Pandering to the Masses
Assuming that the new Socialist-Democratic Party in the US manages to get the US Supreme Court to either ignore or rule favorably on the “progressive” 90% tax levy just passed in the House and a possible similar one in the Senate for 70% taxes on bonuses over $250,000 for anybody working in a stimulus money recipient company, then making the computer OEMs distribute CDROMs of live Linux distros ought to be a piece of cake.
All the pro-Linux organizations out there ought to write their Socialist, Communist or Democratic party US Representative and/or US Senator to support the anti-monopolist masses and make the computer manufacturers that are in the back-pocket of Microsoft distribute something other than the Redmond Gorilla's latest non-operating system.
IT workers unite! Its time for Ubuntu, Novell, Red Hat, Google and IBM-SUN to support the coming computer revolution or be swept away when the new digital proletariat takes over.
(Let's hope Richard Stallman hasn't shaved his beard. There needs to be somebody involved in all of this with a really Bolshevik looking beard.)
Jeez Louise! I thought I lived in a democratic-republican country, not the United Soviet Socialist States of America! A tax that is not even remotely fair should not be allowed at all. Especially since its retro-active to January 1, 2009. That is how angry the general population is. Its also how scared the Democratic party is because when the angry population sees that the tax burden is going to hit everybody not just the wealthy, there will be major chaos to follow. The politicos are letting this idiotic anger over bonuses cloud the real issues.
If the Pro-Linux people want to push to get more people exposed to Desktop Linux, now would be the time. The general populations' anger against those taking advantage of perks, “earmarks” and other legislative favors to large corporations is much more diffuse than just focused on AIG. People are looking for answers and some of them will be more willing to look at something not delivered by a known international monopolistic corporation.
With interest rates in the toilet on savings accounts, I've heard more than one person suggesting taking their paychecks home in cash and to h--- with the banks. New computers will not be top choice this year unless they are small in-expensive netbooks that can be paid for with one paycheck or less.
As much as people seem willing to blindly accept Microsoft, they really haven't had a choice. They need to see in-expensive options on those netbooks. They need to see them before the Christmas buying season starts. The most expensive part of the netbook will be the OS if its Microsoft.
I doubt that there will be much joy in Mudville once the World Series is over and people discover that Johnny or Janey can't get a new laptop this Christmas because Mommy and Daddy don't have jobs. Others who do have jobs will be looking for ways to keep what they have and do software and plug-in upgrades instead of whole new systems.
If the Linux distros ever want to make Desktop Linux a reality, this is the year to do it. The conditions are going to be perfect for Linux in about 3 to 4 months.