Death in Brussels, Belgium

Dear reader,

So, Muslim terrorists have struck again, this time in my own country, Belgium. I have only one message for you.

Let us not be afraid.

Let us celebrate life.

Let us celebrate joy.

Let us sing (no matter how terrible you sing or how awful your voice may sound) and dance.

Let us celebrate freedom - our freedom.

Let us not give in to the fear and the worries.

Let us continue living our life the way that we want to.

Let us celebrate one another.

Let us not let them win. Let us win.

I wish you well. Be safe.

The gains, or not, of technological progress.

Dear reader,

For almost a year and a half now, we are running desktop PC's with Windows 7 at work. All user files are stored on a server and not on the local hard drive. Without it being an official position, I am the "local system administrator" (which basically means that I'm the guy who calls the IT department at the head office, since I have no permissions to do anything on my computer (well, not much, anyway) and on the computer of my colleagues.

Many years ago, back in 1997 when I started working there, the network consisted of a small IBM desktop server that ran AIX 4.3 (IBM's UNIX version) and work stations. Then, too, the users' files were stored on the server.

I don't remember UNIX ever having had problems. It was rock solid. People that know UNIX will now roll their eyes and think "Well, duh!". Or don't you? :-)

Now, after nearly a year and a half into Microsoft Windows 7 (and - undoubtedly, as I have no access to it - a Windows server), there have been more problems than in the early days with UNIX, the worst being users that lost their personal files because something went wrong with the synchronizing of their files.

The point that I am trying to make is that "IT" at work has come full circle: from a  pure UNIX network environment in 1997, we have returned to again a pure netowrk environment, this time with Windows 7. Only, the current system with Microsoft Windows is a lot less good than the - now long forgotten - UNIX system that we once had.

This last fact makes me both chuckle and shake my head in disbelief.

Why Linux is better than Windows

Dear reader,

For many years now, I am running Linux alongside Windows on one of my computers. It is a perfect way to compare Linux and Windows with each other.

And here is an example of why Linux is better than Windows.

I have this 2 GB USB flash drive that was, like, a present from my internet provider for being a loyal customer. For some reason - and I believe that the flash drive is simply defective - Windows Vista (please no bad comments about me still using Vista) is unable to read the files that are on the flash drive. Earlier, Windows Vista even "hung".

I managed to log out of Vista, rebooted my computer and fired up Linux Mint. The first try made Caja (that is Linux Mint's file browser, à la Windows Explorer) "hang", but I managed to close Caja. During the second try, I had more luck and I managed to copy all the files (save a "damaged" jpg picture) from the flash drive to a folder in Linux Mint.

I was even able to browse through the flash drive and open the various files that were on the flash drive.

To get to the point of my post: Linux Mint manages to do what Windows can not (and this is not the first time that Linux can do something, which Windows can not.).

Or in other words: Linux is better than Windows.

Take that, all you Windows fanboys and fangirls out there :) No pun intended :)

(Oh, it is advisable not to use that flash drive anymore.)

Blogging on top of the hill

I am not quite living at the top of a hill, but the top of a hill (or a mountain, if you wish) is a good place to see the rest of the world (or at least a very small part of the world). So, this blog is going to be the top of my hill, from which I will be looking down on the world, and telling you, casual or less casual visitor, what I think of the "world". And I hope that you will agree, disagree, find my opinion amusing, hopefully not insulting, or at the least a little entertaining.
So, you are hereby invited to comment.