You will soon discover that Linux is one of the most stable, flexible, powerful platforms around. To top this all off Linux
is "Open Source", which means that the source code is available to all, to have a look at , play around with, or to help
with the development of Linux. The source code is generally THE most guarded secret of any software manufacturer.
Due to this very strong "Open Source" movement, the platform is constantly being updated, patched & developed, & this often faster
than you can find all the updates & download them. Not something that you are used to from Microsoft! The other HUGE plus for
Linux is that not only are many of the distributions (Suse,
Red Hat, Caldera,....)
free to download, but also thousands
upon thousands of programmes are also available at no charge, this also includes the source code. Many of the programmes that
are available for Linux are better in many respects compared to their "Windows" counterparts.
The term distribution refers to a company that bring a version of Linux onto the market, with a selection of software &
a selection of books. Each of these distributions have their own tools that can be used to configure every part of your system.
Amongst the many different Linux distributions 2 of the largest are Red Hat & Suse. Both offer many excellent tools for
the configuration of your Linux system, as well as having a large range of software. Red Hat is more popular in the States, where Suse has
the biggest market share in Europe. At the end of the day the distribution that you choose is a personal choice. Talk to a few friends
& see what they use.
I chose Suse. This choice was made easier when I saw how easy the config. tools were to use, & the fact that there is no time
limit for ftp updates. The ftp update feature is a fantastic feature which is used through the YAST (Yet Another Setup Tool) system configuration tool.
It connects you via ftp to the Suse server & then downloads 2 lists containing all the current programme versions from the current distribution.
YAST then checks all the programmes installed on your machine & compares the version numbers that are available from Suse.
It then gives you a list of what it wants to update (can be changed at will), downloads all the software & installs it all.
All the important configuration files are backed up automatically in case of any problems. With my ADSL line the 200-300 packages (programmes)
were updated in an hour or so. The huge support databases available from the Suse website make solving a problem a bit easier,
more to that later.
The Suse 7.0 distribution for example comes in 2 different packages, the Personal (approx. US$35) & the Professional (approx.
US$55). The Professional Edition comes with a pack of 6 CDs (Linux & 2000 programmes), 1 DVD (containing everything), 3 books
(including installation & configuration of KDE, Linux base system & others) , & 3 months free support!
Now how does that compare to purchasing a Microsoft product. I'm not sure how anyone is supposed to make any money out of it,
but that's not the driving power behind Linux. Sure there is a lot of commercial software out there, but for all users, up to
a business level, the choice of free programmes cover every aspect you could think of. Take the example of Adobe's Photo Shop,
it's equivalent under Linux is called Gimp, it's every bit as powerful & free! For a closer look at the range of apps available
for Linux take a look at the links page.
