08 Nov Virtual Integrity

“I have bought a new computer” exclaimed Nirmal.

“Congratulations. That’s great” replied Sampath and asked “Well. Which operating system did you buy and how much did it cost?”

“Come on, don’t play joke. Are you talking about buying operating system? I have got a cracked Windows 8” said Sampat.

“But piracy is not good!” exclaimed Nirmal.

“What can I do? Somehow with much difficulty I managed to get an assembled computer for Rs. 12,000. Now how can I afford to
pay Rs. 8000 more and buy genuine windows? I want my work to be done and at the same time I do not have sufficient money. What can I do?” Replied Sampath.

“I know an alternative. You do not  have to pay a paisa for that”

“Really? You mean for free? “Without piracy?”

“Yes. Free and without piracy”

“Come on. Don’t kid”

“You can use ubuntu. Ubuntu is a  Linux based free operating system. It allows you to copy and circulate it to others.”

“Is it exactly like windows?”

“Not very much like windows. But it is a bit similar. It is user friendly. You can learn it very easily”

“Should I have to buy MS office to run word, excel and power point?”

“No. Ubuntu comes with open source (free) Libre office. It is very similar to MS office with little difference”

“How do I play mp3 and videos?”

“For Mp3 and video you can easily download and install VLC player for free”

“Wow. Great. What about internet explorer?”

“Who uses internet explorer these days? Ubuntu comes with most popular browser: Fire fox. You can also download Google  Chromium for free”

“Interesting. Well. What are the other benefits of using Ubuntu?”

“Through open source (free) operating system and softwares, you can be free of being guilty of software piracy. More than anything, your computer has very less chance of being affected by virus from pen drives and other means. So no need to buy antivirus”

“That’s really good” “Do you have some image editing programmes for free like we use Photoshop and corel draw?”

“Yes. Inkscape is the best alter alternative for Coral draw and GIMP can be a good alternative for Photoshop. You know all these softwares like open office, vlc, gimp, inkscape are available free for windows users as well.”

“That’s exciting. So now I have a means to use genuine software without being guilt of piracy. Thank you so much for showing the path for ‘virtual integrity using open source alternatives.”

About the Author

Benalin and his wife Selin are UESI staffworkers based in Varanasi. Benalin regularly blogs at www. benalin.wordpress.com