Q: All right, you got my attention. What IS Linux?
A: Linux is an operating system that runs on...
Q: Hang on, not so fast! What's an operating system?
A: An operating system is term for all the bits of software
your computer needs to function properly. Windows
is an Operating System. So is OS/X for the Apple Mac
Q: OK. So but I already have one of those. Why would I want
another?
A: Lots of reasons, but the main one probably is that
Linux is Free Software
Q: Free? it can't be much good if they're giving it away!
A: Everyone thinks that at first. It's not free as in "free beer"
it's free as in "free speech". Free as in Freedom.
Q: So it does cost money then?
A: No, not generally. You can get Linux free of charge if you want.
Of course if you really want to pay for it, companies like
RedHat and IBM will be more than happy to charge you for a copy.
But unless you're doing this for work and really need the
support contract, that's not an approach we'd recommend.
Q: So what difference? Why does the "free" part matter.
A: Apart from not having to pay for it? Where do you want to start?
You get better security, you don't have to worry about viruses
and spyware, more control over your own computer, no more
Blue Screen Of Death...
Q: I like the sound of the "better security" bit. Is Linux virus proof?
A: To all intents and purposes. There have been a handful of viruses,
but nothing that ever really took off. Partly that's because it's a
lot harder to infect a Linux machine, and partly because even if it
did happen, there it's a lot harder for the malware to corrupt the
entire system the way it can with windows.
Q: And no more Blue Screen Of Death?
A: You might get the occasional desktop crash. All that happens then
is you have to log in again. Being able to crash the entire computer
as an ordinary user is the hallmark of a badly designed computer
system.... mentioning no names, obviously.
Q: And "more control over the computer...?"
A: mmm... most of the software you can buy has a "one size fits all" approach.
The companies behind commercial operating systems can't afford to try
and please everyone, and so what they do is hold focus groups so they
can annoys the most people by the least amount. It's all very lowest
common denominator. Sort of the software equivalent of an Eamonn Holmes
quiz show. The trouble is that if you've never used anything else,
you can get to thinking that that's the way it has to be
Q: And it isn't?
A: Not at all. In the free software world, just about everything that can
work has been tried somewhere. For instance, there's a desktop
environment called KDE that is a lot like Windows... I'll rephrase
that... a lot like the good bits of windows. Or there's Gnome, which is
similar, but does a few things differently. If you're more adventurous,
there's ...
Q: Let's not get carried away! I'm new to this, remember? What sort
of hardware will I need to run this?
A: What have you got? No, really! You can run Linux on anything from an
old 486PC through a dual-core 64bit AMD, to architecures such as ARM
and PowerPC. And you can fit a linux system anything from a 300Gb
hard drive to... well there's at least one distribution that fits
completely onto a 1.44 Mb floppy disc. Try doing that with Windows!
Q: It all sounds too good to be true! Who pays for all this, anyway?
A: Well, nobody, really. There is some work that gets paid for - IBM
for instance have been known to sponsor projects that they can use
to make their systems more competitive. On the whole though, what you
find is that Linux is developed by enthusiasts. People who do it for
the love of the thing. People who are happy to give the software away,
just because they created something wonderful and are love the idea
that others people making good use of it. We think that's about the
best possible motivation for a software developer.
Q: It sounds fantastic, if a little technical. How do I get started?
A: Come along to the LUG - that's what we're here for.