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.

[N3WBI3]

Use a live Linux CD to boot it and ftp the data off, or slap in another harddisk (just find a small one lying around) install Linux to that disk, mount the old one and bring the data over that way...

Or pay 17 bucks for an old copy of windows 95..

[SolarisRocks]

Because RAID1 doesn't save your from SW data corruption or house fires.

[SolarisRocks]

I am sure they do. Does it matter?

[SolarisRocks]

The odds of Sun going away / changing their mind is less than the odds of Redhat and/or Novell going bankrupt.

Solaris also have much better docs and support that RH or Novell.

[Michael Barnes]

Because RAID1 doesn't save your from SW data corruption or house fires.

Neither does a second disk purely for data if the SW used is gonna do the corrupting. Fire? Can the second disk pull the halon alarm?

;-)

[postaldave]

great thinking, i know about the second HD trick but i didn't know a live CD could pull off that stunt.

[softwarecreator]

Only if you are claiming that these "Giants" choose Linux, when in reality, these "giants" usually use a few Operating Systems.

[tortoise]

Uh... some of these claims are a little over the top, and in a few cases, patently false. Make universal assertions when one is just comparing Linux and Windows is pretty wrong.

[SolarisRocks]

No. You take the data on Tape or External drive offsite or just email it to your GMAIL account :)

[SolarisRocks]

I never made any claims in regard to Linux and its usage in the F500/large companies. One would think that my UID would speak for what server OS I like :)

[N3WBI3]

what great freedom, you want a program, make it yourself.

Linux is constantly evolving and growing. The GPL has kept it from forking (when Linus releases a new kernel all the vendors start from there). If Redhat went under or ticked me off I could go with Suse..

but if it takes an act of god to load one program it's hard to screw anything up.

Funny I installed NVU the other day by clicking a weblink on a home page and entering the root password for the system... Maybe you have low standards for what requires God direct Action..

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.

24% of the servers in the world Run Linux. Most Routers and gate ways people use to protect their home windows boxes are running Linux. Just keep telling yourself Engineering is secondary to size of market...

UNTIL YOU START UPDATING THE DRIVERS. that takes forever.

If you have bleeding edge hardware this is true, if you're running standard stuff from dell its a non factor. I have had one computer (out of the box) in 4 years not work right off the bat with Linux..

gum has alot of flexibility but if it isn't preload your screwed.

You can buy preloaded Linux boxes...

free upgrades : true, and you will need them.

As you would with any OS. But if you're running windows 2000 and you want anything beyond basic security hot-fixes you gotta bone up more money now..

only if you can speak klingon and the best help you can get is RTFD.

Look at some of the questions here that people ask they get quick accurate and polite answers. Thats true for 90% of the Linux users out there were happy to help n3wbs

i really like the open source going on in the windows world these days too.

Yea some of the stuff they have been doing is a nice marriage between open code and private ownership..

[tortoise]

Were there any justice in the world, Linux would be abandoned in favor of BSD.

Part of the problem with BSD is that it has not scaled as well as Linux over time, and it started out ahead. BSD is cleaner, no doubt about it, but BSD has had a lot of serious problems scaling to big hardware. The difference probably boils down to how the different projects were managed.

[N3WBI3]

I think withing most companies you'll find some Linux, after all 1/5 servers in the world is running Linux. Thats not as impressive as the 3/5 running windows but its still pretty damn good.

[softwarecreator]

Obvioulsy I didn't mean you specifically, I meant anyone who believes in that claim.  Sorry for the confusion.

[softwarecreator]

BTW .. Welcome to Free  Republic!!!

[N3WBI3]

Or at the very least a partitioned one... I cant count the number of shops I went into with only a C: drive on the servers! My gosh its like when people went from NT4 to 2K they took that fact that a 36Gig hard drive could all be on partition to mean it *should* all be one..

But to be fair Ive seen just as many shops that have Linux servers with only three (/boot, /, and a swap) which is about as bad..

[N3WBI3]

I thought we might enjoy an OSS thread without him tonight... Hell find it soon enough..

[SolarisRocks]

Thanks!

[softwarecreator]

I agree, it is impressive and that percentage will probably grow larger in the next few years ... but to claim it is the choice of giants, is kinda misleading because it sounds like they use Linux and nothing else, at least that is the way I interpreted it.

[Michael Barnes]

OOoookay. So why have a second drive?

My thing? Mirror it to eliminate down time (yeah, I'm a junky, need my 'puter). Plus, it's nice to break the mirror before you patch and not have to worry about restores if something goes awry. Just boot off the mirror.

(Note: I love my Suse, but I have had a few updates that have crapped my KDE (once) and my kernel (once: because I was not paying attention in my selection and *shakes head* let a kernel update run through -- I know, I know, what the hell was I thinking --ANSWER: I wasnt!))

I used to use the second drive scenario, but only on the windows side. And I do admit, I was playing too much with Windows and re-installing too much. A second "data" drive is useless unless used smartly. Like you say, backup or g-mail it (shudders at what google admins can see <--tinfoil hat?). Mirror's have many uses..