Are we not Well-Trained Pirates?
We use Pirated Softwares, watch Movies from Pirated DVDs, listen to Pirated Songs, read Pirated E-books and even explore Pirate Bay! As an Add-On, Run Everything on Pirated Windows :)
So,
Have we lost our Independence to Piracy?
Agreed, I am addicted to Piracy. So what?
What's wrong?
Isn't Everyone that way?
Why should I worry about that?
One Person can't make any difference. Right?
Read on.
One Day, A Old Man was walking along a shore. He saw a Child pick up a Star Fish and gently throw it into the Sea.
He asked the Child,”What are you doing?”.
The Child replied,”Throwing Star Fish into the Sea.”
Surprised, He said,”But WHY?”
The Child smiled brightly and replied,”The Sun is up and the Tide is going out. If I don't throw them in, they will die.”
“I know that. Don't you see? There are Hundreds of Star Fish scattered along the Beach. You can't make a difference.”, replied the Old Man.
The Child listened politely. Then bent down, picked up another Starfish, threw it gently into the sea, and joyfully declared,“It made a difference for that one.”
The Child listened politely. Then bent down, picked up another Starfish, threw it gently into the sea, and joyfully declared,“It made a difference for that one.”
Inspired?
Are you ready to fight for your Freedom?
If Yes, Continue reading. You are on Right Path!
Firstly, Question Yourself.
You are dependent on Piracy, for What?
Softwares? Operating System? Movies? Songs? Books? Games?
What are the Reasons?
Cost? Convenience? Mind-Set?
Secondly, Commit Yourself.
The Alternatives, I propose, may look ridiculous. Spend Time finding Alternatives that match your requirements!
Thirdly, Eliminate it Step by Step.
Like Smoking, we cannot avoid it immediately. We might be tempted to stop Piracy at one go. But it may not be sustainable.
Lets start with Softwares.
List the Softwares required. Search for Open Source or Free Alternatives.
Open Source or Free? Aren't they Bad?
I mean, Why else would something be Free?
Read on.
Excerpt from Story of Stuff.
One of the problems with trying to use less stuff is that sometimes we feel like we really need it.
What if you live in a city like, say, Cleveland and you want a glass of water?
Are you going to take your chances and get it from the city tap? Or
Should you reach for a bottle of water that comes from the pristine rainforests of Fiji?
Well, Fiji brand water thought the answer to this question was obvious.
So they built a whole ad campaign around it. It turned out to be one of the dumbest moves in advertising history.
The city of Cleveland didn’t like being the butt of Fiji’s joke so they did some tests and guess what?
These tests showed a glass of Fiji water is lower quality, it loses taste tests against Cleveland tap and costs thousands of times more.
This story is typical of what happens when you test bottled water against tap water.
Hope, You got the Inner Meaning :)
Eager to Test-Drive Open Source or Free Alternatives?
Here, I listed the Alternatives for various Softwares in Windows.
PDF, Word, Excel and Power Point – Use Open Office instead of Microsoft Office. It has Features such as Save as PDF which I found to be very useful. For a change, It supports Microsoft Formats and Open Formats too! Use Adobe Reader for Reading & Open Office for Creating PDFs.
Anti–Virus Software – Use AVG Free.
Browser – You may be already using Firefox or Chrome!
Image Editor – Use Gimp instead of Adobe Photo Shop.
RSS Feed Reader – Use RSSOwl.
Music Player & Movie Player – Use VLC Player. Can be used as Converter & Cutter too!
Picture Manager – Use Picasa.
Modeling – Use Scilab instead of Matlab.
Personal Finance Manager – I use Money Manager Ex.
Torrent Client – I use uTorrent.
Surprised? Why do I need a Torrent Client?
We have associated Torrents to Piracy to such an extent that We forgot that Bit-Torrent is just a Technology and One of the best ways to share Popular Files. There are hundreds of Legal Torrents available. For example, Best way to download Open Office is through Torrents!
You will be surprised at the content available under Creative Commons Licenses. For example, I found Mathematical Imagery – Dimensions under Creative Commons License. Check out ClearBits Website for more Content!
You can check out Open Source as Alternative Website, OSALT. It lists Open Source Alternatives to Proprietary Softwares!
Hoping that You are successful in your First Step forward!
Are you ready for the Next Step, Operating System?
I chose Ubuntu! How about You?
I chose Ubuntu for 2 Reasons.
Ubuntu makes your Transition from Windows Easy
Ubuntu can be tried without disturbing Windows. Check out Installation Guide.
Its only 700MB. Can be installed from CD.
Forget CD, You can install using USB! Check out Guide by PsychoCats.
Installation using USB is incredibly Fast. I installed Ubuntu in 5 minutes!
Forums & Documentation
Lets say, I couldn't figure out How to Play Movies in Ubuntu. When I Google it, I find Multiple Users in a similar situation with solution well documented. The only constraint, According to me, is Internet Access!
Myth 1 – Linux is for Experts.
Am I not using it?
Myth 2 – Linux doesn't have Softwares and Games.
More about this later.
Myth 3 – User Interface is Poor.
Its more like Neophobia, Fear of anything New, rather than Poor GUI. Spend Time exploring. You will enjoy it.
Lets see whether Ubuntu has Softwares I require.
Pdf, Word, Excel and Power Point – Ubuntu comes with Open Office!
Document Viewer in Ubuntu can be used for Reading PDFs or Install Adobe Reader.
Anti–Virus Software – Not Required!
Browser – Ubuntu comes with Firefox!
Image Editor – Use Gimp and Dia.
RSS Feed Reader – Use RSSOwl.
Music Player & Movie Player – Ubuntu comes with Rhythm Box for Music and Movie Player for Movies. Install VLC Player if necessary.
CD/DVD Creator - Ubuntu comes with CD/DVD Creator.
Picture Manager – Ubuntu comes with F-Spot Photo Manager. Install Picasa if necessary.
Modeling – Install Scilab.
Personal Finance Manager – Install Money Manager Ex. (Install libwxbase2.8-0, libwxgtk2.8-0 before MoneyManagerEx.)
Torrent Client – Ubuntu comes with Transmission Bit Torrent Client.
What are you waiting for?
