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Posted on 08/25/2005 7:49:07 PM PDT by N3WBI3
INTRODUCTION:
linuximgDeveloped by Linus Torvalds in 1991, Linux is a free operating system which “belongs to the world” and today, it has millions of happy users worldwide. Its being free doesn’t mean its being meaner than other operating systems. On the contrary, the industry experts are most impressed by its power and richness and more and more users are embracing Linux. Changing operating systems is definitely a big labor but this one-time labor is nothing if compared to all that one does to tackle those terrible blue screens of death, frozen windows, system crashes, viruses, data loss and spy wares. We are not destined to spend a quarter of our lives installing, de-installing and re-installing anti-virus tools or restarting computers and those geeks and non-geeks, who realize this, close their Windows, migrate to Linux and live happily ever after. And, I’ll give you just some of the reasons why.
1. FREEDOM:
The number one reason why Linux is the choice of many is the freedom it gives. It “let’s you do everything you want to do” but this is not the only aspect of this freedom. Linux liberates you from the yoke of vendors who hurl unwanted updates your way, and frees you from the sight of the horrible blue screens of death and its likes. This precious freedom doesn’t cost you a penny. You can download a free distribution of Linux from the internet. Otherwise, you can get a CD from the market after spending a minimal amount of money and without worrying about the licensing fees or about violating the piracy laws because Linux is open source and it comes with GNU General Public License. This is its true beauty and the reason why Linus Torvalds and the whole Linux community, working to make things better, have many admirers.
2. STABILITY:
Linux_vs_Windows
With Linux, your computer doesn’t freeze or slow down because of memory leaks. It has a high performance level and can run for years without causing you trouble. This actually means complete control as you will not find yourself pushing Ctrl+Alt+Del keys in sheer desperation. Problems pop up only when any of the hardware fails. Its excellent stability is another reason which attracts users.
3. SECURITY:
No OS can beat Linux when it comes to security. It’s a long debated issue and something which bothers Microsoft so much so it started its own campaign to make people believe Linux is not any safer but Linux users are already aware of the vulnerabilities of Windows and know Linux differs when it comes to it and can easily be termed as the most secure operating system. The design of Linux is different from that of Windows. This doesn’t make it an easy target and even if half of the world switches to Linux, the attacks will not cause much damage even though the source code of Linux is available for every Tom, Dick and Harry. The availability of the source code only means advantage. Millions of programmers have contributed to beef up the security of Linux. Bugs are fixed just as soon as they are identified. Linux is getting better and better every passing day. For a comprehensive report on the security of Linux as compared to windows, click here.
4. EFFICIENT NETWORKING
One of the most talked about features of Linux is its efficient networking capabilities. Reviewed, tested and strengthened by many programmers on the internet, Linux networking is well renowned for its reliability. Since networking is amalgamated deeply in the Linux operating system, it can bear heavy loads and exhibit persistent high-performance and is highly appreciated for its robustness. Linux supports different networking protocols which include TCP/IP, ISPX/SPX, ISDN, PPP, SLIP, PLIP, Apple Talk Protocol Suite, etc.
5. EASY INSTALLATION
use_linux
Linux has many popular distributions (flavours), for example; Red Hat, Mandroke, SUSE, UBUNTU. You can chose any version you deem appropriate and the best thing is most of them come with easy installation procedures, which give you complete power as to decide what you want your PC to do.
6. FLEXIBILITY:
This is yet another wonderful feature of Linux. You can customize the system as much as you want to fit your needs giving your computer a personal touch in the true meaning of the word. You’ll come to love your PC finding it the way you want it to be. It doesn’t go without saying, “Linux lets you do everything you want to do”.
7. FREE UPGRADES:
Yes, free upgrades. There is whole big dedicated community, which works to extend the capabilities and power of Linux. This is the real essence of open source. With so many brains together, the result is always impressive. Both major and minor Linux upgrades are easily available for download on the internet. If the configuration is done correctly, software don’t need to be re-installed on Linux when you upgrade.
8. FULL USE OF HARD DISK:
Windows’ performance slows down when you use most of your hard disk and you get ‘low memory’ errors. This is not the case with Linux though. It lets you use every single space on your hard disk and runs smoothly all the while. You are alerted only when there isn’t any space left on your hard disk.
9. SUPERB TECHNICAL SUPPORT:
In 1997, InfoWorld awarded Linux the Product of the Year for Best Technical Support. Linux has an active community of users, developers and supporters who are always very willing to help. If you face any problem, all you have to do is just connect to the internet, search and see if your problem is answered anywhere. If it’s not, you can join a Linux forum and post it there to be scrutinized by the community members.
