Consider this a brief introduction to Linux. What exactly is Linux? Well, it's the F/OSS (free/open source software) alternative to both Windows and Mac OS X. Free as in beer, open source as in the source code being available for all to inspect and modify, i.e., not proprietary (like the Colonel's secret recipe).
Why even consider Linux? Well, a couple of reasons: price, performance, and security. OK, three reasons (I didn't expect a sort of Spanish Inquisition..).
On the price front, both for the personal user and the businessperson, Linux cannot be beat. For the personal user, it's absolutely free! And for the businessperson, it's much lower-cost to use when deployed in an office setting than either Mac OS X or Windows XP or Vista.
Performance-wise, Linux allows users to hold onto their older computers and use them efficiently and effectively years after their use in the proprietary form is past.
And finally, for security, nothing can beat Linux. Tired of the rampant spyware/malware/virus/adware, etc. infecting your computer and limiting its use? Linux is immune to all of that. Because its roots are in Unix, it's locked down from the get-go. There are no open ports, exploits, or back-doors for bad actors (read hackers) to take advantage of.
First, a bit of background. I'm a long-time Mac user (back to OS 7), though I have spent many an hour helping Windows users getting rid of their various demons. I recently had such an instance, when a friend needed help getting a laptop cleaned of virus/spyware/etc. I ran all the anti-virus/etc. software I could on it and found that it was infected with over twelve thousand trojan horses, worms, bots, and viruses. I was going to reinstall XP on this nearly six year old laptop when I heard about Linux. It's a slow computer by today's standards, but in no time at all I had a stable, fast and secure computer going again. And I had never used Linux before. In a little under three weeks I had learned all I needed to know to install Linux on just about anything under the sun and to get it running, and running well.
Why should you care about Linux? Well, did you know that Microsoft Windows XP phones home every time you use it? Yuppers, it does so without the user knowing it. A blogger discusses the ramifications here and here. Microsoft's White Paper on the subject can be found here. Vista is not much better, what with its five-year, billion-dollar security processes already cracked. Slashdot discussion of same can be found here. Can you say insecure spyware and virus target? I thought you could. Yikes.
Now while Mac OS X doesn't have any of these security concerns (being built on a Unix-like base), Mac computers are expensive. Yes, they're lovely, stylish, and cool, but that comes with a hefty price tag. Plus they're proprietary, to boot. So, in the future, if they want to slip in some 'phone home' cuteness a la XP, then no one will be the wiser. Yes, I know that's FUD, but I'm a longtime Mac head and that's the best I can come up with.
This leaves us with Linux. Linux comes in many flavors, called distributions, or distros, for short. The most popular of these is Ubuntu Here's a link to their Wiki, and here's another to their ideology. I've used Ubuntu and it's rock-solid, very user-friendly and super easy to set up. I've got it running on that old lappy I referred to earlier in the diary. The second most popular distro isOpenSuse. Here's a link to their Wiki. This is what I use on my main lappy, and it's the biggest threat to Microsoft and Mac OS. Not quite as easy to set up as Ubuntu, but not too far, and it's really polished. Other popular distros are Fedora, PCLinuxOS (a very windows-y feeling distro), and Mepis. They all have their strengths, but none of them have the weaknesses of Windows or Mac OS X.
Now to some concerns folks may have about using Linux. I have to run program X on XP! There's a good chance that Linux has the open-source alternative, such as Open Office. There are also decent Windows emulators, such as Wine, or Cedega. There are other much more powerful emulators, namely Vmware and Parallels. There's also Crossover Office. It's unlikely you'll need to use any of those, as Linux has the suitable substitute for what you used on your proprietary desktop. If you're a hard-core XP gamer, then stick with Windows and possibly dual-boot Linux. Or if you're lucky enough to have a Mac Intel computer, you can triple-boot (Linux, Mac OS X, and XP/Vista).
One final note: if you have an old computer, don't throw it away. You can set it up as a web-surfing email browser that will last for years and years into the future. The major Linux distros are now very user-friendly with truly excellent GUI. No need to use the CLI anymore. I hope to examine some of the various distros in more detail in further installments. If you have any computer-related questions on XP/Vista, Mac OS X, or Linux, just let me know, and I'll do my best to oblige. As this is my first diary (a virgin!), please be gentle. I've been lurking around here forever, but never had the guts to publish before. Gulp!