Back in 1991, a Finnish student by the name of Linus
Torvalds bought himself a computer and he wanted an
operating system to go with it. But he didn't want DOS or
Windows, and UNIX was too expensive. So he decided to
create his own, and called it Linux, pronounced
Linux is a freely available clone of the UNIX operating
system. But that doesn't tell you much, does it? So instead
I'll list a bunch of stuff about Linux and explain what
- Linux is Free
- I'll come back to this feature later, but for now
think "free beer." Linux is 100% free. It is not
shareware. It won't cost you a dime. You can borrow a
copy from a friend and use it for free, legally. Or you
can buy a CD-ROM for yourself. It's still free, you're
just paying for the CD-ROM and maybe some other stuff.
The cheapest CD-ROM I've seen is $1.89 ordered online.
You can also buy Linux boxed up with a nice manual and
user support for about fifty dollars. Of course, you
could download Linux off of the internet for nothing, but
that would take hours and your time is much more valuable
than that. My favorite source of Linux CD's is the LinuxMall.
- Linux is Ready to Run
- When you buy most operating systems, you don't get
much. Maybe a cheesy little editor and paint program,
with a few games and diversions thrown in. But you can't
really do anything with it until you buy a whole bunch of
other stuff. Linux, on the other hand, gives you
everything you need, and most of what you want. You get a
wide selection of editors, paint programs, web browsers,
games, office applications, networking applications,
compilers, video stuff, audio stuff, and every other kind
- Linux is Easy to Install
- I'll bet there's a lot of people choking on their
coffee after they reading this! The common myth is that
Linux is hard to install. I'm here to erase that rumour.
It's just as easy, or easier, to install than Windows.
You can install some distributions of Linux with just two
or three presses of the the return key. If you have
problems, see if there's a Linux User's Group (LUG) in
your area. LUG's like to hold monthly "install fests"
where they help new users get Linux up and running.
- Linux is Multitasking
- Linux can do more than one thing at a time. A few
years ago this would have been considered amazing. But
today it's old hat. Even Windows can do it. Not only can
Linux run more than one program at a time, each program
can do more than one thing simultaneously, which is
- Linux is Multi-User
- More than one person can use the same Linux computer
at the same time. Of course, if you only have one
keyboard and one monitor, it will be hard to do. But it's
great for networks.
- Linux is Powerful
- Linux can handle the big websites that get millions
of hits a day. Linux can compete head-to-head with the
million dollar scientific supercomputers (with only a few
thousand dollars worth of extra equipment). Linux
networks routinely outperform Windows NT networks. Many
Linux computers have been up and running for years
without once crashing. Try keeping most other operating
systems up and running for even a month without crashing
- Linux is Frugal
- Linux doesn't care if you don't have the latest
greatest computer computer on the market. It will run
just fine on what you've got. I would recommend at least
a '486 computer with 16 megabytes of memory, but
something slower or smaller will also work. Linux will
fit comfortably in a fifty megabyte hardrive if you don't
want graphics. A 500Meg hardrive is ample. It will also
work just fine with that old fourteen inch VGA monitor.
Some people like to recycle old throw-away computers by
simply installing Linux on them.
- Linux is Compatible
- Linux will run on lots of different kinds of
computers. Besides the 386/486/pentium based PC, there
are versions of Linux for Macintosh and other PowerPC
computers. You can also run it on the really powerful
computers like the Alpha and SPARC. You can even use it
with those super expensive PC's that have more than one
cpu. It will work with just about every audio and video
card made. Just make sure that you don't have hardware
that says "Windows only." Linux will reside on your hard
drive next to Windows or DOS without making a fuss.
- Linux is Graphical
- Some people (particularly reporters) seem to think
that Linux doesn't have a graphical user interface, or
GUI. Not only does Linux have a GUI, it has dozens of
GUI's. It's your choice on how you want Linux to look.
You can make Linux look like Windows, the Mac, or
something completely different. It also does really cool
stuff like having more than one desktop. To get a taste
of how cool Linux GUI's are, check out Enlightenment, WindowMaker, KDE and Gnome.
- Linux is Secure
- Besides the obvious benefits that security provides
for networks, Linux is secure for single-computer home
use also. Just a few simple security precautions, and
your system will be virtually virus proof. Viruses just
can't do much to your Linux computer. And if you follow
the time honored and recommended practice of creating and
using user accounts on your system, it will be impossible
to commit those stupid blunders that sometimes happen
(like accidentally reformatting your hard drive).
- Linux is Free (revisited)
- Unlike Windows, MacOS, OS/2, and most other operating
systems, Linux is free software. The "free" means that
the creators have shared their software with you. Linux
comes complete with it's entire programming source code.
This means that the programmers in the Linux community
can fix, improve and expand Linux. Non programmers have
written a lot of the documentation and help manuals. For
a complete explanation of free and community software,
check out the Open
Source Page. Besides the fact that community software
means more powerful, robust and bug-free software, it
also means that no one can take it away from you.
Microsoft controls the fate of Windows. But no one
controls the fate of Linux.
- Linux is UNIX
Because Linux is really a UNIX operating system, it
pretty much follows the UNIX philosophy:
- Written by programmers for programmers
- A toolbox of incredibly useful utilities
- Most programs and utilities are small
- Commands and utilities do one thing, and do it
- Linux doesn't assume anything
- Linux and its programs are portable
- Linux is Not Perfect
- I wouldn't be honest if I said there wasn't anything
wrong with Linux. Nothing in this world is perfect. By
letting you know the downsides to Linux you can use it
knowing full well what you're getting into. First of all,
Linux isn't easy. The installation is pretty painless if
you don't have flaky or incompatible hardware. And once
you get it set up, it's really not that hard to use. But
that period between installation and full usability can
be a nightmare sometimes. Linux won't hold your hand. All
I can suggest is to read the manual and consult the
internet. You will have to do some learning. But this is
really a Good Thing® in disguise. Linux will teach
you more about computers than most college degrees. But
if you're afraid to learn new things, then maybe Linux
isn't for you. Finally, you'll have to occasionally use
the command line. The thought of typing in commands to
tell the computer what to do instead of using the mouse
to click on an icon can be scary for some people. On the
bright side though, you can do some pretty amazing stuff
on the command line that you just can't do in a GUI.