"When I wrote a passioned statement about how having a choice of distros was a good thing, I decided to list 359 other things that it was good to have choices for. I thought it was a good effort, and still do. But in the course of a week I have also come to realize that other points of view may have some validity, too."

A few weeks ago, Microsoft announced that Windows 7 would not ship with Internet Explorer 8 within the European Union. This is to comply with EU demands following the anti-trust case some time back. On the immediate face of this seem like good news for users of other browsers - but is it?

How much will actually change?

After I reviewed Alien Arena last year, some readers criticized my choice of that first-person shooter (FPS) as the best free software game I had played. Several suggested Nexuiz would have been a better choice. At the time, I had not played it. Now that I have tried Nexuiz 2.4, it has become my favorite free software FPS.

Recently, in this column, I spoke about how we can lose our free software choices if we don’t use them. Sticking with that choice is not always easy so how do we get others to make it, particularly in a world where the choice is often made for them. How can we advocate free software in a world where others don’t seem to care?

When you think Linux for business, you should think Ubuntu. Chances are good that if someone walked into your office right now and peeked over your shoulder, they would see a Windows operating system on your computer. But, did you know that you have a choice of something other than Windows for that computer on your desk, and that you have the same choice for the servers in your data center?

Many users of open source software point to the fact that their applications and platforms are more secure than proprietary alternatives simply because they aren't such obvious targets for malware distribution. As just one example, the Standish Group recently completed a survey in which 70 percent of respondents said Red Hat Linux is less vulnerable to security threats than Windows.

This is a response on an article at my neighbor site: http://www.nintenlord.com/x/?page_id=405. This time, it is not Pro Linux, but Con Linux. I agree with David's article, but many people do not. So I'd like to sum up what most people walk into when trying Linux. Note: This is written out of the viewpoint of a regular user that wants to try Linux. Not from "our" viewpoints.

Christmas is near! Matthias has some good advice. Here is his new list of Free Software related books 2009 which are also good for people who have not heard much about Free Software before.

The Ubuntu 8.10 server is an especially good choice for services that are based in the Ubuntu repository. Ease of use is one of the main interests in the Ubuntu 8.10 server so administrators tend to look at Ubuntu not only because this is a staple of the Ubuntu Desktop but the server version has been known for...