10. THE CHOICE OF THE GIANTS:
The popularity and power of Linux can be estimated from the fact that it’s the choice of the giants. Google, IBM, Hewlett-Packard, Cisco, Panasonic, Royal Dutch/Shell, U.S. Postal Service are only a few names who use Linux plus the government of Mexico City uses Linux for everything and the money it saves by doing so is spent on welfare services.
I can not mention all the reasons why once should switch to Linux, for they are so many and I have not even mentioned some really important ones like multi-tasking, scalability and easy remote administration. The choice is yours. Save money using a product liked by the experts or buy the one which they shun. Linux rules the heart of its users. This is enough a reason why one should embrace Linux.
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#9 is underrated. I have found the open source community to be an unmatched source of information and learning.
Just an innocent question. If I download Linux to replace Windows XP, what happens if I decide I don't like Linux.
Stability can mean things other than not crashing. Nothing is more frustrating than having a runaway process doing lots of IO in Windows XP and bringing the system to its knees. In Linux 2.6 and later, I can sit there and have 5 compilations going on, with the disk grinding away, and the desktop is still smooth as silk.
Why not use Solaris 10 X86?
You can try linux by using something called a "Live CD". I am sure others on this thread can recommend one that will work for you. Most of the Live CDs do not require a hard disk and will run directly from the CD. They may be slighlty slower than a hard disk install but switching back to Windows requires nothing more than a reboot.
As well, don't be afraid to get impatient or otherwise bored of any distro and you find yourself switiching back and forth between Windows and Linux (re-installs). I did it for a few years before I was fully comfortable with Linux.
In the long run, your going to learn ALOT about both Windows and Linux.
Just my $0.02
welcome to FR.
Linux still needs time to bake, especially KDE and Gnome. Were there any justice in the world, Linux would be abandoned in favor of BSD.
In the meantime, there's OS X, the best end-user OS currently available.
I really like the Gentoo build in Linux, and find myself using it more and more in my home computing environment, but I am still a long way away from ditching XP Pro. Both have their pros and cons, but XP is multitudes better in stability than previous versions. I also think Win2K is a great build of Windows, but XP Pro seems to have a few bells and whistles that I find very handy that are unavailable in Win2k. I have 4 computers in my home, and three are running MS. It's all good though. I like choices, and probably will even give OSX a spin when they port it over to the PC architecture.
I suppose if you put Linux up against Win98, these things would be true.
Memory leaks are a function of the application. I've written C applications for UNIX, XENIX, DOS, and all versions of Windows. You can make memory leaks on any OS.
Little stormtroopers come in the middle of the night and have a "talk" with you.
Or ....
Replace Linux with Win XP.
No Money; Drug Junkie; Computer Hacker; Conspiracy Loonie
If you try, you can even make Java leak memory :)
hehe..
I've actually been trying to change a HP Pavillion computer to Linux. The files got so mangled that I can't start Windows anymore and with no recovery disk I've been trying to install Linux from DOS. Got pretty close to making it work but I think partitioning of the hard drive is what is stopping it from working . (I've got data that I don't want to lose so I'm reluctant to mess with that!)
I once brought down an IBM mainframe with 40,000 attached terminals -- using COBOL. I don't know much, but I can be dangerous. I mean down all the way down to IPL.
1.freedom:" Linux liberates you from the yoke of vendors "
what great freedom, you want a program, make it yourself.
2.stability: true, but if it takes an act of god to
load one program it's hard to screw anything up.
3.security: if your not a target you are not likely to get hit.
if 99% of the world used linux do really think there wouldn't be
any virus programs? HA!!!!!! no that's a good one.
4.EFFICIENT NETWORKING : hands down linux is a better product there.
a computer dragged out of the closet can still make a good linux server.
5.EASY INSTALLATION : yes and completely no. you pop in most
distros in the cd bay and poof a complete OS is up in running
in no time.....UNTIL YOU START UPDATING THE DRIVERS. that takes
forever. and if the program that you want isn't preloaded, good god
it will send you running back to M$ in a second.
6.FLEXIBILITY : gum has alot of flexibility but if it isn't preload
your screwed.
7.free upgrades : true, and you will need them.
8. FULL USE OF HARD DISK: true and you can pick from several formats
9.SUPERB TECHNICAL SUPPORT: only if you can speak klingon and the best help you can get is RTFD.
10. THE CHOICE OF THE GIANTS: "U.S. Postal Service are only a few names who use Linux"
HAAAAAA!!!! yeah, that's a good reason.
am i an anti-linux person? no, not in the least. i've tried around 20 different distros from http://distrowatch.com/ and they all worked fine. however none could load and run(work) mythTV with any luck including knoppmyth.
i crawled back to M$ loaded gb pvr and will be watching linux grow.
interesting fact: until groups like red hat and others started making money it really wasn't going anywhere. now that people have found a way to make a buck on "free" software things are really picking up.
i really like the open source going on in the windows world these days too.
all just my opinion, nobody get their penguin in a bunch.
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