – even if it’s running Windows .

It’s very possible that I missed something. Please write me or leave a comment if I missed a popular program.

Since most of this entry is going to point out Microsoft’s flaws, I will start off by saying how Windows XP is better than the current GNU/Linux releases. Windows is currently more user friendly, and let me explain why. Both operating systems have come a long way, and both are pretty user friendly for every day use. The reason why I am giving Windows the point here is because Windows has a GUI solution for just about everything including configurations, and Linux does not. For example, when I set up dual display on my WinXP machine, I go to the display properties, click on the picture of the second monitor, and click “Extend my desktop to this monitor”, click Apply, and I’m golden. For my Ubuntu Installation, I have to fire up a terminal window, edit my /etc/X11/xorg.conf file, restart X server, realize I messed something up, edit the file again, restart the X server…you get the point. Getting dual head to work on my Linux box was one of the barriers that I had to overcome to get this working.

So that’s one point for Microsoft. Now let’s see why I like Linux better. I’m going to start with the practical solutions first and then get in depth on why I like one company more than the other.

Software Installation

Most popular versions of Linux have a repository system that makes it extremely easy to manage your software installation. These systems have package managers that download and install software for you. If you were looking for software for Windows, you would have to search the web for it, find a downloading site, maybe pay for it, install it, and possibly reboot your computer.

Even if the software you would want to install is on a CD, using the package manager is still more convenient. For example, let’s compare installing MS Office XP on Windows to OpenOffice.org on Linux.

MS Office:

1. Find your CD(s)
2. Find your license key
3. Insert your CD and open the installation program
4. Input your license key (repeat as needed if inputted incorrectly)
5. Select installation options
6. Go take a vacation until the installation is completed
7. Reboot your computer
8. Activate the software which requires an Internet connection or phone call

OpenOffice:

1. Open the Add/Remove Applications program from the Applications Menu (Ubuntu/Debian systems)
2. Find OpenOffice under the Office category
3. Click Apply
4. Wait for the packages to download and install

I don’t know about you, but I sometimes have a hard time keeping track of all of my software CDs. Using the package managers release me from the problems of hunting down software CDs, and since the software is free, you will never have to input another license key again. If you do not have a broadband connection, you can download the packages on a computer that does have a faster Internet connection and take them over to your computer on a CD.

Price

This is one of those “duh” reasons why Microsoft loses the point on this one. The new version of Windows Vista will ding you $500+, and the business version of MS Office will dent you $700+. The newest version of Ubuntu Linux (coming out in April ’07) will leave you exactly $0 lighter, and all the software that comes with it including OpenOffice, will add only $0 to your total cost.

Customizable

There are several desktops available to your Linux distribution. If you are using Ubuntu, you are most likely using the Gnome desktop. If you want to try out the KDE Desktop, all you have to do is fire up a terminal and type “sudo apt-get install kubuntu-desktop”, watch it download all the necessary packages, and restart the X Server. Since the operating system packages are written by the community, there are many options out there to choose from.

Spyware, Viruses, Etc.

Yes, all Windows users know (or should) about the risk of viruses, security updates and whatnot. You know that if you don’t keep your computer up to date, you will be facing some serious trouble in the near future. Guess what…I’ll admit that as I’m typing this article, I have no anti-virus software running, and I haven’t scanned my computer…ever. Furthermore, when I see a warning of a virus spreading, I ignore it. Why? Because they all target Windows users. Install Linux on your computer and never have to worry about a virus again…ever. We don’t have to worry about them for a couple reasons. 1) Linux users are less than 5% of the total computer market, so we are not targeted any more then the Macs are. 2) The Linux operating system (and the file system) has been designed so that viruses won’t be able to do any damage beyond the user’s home folder, so even if point 1 was no longer true, Linux is way more secure and viruses don’t have a chance.

Let me give an example on point number 2. (This is hypothetical, and you probably don’t want to really carry out these steps) If you are in Windows, fire up an explorer window, and go to c:\WIndows\Program Files. Then select any program folder and delete it (don’t really do it). The point is that the computer would let you delete it unless you are running as a guest user. That is what makes Windows vulnerable. It gives the average user access to critical files on the hard drive that the user has no business modifying. Linux doesn’t let the user outside their home folder. That’s why any virus at worst will only blow away the home folder, unless the user was dumb enough to run the malicious code as root.

Security

To put it simply, Linux has fewer security problems because more eyes see the code. You yourself can see the source code and see exactly how it works. Microsoft doesn’t release their source code, so the security holes are impossible for anyone to find but the company itself, and only they can fix it. See also point 2 on the section above.

Company Practices

Now, I don’t like Microsoft as a company either. They do provide a pretty good product. I am not here to tell you that Windows sucks and you should avoid it at all costs. You do need to be aware that there are other options, and that Windows is your only choice. Microsoft wants you to believe that there is no alternative. How else do you think they try to get away with selling software for $500+? I think we are pretty aware of the monopolistic practices that the company have been engaging in, and because of that history, I really don’t feel like supporting them in any way. If you want a better idea of what I’m talking about, Google search “microsoft monopoly”. I would elaborate, but I’m done typing for the day.

More Information

Linux For Anarchists
My Vista Upgrade Experience
Solutions from Microsoft. Can we trust them?
Stopping Vista adoption by promoting free software
Why Linux is Better