This article starts out as a general presentation of software today, and continues into how that plays into potential future politics.
It’s finally time I write about my opinions on modern software. As a computer nerd, I’ve been obsessed with installing and configuring computer software since I was young, although I’d have to say writing software isn’t my cup of coffee.
Unfortunately, the last few years software quality has taken a steep decline. From the operating systems we use to the software that runs within like games and word processors, and even the UEFI firmware that executes before your computer even boots. If you’re here for the politics part click here.
My first complaint? Windows. Always have to start there. Why? Because too many people still use it. Windows was never a particularly great piece of software to begin with, being proprietary meant it’s code could never be audited by third parties and individuals, and it has always been known for it’s instability.
But that’s where the line was drawn. Windows was a somewhat unstable somewhat prone to exploits but very user friendly and versatile operating system, used everywhere from home desktops, servers to hospital equipment.
I’d argue Windows peaked with Windows 7, the holy grail of operating systems accessible to everyone. It had gotten to the point where you could trust your computer if you yourself made sure to not mess it up by downloading every sketchy thing on the internet. It’s aero design and graphical user interface where eye-candy for the time.
Surely it would only get better from here, right? Wrong. Windows took a steep decline with Windows 8, changing it’s gorgeous GUI into an ugly minimalist tablet eyesore. Windows 10 introduced spyware baked right in, sending all your data to Microsoft so you could be made into a product and sold. And with Windows 11, this has now been re-envisioned with Copilot AI, stealing more data than ever before!
Unfortunately in the tech world, big names still use it on a daily bases in their content, and most for no apparent reason whatsoever, other than “I know how to use it and am afraid of anything else”
I myself started using Linux about 3 or 4 years ago, periodically using Windows when required. Nowadays my Windows use is limited to running in a virtual machine and running very specific Windows programs that don’t play well with Linux.
I do everything from gaming to media consumption, audio recording and server administration from Linux, and use Linux on all my servers. Yes, you are reading this article on a website hosted in a docker container on a Debian 13 machine, reverse proxied on a FreeBSD 15.0 machine, routed on a Mikrotik router based on Linux.
And I’d argue that for 95% of people, Linux can do everything Windows does without the spyware, bloat, licensing, price and so on and so forth. Whenever I need to set up a new machine, I always go for a Linux install, usually Debian or Arch. Home theater PC? Simple Debian install running Kodi. Server? Debian running Docker. Desktop? Arch running KDE Plasma.
Unfortunately these days people do not want to commit to becoming tech literate and learning proper use of an operating system and the command line, and thus never try Linux. Even so, efforts have been made to make Linux as user friendly as possible, and have in my opinion largely been successful. Linux Mint is the best example of this.
But this is no excuse to be tech illiterate. Knowing how to use a phone and post on Instagram or turn on your computer to watch YouTube and write essays on Microsoft World does NOT make you tech literate. That’s like listening to guitar but not knowing how to play, or, better yet, driving a car without knowing how to service it and fix it.
30-40 years ago a computer user was a person who was educated on the inner workings of a computer, knew how to write software and fix it, and understood how every bit of his computer worked. Web server program not working as you’d expect? He’d change the code and make it work.
Do you know how to do that? Do you know what instructions your processor runs to instruct your graphics card to draw cats on your screen? No? Neither do I. But we should all try our best to learn as much as possible. Knowledge is power. We’re moving into a future were our rights are being taken away from us with our consent, and we are doing nothing about it.
Think of it like this: In 100 years when me and you are gone and self-driving cars are everywhere, nobody will know how to drive. To them a self-driving car is all there is, and there is no reason to think beyond that. Hundreds of years ago if you needed a house, you’d build it. Now that’s it’s been given to you in a silver platter, you no longer know how to build one. It’s the same with software today. Why learn the command line and basics of Linux when Windows does everything I need it to? I don’t need to learn anything!
But what if that self driving car doesn’t allow you to drive to another city because of protests against the government, presented of course as a “safety” feature. What if Windows decides to delete all of your personal pictures because the AI detected you were pictured in a controversial place, with controversial symbolism? You’d be powerless to do anything simply because you chose not to fill your mind with the knowledge needed to do so.
To conclude, knowledge is the highest form of power there is. Above physical, above political and above all else. We as humans possess power above all the animals not because we are the strongest, but because we are the smartest. If you have the free time to learn Linux do it. It’s a form of rebellion against oppression and against surveillance. If that’s not your cup of tea then learn anything else. Learn electronics, cars, economics, anything.
And to finish I want to say this article interested you then I highly recommend you read the book “1984”. If you’re not a reader then reading just the first chapter will truly show you what our future will hold if we continue to reject education and knowledge in favor of comfort.