Without having a basic knowledge of the inner workings of the internal combustion engine, people drive cars to work every day. Some, in fact, are excellent drivers. Likewise, people watch television and successfully listen to the radio without having a clear understanding of the science behind “over the air” broadcasting. To benefit from wearing corrective lenses it’s not necessary to be an optometrist. It doesn’t take a master electrician to change a light bulb.
But nobody should use a computer without being a master programmer, which is the gospel-according-to-many, especially those who post on Linux forums.
These people moan about Linux being taken over by everyday computer users who know little or nothing about FOSS and who mainly want a computer to get work done, exchange emails, watch videos and visit with friends on social sites. OMG, we’re talking ordinary folks who figure they don’t need to know how sausage is made in order to have some for breakfast, and they’re now using Linux without a clue as to how it’s made either.
Christine Hall has been a journalist since 1971. In 2001, she began writing a weekly consumer computer column and started covering Linux and FOSS in 2002 after making the switch to GNU/Linux. Follow her on Twitter: @BrideOfLinux
Due to the increasing attendance, SCALE has also extended the exhibit hall hours, which will now open on Friday, February 20, at 2 p.m. Saturday’s exhibit hall hours will remain the same, beginning at 10 a.m. and closing at 6 p.m. And on Sunday — traditionally a quieter day in general — SCALE 13x has opted to close the exhibit hall at 2 p.m., though sessions will continue to run on Sunday afternoon.
I remember, as a young boy, waking up to find Uncle Emil’s 1950 Chevrolet and his old Airstream trailer sitting in front of our house. He had arrived sometime during the night and I could always count on him to be sitting at the kitchen table with my parents, chain smoking camel cigarettes, drinking coffee and regaling them with his latest adventures.
From a PR standpoint, this announcement is paying off for Redmond, at least for the short term. This morning Google returned over four thousand news results specifically related to a search using the terms “microsoft windows 10 free upgrade,” with a slew of additional peripheral results. Outside the FOSS press, the articles generally heap praise on Microsoft for this move, which is seen as “bold” and “daring.” 
Wow…just wow.