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Windows XP was actually the trigger for me to move to Linux full time. There was an option to let windows verify you owned the media files on your computer via

Windows XP was actually the trigger for me to move to Linux full time. There was an option to let windows verify you owned the media files on your computer via a third party service when you set up Windows media player. Since this was slightly after all the hoopla about Napster and copyright law, it struck me then that perhaps Microsoft wasn't one of the good guys. I was slightly older than you though, so perhaps that gave me a different perspective.

golergka 4y ago
> perhaps Microsoft wasn't one of the good guys That's the thing that tipped you off? After the 90s?...
- blep_ 4y ago
  It doesn't matter when it started; it matters when you started paying attention to it. Many people, of age > 0, discover every day that someone isn't a good guy.
- fartcannon 4y ago
  Unfortunately, in the 90s I was profoundly more interested in what kind of pop music was acceptable to enjoy. Teenagers are dumb.
graiz 4y ago
Windows Media team made a lot of bone-headed decisions. This was at a time when WinAmp was taking off. WinowsMedia could have leaned into MP3 culture while giving a very basic nod to DRM, instead they created a bunch of confusion. At the time Microsoft was considered the "evil empire" so being considered not one of the good guys would have made the marketing team proud at the time.
- fartcannon 4y ago
  Damn. That's dark but very enlightening. Thanks.
imdsm 4y ago
I never got on with Linux for a workstation, though I've tried. I used to use Windows XP for my workstation, and I had Gentoo running on an older computer for my home server. This was around 2001/2002, as I remember being on IRC during everything that followed 9/11, and it was during that time that I was learning to compile Linux. Strange time, lots of mixed memories, but also, such a sense of wonder — the internet, Linux, programming, Windows XP.

golergka 4y ago

> perhaps Microsoft wasn't one of the good guys That's the thing that tipped you off? After the 90s?...

blep_ 4y ago
It doesn't matter when it started; it matters when you started paying attention to it. Many people, of age > 0, discover every day that someone isn't a good guy.
fartcannon 4y ago
Unfortunately, in the 90s I was profoundly more interested in what kind of pop music was acceptable to enjoy. Teenagers are dumb.

graiz 4y ago

Windows Media team made a lot of bone-headed decisions. This was at a time when WinAmp was taking off. WinowsMedia could have leaned into MP3 culture while giving a very basic nod to DRM, instead they created a bunch of confusion. At the time Microsoft was considered the "evil empire" so being considered not one of the good guys would have made the marketing team proud at the time.

fartcannon 4y ago
Damn. That's dark but very enlightening. Thanks.

imdsm 4y ago

I never got on with Linux for a workstation, though I've tried. I used to use Windows XP for my workstation, and I had Gentoo running on an older computer for my home server. This was around 2001/2002, as I remember being on IRC during everything that followed 9/11, and it was during that time that I was learning to compile Linux. Strange time, lots of mixed memories, but also, such a sense of wonder — the internet, Linux, programming, Windows XP.