During the last six months, I found myself using 4 different operating systems on the computers I use for my everyday tasks. This is the first time that something like this happens. In the past, I had mainly used Microsoft Windows (before 2005) and Fedora (from 2005 until April 2009). During the last six months, apart from Fedora, I’ve used OpenSolaris, CentOS and the beta and RC releases of Windows 7. Trying to find a good reason why this has happened, I always come to the same conclusion: I have started seeing computers, and thus their operating systems and other software, differently than before. I have stopped being a fan. I now care about using computers to get the job done with the minimum cost. After all, that’s why those machines have been invented.

Speaking about costs, I’d like to be more specific. Cost is not just about money. Cost can also be measured in terms of “time” and in terms of “effort“. Nothing is by default cheap or expensive. It depends on the task too. For example, suppose you have put all your old computer magazines in a cheap trash bag expecting it to hold long enough until you reach the trash bin across the street. The cheap bag will not hold the weight of all those magazines and you will most probably find yourself picking them up from the street like an idiot. Well, in this case, that cheap bag turned out to be very expensive in terms of time and effort. On the contrary, using expensive trash bags for lightweight garbage is idiotic too, as you spend your money on trash bags instead of buying yourself those extra megabytes of RAM your VPS requires. The same applies to computers and software. You have to use the right tool for a specific job to be cost-effective. There is no operating system that is good for everything.

I care about using cost-effective ways to do things. I didn’t used to, but I do care now. I am totally against saving, regardless of it being money, time or effort. I am in for spending, but spend wisely. Regarding computers, I have decided to use any operating system, office suite, development environment, programming language, multimedia software, server software to accomplish my tasks. Sometimes paying some money can save a lot of time and effort. Other times, investing some time and effort can save a lot of money. That’s how things work.

This post is not supposed to be lengthy and I will keep it that way. All the above, of course, do not change my views about open source, open standards and open access to information. I just wanted to say that I leave the operating system wars to you. I am out.

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Tags: Productivity