Some of you might remember that I've long been promoting Linux as my OS of choice and that I'll suggest this as a way forward to prolong the life of your aging Windows XP machines.

Well, guess what. My enthusiasm for this OS is not misplaced at all. Take a look at this article by the team at Windows Secrets.

Briefly, it mirrors most of what I've been saying for years and is written by a professor who has worked for Microsoft.

The article shows how MS considered Linux to be such a threat that it backed major UNIX vendor SCO (who eventually went bust), and was also accused of buying off a major UNIX vendor trying to eliminate the threat, and how it deliberately misrepresented Linux for its' own ends.

Despite all the attacks from the mighty MS (Apple weren't really bothered), Linux keeps beating them to the post with many innovations.

Linux is the most widely used OS in the world, just not on mainstream PCs.

Linux will serve the needs of a majority of my clients and they can get it for the price of a blank DVD. Alternatively, I'll set it up for you for €60 including transferring the data from your current setup. You will then have an OS that you can update for free every time there's a new version.

In addition, when you have to buy a new PC, the hard drive can simply be transferred to the new one (in most cases), unlike Windows.

With Linux, you don't get all the 'crapware' that comes pre-loaded with Windows machines. You know, those pop-ups telling you to use this program and that program but then you find you can't actually do anything until you get your wallet out again.

Basically, MS behaves as MS does. In my opinion from what I've read, MS is not a company you can really trust.

If you fancy giving Linux a go, you can run it directly from a DVD. Don't be judgmental simply because it doesn't look like Windows or have all the program names you're used to, it isn't Windows, that's the idea. Most of the free software that's available is probably better than what you're used to, just odd names and appearances. 

Remember, you won't be able to save anything running off the DVD.


Here are just a few of the popular flavours of Linux for you to play with:
Linux Mint
Linux Ubuntu
Bodhi Linux


All brand names and registered trade marks acknowledged.

No, this isn't about the the film I'm involved with but something a lot more sinister, your TV set.

Don't talk stupid!

I'm not. That wonderful shiny object in your living room that brings you entertainment from all over the world could be spying on you and passing your conversation back to the manufacturer and other third parties.

Remember that old saying, 'not in front of the children', you can now apply that to your smart TV as well.

In an article shared by the BBC from a publication called The Daily Beast, it has been revealed that Samsung smart TVs are actually spying on you if you have the voice control feature on. According to the Samsung Privacy Policy, “Please be aware that if your spoken words include personal or other sensitive information, that information will be among the data captured and transmitted to a third party,” the policy reads.

Something of concern might be the fact that the third party is never identified.

It would seem that Samsung is not the first smart, net connected, TV manufacturer to run into problems about the data it collects. In 2013, an IT consultant found his LG smart TV was gathering data about his viewing habits but it appears it's not the first time Samsung have passed this way either.

In November 2014, a counsel in the Liberty and National Security Program at the Brenan Centre for Justice said the privacy policy of his smart TV made him afraid to use it. Although the brand wasn't identified, the wording was identical to that used in the Samsung's notice to its clients.

So, where do you go from here. If you are concerned in any way about what your smart TV knows, or passes on, about you, disconnect it from the internet right now