10 Reasons Why You Should Adopt LINUX

Tech Zone ^ | 2005-08-20 | Hina Aman

[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.

[DarthFuzball]

You can make memory leaks on any OS.

While technically correct, you can indeed make an application on any OS that contains memory leaks, the devil is in the details.
This can be easily tested to see the effect on various OS platforms. Write 2 small programs in C. The first queries the amount of available memory and reports it to the screen and repeats till any key is pressed and then exits. The second uses malloc to allocate memory in small chunks until several megabytes of memory have been allocated, then exits without freeing the memory used.
Run the first program in a command line window, then run the second in another command line window.
Watch the output of the first program. Available memory being reported will decrease as the second program runs.
This is what we would expect to see.
But what happens when the second program exits? On a DOS, Win3.1, Win95, Win98,WinME,Win2k,WinXP system the memory that was allocated is GONE! and wont come back. On a Linux/Unix system when the application that allocated the memory exits, the system will recover all memory allocated by that process and return it to the available memory pool.
Now for the big question. If the memory is returned when the errant program exits, is it really a memory leak? All you need to do is telnet in to the PC and kill the process and poof, memory problems are no longer an issue.
Linux/Unix allows memory allocation limits for a login account. In other words Linux apps can be allowed only a certain amount of memory to play with and if they use it up poorly, it does not bring the entire box to its knees.
I am not aware of any way to do that on a Windows box.

[Paulus]

I really like linux. However, every installation I have made with linux has started this way.

[Golden Eagle]

Article is bunk, especially with regard to security. I would highly recommend Apple OSX or Suns Solaris over Lunix, first and foremost for being American products instead of foreign fakes.

[N3WBI3]

Did you even read the post you were responding to?

While I dont much agree with #2, windows has gotten remarkably better in the past 5 years and basically makes stability a push.. And I think #3 ignores OSX but on the whole I think there are one or two tidbits worth the read..

A compliment thrown to windows and to OSX and yet you still come here trying to start something. I'm not surprised you were away most of the day after what Ivan did to you! Hes right you're the best Linux advocate there is..

BTW Who are the two largest linux vendors in the world? and what country do they call home?

[Calvinist_Dark_Lord]

Article is bunk, especially with regard to security. I would highly recommend Apple OSX or Suns Solaris over Lunix, first and foremost for being American products instead of foreign fakes.

Have to agree with the first sentence. The author has obviously never heard of NetBSD, or OpenBSD, which were far more security conscious than any Linux on the market. These aren't exactly household names however.

As to the rest of your post, Mercedes is a Foreign product, how "fake" do you suppose it is? How "fake" is a foreign made Rolls Royce, German Rhine Valley White Wine, French Rhine Valley Red Wine, Swiss Movement Watches, Pennicillun (Scotland), Insulun (Canada). That the product is foreign is much like saying "The Crayon is Purple". It conveys no useful information, or criterion for value judgement.

[N3WBI3]

Whats red flag?

[Dubya4Ever]

Open source is bad for business. Only pansy liberals use so called "operating systems" like Linux.

Now OSX, there's an OS! Good for the economy, bad for the pinko commies who want everything to be "free."

[chronic_loser]

u dont' have to "replace" xp.

you can run linux off a cd only (slow, but makes no changes to your system) to see if you like it. I would recommend MEPIS very highly. I have heard Mandriva is good for newbies, as well.

If you like it well enough to install it, you still can keep xp on your system. Just shrink the partition xp is on, install linux in the now-empty new partition (Partition Magic works for me) and "dual boot" Your machine will have a "boot menu" to load either linux or windows when u start it up. There are LOADS of instructions in linux forums walking you thru these steps. It ain't rocket science.

My bet is that you will eventually ditch xp altogether. I did.

[TXBSAFH]

Could you please add me to the open source ping list. Thank you.

[clyde asbury]

If I download Linux to replace Windows XP, what happens if I decide I don't like Linux.

A full backup of your Windows system immediately prior to installing Linux will help. Use Nero or a similar program, and DVD-RWs. This is a good practice periodically on a home system regardless which OS you use.

As Michael said, going back and forth is fine, but you will probably want to settle on one or the other.

[Salo]

It's based on BSD - *Berkeley* Software Distribution. As in Berkeley, California. You know, *free*BSD? BTW, you are correct about it being an fantastic OS, but don't think for a second it isn't based on a free OS written by communists. Oh, and don't think for a second that the political beliefs of the people who wrote it matters.

Now OSX, there's an OS! Good for the economy, bad for the pinko commies who want everything to be "free."

[ShadowAce]

I would highly recommend Apple OSX or Suns Solaris over Lunix,...

I agree--Lunix would not be a good choice for most people, since they don't have the hardware.

[ShadowAce]

Open source is bad for business.

Since you're "new" here...

Please explain how saving some money can be bad. The money saved is usually spent elsewhere within the business. Startups can begin their business using a lot less money, and become profitable quicker.

[N3WBI3]

Open source is bad for business. Only pansy liberals use so called "operating systems" like Linux.

Why dont you ping JumRob to that..

[softwarecreator]

but I always create a small partition (1.5GB) for nightly backups...

Yeah, that's a good idea.  I usually put something like that on all my drives, especially work related ones.  Plus, I always make sure that I have a rather large FAT32 partition to share between Linux and Windows on my Dual-Drive systems.

So what's your evaluation on this Kubuntu, if you've tried it?  I'll be on vacation in late November and don't plan on going anywhere, so that's when I'm going to switch one of the PC's over to Linux.  I want to use something else besides Mandrake and this Kubuntu seems to be the best choice due to my limited experience with Linux.

[N3WBI3]

So what's your evaluation on this Kubuntu, if you've tried it?

The screen shots look fantastic, but Im not into eye candy. I run the lightest weight wm I can find because I tend to do a good deal of stuff in the BG. If I was in the market for a Linux desktop at home I would probably give it a shot, but I use my Mac Mini for that..

I want to use something else besides Mandrake and this Kubuntu seems to be the best choice due to my limited experience with Linux.

I would *really* go with either Fedora or OpenSuse because if you want job related experience any Linux will help but the afore mentioned distros are the most close to what you will find running on servers in corporations (Both RH and Novell), and Novell is pushing hard for the desktop in a way RedHat has just not bothered to try..

[AFreeBird]

Well, you can try a live DVD as suggested, or , if you have enough free disk space, install a dual boot system. On my laptop, I installed it as dual boot. The SuSE (9.3Pro) install resized my W2K partition without hitch. Really quite painless. THe Grub boot loader now lists Linux and Windows as boot options. It even lists my W2K recovery partion as an option.

[MikefromOhio]

Did you even read the post you were responding to?

Does he ever?

I won I won!! He was in before 100 posts!!!!

[N3WBI3]

Thats true, I was just having a discussion with a widnows admin today who swore that you have to restart UNIX to fix problems just as much as windows..

Other than Kernel Panics, and Hardware failure the only time I have had to reboot a Linux box is for expediency (when it would take me longer to troubleshoot an important box than to give it a swift kick...

[Golden Eagle]

Open source is bad for business. Only pansy liberals use so called "operating systems" like Linux. Now OSX, there's an OS! Good for the economy, bad for the pinko commies who want everything to be "free."

Of course you're correct. But watch the insults fly since they are incapable of admitting the obvious ties between the DNC and these commie clones.