I have long been a Linux fanatic. Linux is an open source operating system which means all are allowed access to its code and all are allowed to modify its code. This is in opposition to Microsoft code which is secret and proprietary. We are not allowed access to Microsoft code nor are we allowed to modify Microsoft code.
Linus Torvalds posted the first Linux code online in the early 1990s. Soon with the collaboration of programmers throughout the world a very high quality Unix like open sourced operating system was developed that could boot on the Intel 80386 processor.
Many companies adopted Linux for servers and such but Linux never saw high demand for the desktop.
One would think that this Linux Operating system would have quickly competed with Microsoft Windows. Linux is free, whereas Windows costs money. If consumers had the choice between paying $800 for the Linux box and $900(or whatever Microsoft's markup) for the Windows box for exact same hardware, one would think that many consumers would have chosen the Linux system.
Consumers were never really given this choice. One seldom saw mainstream vendors pushing Linux. And one never saw Windows and Linux on the same hardware side by side at Best Buy.
Microsoft's marketing clout was too much for Linux.
But today some twenty years after the first days of Linux, we finally have competition for Microsoft and their closed source proprietary software.
Android which runs a Linux based kernel is a hot seller.
Most exciting of all, Google is now marketing Chromebooks which run on top of the Linux kernel. These laptops are selling like hotcakes. This is great news for the consumer.
Or is the consumer getting Scroogled?
The Samsung Chromebook has been on top of Amazon's best seller list since October when the machine debuted.
One new reason to choose a Chromebook is Microsoft's new dirty tricks with UEFI. If you buy a Windows 8 computer it is not easy by design to load an operating system other than Windows 8 on it. Some computers have been bricked after attempts to add an OS other than Windows 8. After doing a Google search, Win 8 computers have been bricked for all kinds of reasons.
Microsoft's excuse is security but this is nonsense. Chromebooks are friendly to different operating systems and they are much more secure than Windows. If you buy a Windows 8 machine, you are likely buying a crippled machine.
Here are some articles on UEFI:
http://bytesmedia.co.uk/...
Dr. Roy Schestowitz: I want to know how big a threat you think the so-called “secure” boot is considered to be to the Free software movement.
Dr. Richard Stallman: It’s a disaster. Well, except that it’s not secure boot that’s a disaster, it’s restricted boot. Those are not the same. When it’s front of the control of the user, secure boot is a security feature. It allows the user to control what programs can run on a machine and thus prevent — you might say — unexpected malware from running. We have to distinguish the unexpected malware such as viruses from the expected malware such as Windows or Mac OS or Flash Player and so on, which are also malware; they have features that hurt the user but users know what they are installing. In any case, what secure boot does is that it causes the machine to only work with (?) programs that are signed with a certain key, your keys. And as long as the user controls which keys they are, then it’s a security feature. However, it can be chained into a set of digital handcuffs when the user doesn’t control the keys. And this [is] happening.
Microsoft demands that ARM computers sold for Windows 8 be set up so that the user cannot change the keys; in other words, turn it into restricted boot. Now, this is not a security feature. This is abuse of the users. I think it ought to be illegal.
It’s a matter of control by the vendor of course, not control by the user himself
Exactly, and that’s why it’s wrong. That’s why non-free software is wrong. The users deserve to have control of their computers/
http://www.itwire.com/...
http://www.itworld.com/...
http://arstechnica.com/...
http://www.zdnet.com/...
http://www.theregister.co.uk/...
My review follows.
http://m.androidauthority.com/...
I had written this piece some time ago but never published it.
Recently, my Vista computer refused to boot. CHKDSK shows no errors and a Linux debian distribution will boot from a second hard drive on the computer. Apparently there is no way to fix this problem. It is really amazing that these poorly designed Windows systems have dominated computer desktops for so many years.
My recent irritation with Vista reminded me to publish this piece.
(Note: I wrote this several months ago but never published it.)
I recently purchased a Samsung Chromebook for $249.
This computer is really nice. It boots up in seconds.
It is light. It weighs 2.5 pounds.
And it is really secure. You can give your computer to a friend, or an enemy even, and there is no way that they can get at your info without your password, but they still can use your computer all they want without mucking it up--even if they try to muck it up.
The best feature of the Chromebook is that there is no Microsoft software anywhere near it--no blue screen of death, no confusing updates and installations, no viruses, no need for virus protection.
You may have heard that the software on the Chromebook is limited--that one needs to rely on web applications and that everything runs through a browser. This is true in user mode. But most basic tasks which people do on computers can easily be accomplished on this machine--compose letters, read email, surf the web, etc. etc.
If you have some special Windows program that you rely on, it will not likely run on this machine and it certainly will not run in user mode. But there are good subsitutes for nearly all programs that only run in Windows.
This computer also offers plenty for the hard core geek, much more than a Windows box. Switch this computer into developers mode and one has access to its Gentoo Linux base. Everything is open. Changes can be made to everything without worry of messing up the whole system. The computer can always easily be returned to its original state.
Despite all the criticism that this computer is limited, one only needs to change over to developers mode and then one can changeroot into full blown Linux Distro. The following video shows how this can be done while at the same time have full use of the Chrome OS. Using these computers in user mode gives one practically bullet proof security. Running your computer in developer's mode does compromise security somewhat but your computer will still probably be considerably more secure than a Window's machine.