[Greenbuilding] Get a puppy and help save the environment!

[Reuben Deumling]

On Wed, Aug 21, 2013 at 7:57 AM, sanjay jain <sanjayjainuk at yahoo.co.uk>wrote:

> Ruben,
>
> For the record: Microsoft is going to stop support on XP and Office 2003
> in April 2014. This does not mean you can't use it, but MS will no longer
> care if there are secuirty issues in there. Keeping in mind that Windows
> get new malware everyday, this is effectively going to make XP obselete.
>

Ah, I see. I think you are talking about those updates that mysteriously
float in on the internet breeze. I haven't paid a lot of attention to
those, I admit; but I do accept the invitations religiously.

>
> We should not look at the world in terms of how we behave, but how the
> majority behaves. Just because you work around Planned Obselence, doesn't
> mean the majority do.
>

I didn't mean to imply that. Just that perhaps in the context of 'the sky
is falling' it would be reasonable to acknowledge alternative pathways that
an uncertain number of our fellow travelers may be pursuing, exploring
right now.

>
> The reasons for discarding equipment prematurely is complex, much is done
> by organizations rather than individuals. Millions of useable PCs are
> already in landfills, further millions were eCycled in China in ways that
> caused cancer in young children.
>

Although not 'a computer guy' I have helped organize a computer collection,
recycling, and reuse organization a decade ago, and learned a lot about the
physical challenges, if not so much about the software issues.

>
> The reason you should switch to Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) is
> not simply for your own particular  needs. By using and promoting FOSS you
> will help achive the critical mass needed to break the current paradigm.
>

I am incomplete philosophical agreement with the open source movement. I
dabbled with Open Office once but found it awkward. I wished at the time I
had known someone to walk me through some of the steps, helping to cut the
Microsoft umbilical cord.
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