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Linux

What is Linux? a guide for the uninitiated

Linux is an open source operating system.  It runs on many type of hardware including the incredibly good value hardware that Windows uses.

Linux is different, it is much more flexible than Windows and so it can be a bit more complicated.

There are two main types of installation Servers and Desktops.  Unlike Windows where server and Desktops are almost indistinguishable, Linux can be very different.  For example Servers don't really need all the pretty graphical user interface so many servers save resources by not running it, Windows does not offer this choice you have-to-have it.

Linux Desktops:- Linux has a pretty desktop, it is as different to Windows as is Mac OSX, similar enough to not be too disorientating but it takes several weeks to really get used to it.  Only a small amount of Windows software can run on Linux however, quite a lot of Linux software is also available for Windows!  If all you need is Email, Web Browsing and "Office" applications then Linux is a viable desktop.  The problem is most of us need a little more...  Now might not be the time to start switching desktops.  However, you can start using the open source software that is available cross platform, so that should you decide in-the-future that you might like to change then you will be using applications that will make the conversion really easy.  The core applications we suggest you consider are Thunderbird (a great email client and safer than outlook) FireFox (a really neat and fast web browser) and OpenOffice a word processor, spread sheet and presentations package.  There are lots of other programs that are open source and cross platform, archive compressions, instant messengers, databases and so on. 

Linux Servers:- Having said Linux is not really ready for anything but the basic desktop, I am pleased to say that Linux IS ready for the server.  Indeed it is in many ways much better than some commercial servers.  

Linux is stable, only in the last few years have some of the best known commercial server operating systems been able to match what Linux has done for years.  

Linux is secure, rather than relying on secrecy Linux is open, anyone who wants to know how it works can find out, with thousands of eyes looking at the code over a long period most of the problems have been resolved and new exploits are going to be hard to find.  Indeed most exploits that are actually used are in older releases of software and are found by reverse engineering the published fixes.

Linux doesn't have to be shut down.  There are very few occasions when a server needs to be shut down, most issues can be resolved without having to shut down.

Linux is convenient, Linux is a very popular operating system for internet service providers, most of the servers are locked in racks hundreds of miles away from the people operating them, so excellent remote access tools have been developed for them, this meant you can use almost any web browser to configure and control the server.  Typically Linux servers, don't have screens or keyboards so people can't mess about with them, however, anyone with the right access can administer the server from their own desktop and if you sub contract out server administration then remote access is just as easy.

Linux is good value, Linux servers save you costs of keyboards, monitors and software licensing.  They save you costs of people who knowing the windows interface can work the server only by not really understanding what they are doing making a mess of things. Linux gets more out of the hardware, by being able to save resources by not running un needed portions of the overall system such as the graphical (in dedicated specific roles, the operating system can be recompiled to maximise performance at one task)

Linux is standards based, being standards based means that you can choose between multiple different suppliers to get solutions, you don't have to be locked in to one and have no choice.

Linux might not be the total solution.  Although Linux is an excellent server solution, it is not always a viable option, some proprietary software companies development tools make it difficult to not be totally dependant on that companies technology for example they may choose to only make their database technology available on their server operating system in order to lock you in.  You can help avoid this, always ask about cross platform options when buying software, consider the costs of being locked in to one supplier.  Talk to vendors about the issues make them aware that you are concerned about being locked in and encourage them to develop in a cross platform manner.

The message for software developers is, if your software is not cross platform then you are loosing about 5% of the desktop market and in some areas 60% of the server market.  Developing cross platform software is no more difficult than developing platform specific software, you just need to use tools that are not designed to lock you in to one supplier.  The dominant supplier can not become any more dominant, they can only become less dominant and that is an extra opportunity and additional edge but only for cross platform developers.

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