[Wftl-lug] Earthlink finally admits that Linux exists

Tue Dec 4 00:42:29 EST 2007

http://www.earthlink.net/elink/issue136/infocus.html?CampaignID=MS:E:136:in_focus:newsletter

*Linux for the Desktop
The other operating system*
/By Donal Loch Hinman/
Desktop computing technology is making leaps and bounds on a daily 
basis. When the first Linux operating system appeared on the scene in 
the early 1990s, you had to be a hardcore computer engineer to make it 
go. (To learn more about the origins of Linux, and the world of open 
source software, check out this earlier article 
<http://www.earthlink.net/mail/index.php?CampaignID=MS:E:136:drill:in_focus:11&url=http://www.earthlink.net/elink/issue96/focus_archive.html>.) 

*That's right---free *
Today, there are literally hundreds of different distributions of Linux, 
many of them just as easy to use as Windows or Mac. And most of these 
distributions are available to download and burn for free, or you can 
purchase the installation discs for a very low price (most ranging from 
about $1 to $10). But no- or low-cost availability isn't the only reason 
you might want to consider trying out this upstart operating system.

*Security & functionality*
Historically, Linux systems have proven to be virtually impervious to 
spyware---and viruses also have a rough time finding their way to system 
vulnerabilities. Some argue that the hardy Linux architecture might not 
be the reason for the low number of attacks. Rather, it's just due to a 
low percentage of the system's market share: hackers simply think, "Why 
bother?" The truth is, the vast majority of attacks occur on the server 
level---not aimed directly at specific networks or single work stations. 
In any case, there's a lot more to security problems than even meets the 
trained eye.

For a little education on this heady part of the subject, have a look at 
this detailed article 
<http://www.earthlink.net/mail/index.php?CampaignID=MS:E:136:drill:in_focus:1&url=http://www.theregister.co.uk/security/security_report_windows_vs_linux/>, 
which describes some of the security differences between Windows and Linux.

As far as actual use goes, how would you like to boot up that free 
system for the first time and find a first-class office suite 
<http://www.earthlink.net/mail/index.php?CampaignID=MS:E:136:drill:in_focus:2&url=http://www.openoffice.org/>, 
media player 
<http://www.earthlink.net/mail/index.php?CampaignID=MS:E:136:drill:in_focus:3&url=http://www.videolan.org/vlc/>, 
advanced graphics design application 
<http://www.earthlink.net/mail/index.php?CampaignID=MS:E:136:drill:in_focus:4&url=http://www.gimp.org/>, 
digital photo organizer 
<http://www.earthlink.net/mail/index.php?CampaignID=MS:E:136:drill:in_focus:5&url=http://f-spot.org/Main_Page>, 
HTML editor 
<http://www.earthlink.net/mail/index.php?CampaignID=MS:E:136:drill:in_focus:6&url=http://bluefish.openoffice.nl/> 
for your webpages, and much more? Instead of paying dollar after dollar 
to add such sophisticated applications to your computer, these and 
literally thousands of others are either already included or available 
for free from the repositories that are associated with many Linux 
distributions.

*Selection*
By now you might be asking yourself, "If this is free, why don't more 
people know about it and use it? How can I check it out? And what does 
this egghead mean by 'distribution'?" Well...

    * "Free" because an open source-based business model can make money
      in other ways than the usual methods of marketing and product
      distribution (see that earlier article
      <http://www.earthlink.net/mail/index.php?CampaignID=MS:E:136:drill:in_focus:7&url=http://www.earthlink.net/elink/issue96/focus_archive.html>
      I mentioned, uh, earlier).
    * "Check it out" by trying a live-CD
      <http://www.earthlink.net/mail/index.php?CampaignID=MS:E:136:drill:in_focus:8&url=http://www.ubuntu.com/>:
      A complete Linux system that runs entirely off your computer's
      CD-ROM drive, which means there's no lasting effect on your system
      whatsoever (never even gets /near/ your hard drive).
    * A Linux "distribution" includes the operating system kernel along
      with thousands of programs and applications that make for a
      complete desktop experience (and I'm not really an egghead -- as
      previously mentioned).

So, if your appetite has been whetted, a good place to get some 
rudimentary information on beginning your Linux quest is at Linux.org 
<http://www.earthlink.net/mail/index.php?CampaignID=MS:E:136:drill:in_focus:9&url=http://www.linux.org/>. 
Learn as little or as much as you like about applications, available 
books, downloads, and ongoing projects. From there, your next stop would 
be Distrowatch 
<http://www.earthlink.net/mail/index.php?CampaignID=MS:E:136:drill:in_focus:10&url=http://distrowatch.com/>, 
a site of news, reviews, and links to downloads of the top 100 Linux 
distributions.

I find this interesting because when I used Earthlink to provide my DSL 
service, everytime I had a problem and they found I used Linux, the 
problem was because of Linux and they did not support it.   Now all of a 
sudden Linux exists for them.  What next!!

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