The Melissa Virus

The Melissa Virus One More Reason to be Microsoft-free
Created: Sometime in 1998

Well, I guess this is no suprise to anyone. Another day, another Microsoft Word macro virus. And one more reason why I'm glad I don't run Windows.

Let me go out on a limb here. While I'm sure that somebody, somewhere has written a similar trojan horse/virus for Linux, it dosen't seem to propogate nearly as fast as Melissa is. And there is probably some good reasons for that.

One of those reasons might be that Windows breeds a certain kind of computer user: one that is completely ignorant of the machine behind the monitor. Now, I don't think you need to know everything about a computer in order to use one. I certainly couldn't fix my car if it broke down. However, I do know a lot about operating a motor vehicle, if for no other reason I am required by the State to submit to a periodic examination of my driving ability.

Linux and even Macintosh users seem to have a certain amount of self reliance when compared to Windows users. Yeah, I know, the iMac isn't exactly a machine for Mensa candidates, but of all the people I know who have computers, the Mac users seem to have a lot more of a clue than your typical Windows idiot. Granted, some of them couldn't hook up their printer if they had to, but on the flipside, they seem to understand concepts like "netiquette" and "flame wars", and they know not to open unexpected attachments regardless of their source.

And why wouldn't they? Macintosh users (as well as Linux ones) are outside the computing mainstream. They need to be self-reliant and educated about using their machines, because they are outside the loop. While books exist on using the Macintosh and Linux, there aren't as many of them; and more importantly, they may not have an uncle who thinks he knows computers giving them bad advice.

And perhaps that's the biggest issue. You'll note I use the word self reliance a lot when I talk about the more intelligent breed of computer user. And that is what I think it comes down to. They don't depend on other people to give them solutions or solve their problems. They solve problems themselves. That may have been why they purchased their computers in the first place: they saw a problem, evaluated all possible solutions to it, and selected the most intelligent one. It just happened that the most intelligent solution was a non-Microsoft one. I, for one, am not suprised.

So, in short, here's the biggest reason of all to not run Microsoft operating systems and other software. Not only are you getting an OS with a list of known bugs longer than any other major operating system, but you are also getting an operating system that is chosen by fiat. Not because it's technically superior, or because it has "x" feature. Pure fiat.

And we all know what great cars Fiat made.

i like honey

[Creative Commons License] [No-Spam Notice] [Legal Stuff]
melissa.shtml, Updated: Tuesday, 20-Nov-2001 08:13:13 PST .