Posted on 12/21/2002 8:50:36 AM PST by Schnucki
Dec. 18--Another wave of new computers will enter homes this holiday season and trigger the usual backwash of discarded systems.
The new ones will soon be considered outdated -- long before they stop working -- as new versions of Microsoft's Windows operating system are released.
But consumers might not spend $1,000 or more for a PC with the current Windows XP if older versions of Windows ran reliably. They might hold on to their old PCs.
And they can -- if they're willing to use a dependable operating system that just happens not to be Windows.
The Linux operating system has been drawing attention as an alternative to the Microsoft standard.
Most notable is the fact that it is free, developed voluntarily by programmers around the world as part of the "open source" movement.
It has one great advantage: In its basic form, it is very small and can be run on almost any computer.
Even PCs nearly a decade old can handle Linux. The machines just won't be able to run newer applications that require a fast processor or large amounts of memory.
Linux is has long been a favorite of programmers and other geeks, partly because of its reliability, but it is becoming more and accessible to nontechies.
Frustrated with crashes on a borrowed Windows 98 laptop, I returned it and ditched Microsoft, installing Linux instead of Windows 95 on an old 133-megahertz Pentium PC (yes, original Pentium, not Pentium II or III).
Archaic as it may seem, this PC is really all I need for word processing, Internet access and music.
The only change I made to the 1996 model before installing the Red Hat version of Linux was boosting its random-access memory from 24 to 48 megabytes.
Red Hat is one of several firms that sell the Linux operating system in easy-to-install packages with sets of applications. It's the technical support they're really selling because their installation packages and manuals are available as free downloads.
Linux was created as a hobby by Finnish university student Linus Torvalds, who released the first version in 1994.
It was created under a public license that makes the source code -- the inner workings of the operating system -- available to all.
Any programmer is able to read and update the code, contributing to new versions.
Having been written by programmers for programmers, Linux is powerful and stable. Viruses are as rare as crashes in Linux, since almost all viruses are written for Windows.
Although the same range of software isn't available for Linux as for Windows, Linux programs are often of higher quality and available at little or no cost.
My reliance on Microsoft Office initially kept me from considering Linux, but OpenOffice.org now offers a good substitute. Version 1.0 version of its suite, released this summer, has drawn praise and more than 5 million downloads.
Linux also comes with so-called windows managers, such as Gnome and KDE, which emulate the Windows graphical user interface and can be easily customized. But these require a faster computer with more memory to run well.
With a little effort, it's easy to learn the basic Linux commands that allow you to manage your computer and run applications from the shell -- the basic command line similar to the Microsoft MS-DOS shell.
The operating system would be intimidating if there wasn't so much help available for Linux newcomers. Most distributors provide a wealth of useful information on their Web sites.
Sites such as Linux Online (www.linux.org) offer tech help, distribution comparisons and lists of Linux-based software.
Installations aren't always painless. During mine, the Red Hat software evidently did not detect my monitor correctly, so the screen was almost too fuzzy to read.
But with the clear instructions in Red Hat's manual, I was able to troubleshoot the problem. A nearby Windows PC helped keep me motivated by crashing twice.
I have spent my time in the command shell and basic Linux apps, learning how to run the system with Linux commands instead of a windows manager.
I'm happy to be without the slick graphics, enjoying the speed of a PC responding faster than I can type commands.
Linux programs so far have met my needs and aren't hard to figure out. OpenOffice is impressive, offering all the Microsoft Office features I need along with new ones. In fact, the software is almost too much like Office for my liking.
My Linux experiment appears to be a great success. I no longer need to run Windows, and I'm arguably the better for having learned to do without it.
Now it's your turn. C'mon in, the water's fine!
With 256 MB Ram, 1.2 gig processsor, 60 gig HD, CD-R, DVD Player, monitor, keyboard, speakers, and IE 6 browser?
Make it apples to apples and we'll talk.
And what, exactly, can one do with a $200.00 computer?
1994? This date is way off. Linus was working on and releasing some of the very first kernels in 1991.
And what, exactly, can one do with a $200.00 computer?
Probably everything that you need, surf the web, read email, word processing. How much more is there to a tool like this?
Granted that $200 box doesn't have the 128MB latest video card to play Quake on, but for 99% of what people need a computer for it is fine.
This Dell which I bought last Summer has never crashed, either. But neither had my Win98SE computer, which is still here on my network.
When Linux becomes more widespread, and more software is released for it, it will be no different than the Windows systems, because people will start mindlessly loading them up with applications, one after another, with garbage like any AOL programs, Real Player, and other such spyware-laden poison, and blame the operating system, as usual.
My Dell came with Windows XP, with no choices. I really wanted Win2000. Watching my router and firewalls, it took me a month to clean up XP, and I gurantee that on my network at home here (6 machines) this is the last and only system that will ever see XP...So I am game to try Linux.
the best desktop version of Linux appears to be LindowsOS s/(?<=best) (?=desktop)/ dumbed down / Out of the box Lindows may be "easy", but Lindows is to Linux as AOL is to a simple ISP account. Many folks will cut their teeth on it, but will eventually find themselves wanting more (or "less", in some cases).
In my humble opinion, the best desktop Linux distribution in terms of end-user experience (i.e. "speed", smooth multimedia, etc.) is Gentoo. Every bit of code on a Gentoo system is optimized for the system's architecture.
Granted, Gentoo is not for newbies as it's a source-based distribution driven by a system called portage that fetches and builds packages (similar to BSD ports), but for an experienced Linux user it's the best thing going.
I would not be such an absolutitist about Linux being server only.
I have been running Linux as my desktop for 10 months now. Some plusses. Some munusses. Not for everyone.
But...not just for servers only.
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