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.

[Prime Choice]

Gentlemen, I think I just found SCB's new server.   MOO!

[Salo]

Does the name George Soros ring a bell with you? Not the richest, but certainly rich.

Accusing the richest man on the planet of being a communist of all things. Hysterical!

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

I found that on HardOcp....my all time favorite was the coffee brewing machine out of Germany, I think it still brewed coffee too.

Not an Expresso machine though.

[N3WBI3]

KVM's are nice but I get away with using cygwin on my windows laptop and pyping X directly to it..

[discostu]

How's Madden 2006 play on it? And if it gives me problems will EA help me fix it?

When the answers to those questions are "great" and "yes" I'm switching. Until then I've got more entertaining things to do with my OS.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Story behind the MOO!

*************************************

The Tonkputer by Nev@Lehmä

Each summer, gamers, coders and demo artists from around the world gather in Helsinki, Finland for one of the world's largest LAN events, Assembly, now in its 14th year. Of course, when you get that many comptuers in one place, people will show off their case modding skills, and there is a competition to decide the best of show.


Panorama of 3,000 gamers at Assembly 2003
When I won the second prize in Coolest Case of Assembly 2004 competition with my wooden case LazerWood, I couldn't help feeling a little disappointed and was determined to win next year. I spent hours and hours brainstorming ideas, but didn't produce any that could be a show stopper.

Then one day, I was looking for something in our old cowshed, which we use just for storage, when an old 40 litre milk churn caught my eye. I almost heard the click in my head and I knew then that I had the theme for my case. Why a milk churn? It is an interesting shape, the aluminium will be easy to machine, and the internal dimensions are big enough to fit all the components.

I named the project 'Tonkputer' which is a blend of the word 'computer' (obviously) and the Finnish word 'Tonkka' which means 'churn'. It has nothing to do with the toy truck Tonka brand. The cow theme also just happens to fit my nickname: Nev@lehmä, or neva lehmä, means 'Swamp Cow' in Finnish.

[Prime Choice]

You mean this beastie?

http://articles.pimprig.com/featured_pimprig/the_caffeine_machine.php

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

How's Madden 2006 play on it?

You would be better to look to the new games machines....Linux is a builders tool at this time.

[discostu]

I don't like consoles, I like to watch TV while I game. Madden plays great on a PC, as do many other games. For Linux to make the big leap they're going to have to make the gaming leap.

[N3WBI3]

How's Madden 2006 play on it? And if it gives me problems will EA help me fix it?

I don't know I use a play station...

When the answers to those questions are "great" and "yes" I'm switching. Until then I've got more entertaining things to do with my OS.

I wouldn't know I use mine to be productive, I use a PS2 to waste time..

[N3WBI3]

Bwahahaha Great post...

[discostu]

Lots of people use their computers to waste time, PC gaming is still a huge chunk of the gaming industry. For an OS to be general use it's going to have to have a game market.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Well I had never seen the detail behind it, but the finished product looks familiar:

Love it!

[N3WBI3]

Hence being rich is no indication someone is not a communist, soros borders on it..

[MikefromOhio]

Accusing the richest man on the planet of being a communist of all things.

So? Soros is a frikin Communist and HE has billions as well.....

[softwarecreator]

Hence being rich is no indication someone is not a communist, soros borders on it..

Good example.

[2 Kool 2 Be 4-Gotten]

KVM's are nice but I get away with using cygwin on my windows laptop and pyping X directly to it..

I forgot to mention...I use VNC all the time ...I usually have VNC sessions going from here to there in all manner of permutations and combinations. I'm guessing this is kinda like what you are describing. Still love my KVM switch though!

[2 Kool 2 Be 4-Gotten]

My cut and paste "issues" usually involve short pieces of info - can always move large files around - sometimes just want to cut and paste a line or two of stuff.

[N3WBI3]

Lots of people use their computers to waste time, PC gaming is still a huge chunk of the gaming industry.

I dont dispute that, nor do I dispute Windows is a much better platform for it..

For an OS to be general use it's going to have to have a game market.

Define general use? Is it by market share? Most of the computer users I know dont game, I know there are ppl out there that are serious gamers but I think at least 50% of PC users could care less..

[N3WBI3]

VNC is really nice but I am starting to pipe it over port 22 just to be safe.. On *nix VNC is basically a light weight terminal server..