Recently I switch to an all vegetarian diet (I do still eat dairy). I also have been playing with Slackware Linux too. I realized something the other night while I was trying to get wireless networking going on my laptop. Being vegetarian is like using Linux.

The reason I say this is that they both have “adequate substitutes”. Let me explain. I have always loved hamburgers. Well, now that I’m vegetarian I choose not to eat them anymore. So, I’ve been eating a lot of Boca Burgers. I actually really like them, but they are not as good as hamburgers (except that an animal didn’t have to die). They are “adequate substitutes” for hamburgers. I can put ketchup, cheese, lettuce, etc on them, put them on a bun and they taste great (but not as good as a hamburger). I think Linux is a lot like this.

As I setup my laptop one of the first apps I needed was email. So I naturally used Evolution (now owned by Novell). I got it all setup; it even supports connectivity to my Exchange server. It works, and it works well, but, it’s not as good as Outlook. It doesn’t have many of the features that Outlook 2003 has, namely the desktop notification feature (which I love). While it’s not as good as Outlook, it’s an “adequate substitute”.

Now, not all Linux apps are like this, just like everything about being a vegetarian isn’t a compromise. I LOVE veggie burritos. I used to eat them back when I was a blood sucking carnivore. I LOVE the bash shell, and the underlying power of it. I LOVE it before I tried to switch fully from Windows. So not everything is a compromise…

Now to the big difference. Why do I compromise in these two areas of my life? Well with vegetarianism that’s easy, I’m doing it for moral/ethical reasons (not that I think meat eaters are bad people). I still enjoy the foods I eat, and the fact that nothing has to die makes me feel better about it. So, why switch to Linux? Well there is the cost (since it’s free) – that’s not really an issue my company pays for my software. It’s “different” and new, well that’s not really a good reason (although in some ways it’s a lot of fun). It’s more powerful under the hood – well, I know Windows pretty damned well and can do all I need to with it. So what’s the reason to switch? Well for me there is none. Simply put Linux makes what I need to do with a computer harder. For some it doesn’t, but for me (and for the bulk of the population) it does. In short it’s an “adequate substitute”. If you need/want to switch for the reasons above, good luck, and more power to you, otherwise don’t bother, it’s just not there yet (but it’s close…)