> is there any way that I can easily convince my friends to atleast try to
not
> use Micro$oft Windows and proprietary software?
I'm not sure. Personally, I had read articles on gnu.org for years before I
really took notice, and then it was a while after that before I started
actually caring, and a while after that before I stopped making an exception
for games. Nobody ever convinced me, except maybe Richard Stallman with his
writings that are on gnu.org; it was a really long process of me gradually
coming to agree with it on my own.
In addition, people will *very* aggressively defend their use of proprietary
software, and on some occasions they will even attack other people's refusal
to use proprietary software. They get offended when you tell them that their
choice of software is no good, or more broadly that proprietary software is
unethical.
So, here's what I do: pretty much nothing. I just set an example by using
only free software (where possible) and display my software choices proudly.
If I know of a free program that some other person who doesn't use only free
software might be interested in, I might tell them about it (for example,
I've told my brother about several free games, and he plays some of them). If
someone tells me to use proprietary software (e.g. play a game that runs in
Adobe Flash Player, or download a program which is itself proprietary), I
will tell them that I refuse to run proprietary software, maybe briefly tell
them what that means depending on the situation, and leave it at that. If
someone complains about it, I will defend my choice appropriately.
This way, I can hope that some people who talk to me will themselves decide
that they agree with the free software philosophy.
> how have you kept yourselves on the right track this entire time[?]
I don't really miss proprietary software. Other than Flash, I never cared for
it much in particular. Actually, I mostly remember the bad experiences I've
had with proprietary software: Game Maker only being available on Windows;
Windows's stupid "drive letters" which can change, causing settings related
to directories to be screwed up; Windows being horrible susceptible to
viruses and other malware; many proprietary programs not being available on
an ARM computer; crappy, glitchy graphics from the proprietary driver for an
AMD integrated graphics controller; etc.
