The Buzz About Linux By Bill Ball, Writer, Editor, ZDNET September 14, 1999

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Linux is the latest entry in the
worldwide race for domination
of the PC desktop and computer
server markets. Linux is a Unix-like
operating system that runs on
many different types of computers,
including those using CPUs from Intel, Compaq, Motorola, Sun,
and others. You'll also find versions of Linux for your Alpha, Sun,
Apple Macintosh, or PC.

Linux is the core of the operating system, or the kernel, while the
Linux operating system and its collection of software is properly
known as a distribution.

Many of the programs in a Linux distribution come from the Berkeley
Software Distribution, or BSD Unix, and the Free Software
Foundation's GNU software suite. Linux melds SysV Unix and BSD
features with Posix compliance and has inherited much of the best
from more than 25 years of Unix experience. Linux has also helped
provide the recent impetus for the open-source software movement.
First released on October 5, 1991, by its author and trademark holder,
Linus Torvalds, Linux has spawned an increasingly vocal legion of
advocates, users, and contributors from around the world. Originally
written as a hobby, Linux now supports nearly all the features of a
modern, multitasking, multiple-user operating system.



Continued...



· Disspelling the FUD
· Why Should You Bother?
· Which Linux Should I Get?
· A Few More Details
· Find Out More





  Disspelling the FUD
First, let's dispel some of the fear, uncertainty, and doubt, or FUD
about Linux:

It's a toy operating system. There's a big software company on
the West coast of the United States that would love for this to be
true, but it's not. Linux is being put to work more and more everyday
by Fortune 500 companies, governments, and consumers as a cost-
effective computing solution. Just ask IBM, Compaq, Dell, Apple
Computer, Burlington Coat Factory, Amtrak, Virginia Power, NASA,
and millions of users around the world.

It doesn't perform. Despite the recent spate of "sponsored" testing
results (some positive, some negative), Linux and associated server
software, such as Apache, continues to draw fans by its performance,
flexibility, and scalability. Recent Linux kernels support multiple
processors, RAID, multiple filesystems, and a plethora of protocols.

There's no support. Although touted by unbelievers as an
"unsupported" operating system, every Linux distribution comes with
more than 12,000 pages of documentation. Commercial Linux
distributions such as SuSE, Caldera OpenLinux, and Red Hat Linux
offer initial support for registered users, and small business and
corporate accounts can get 24/7 support through a number of
commercial support companies, such as Linuxcare. As an Open Source
operating system, Linux also comes with full source code. If you have
a problem and have the savvy, fix it yourself! There's no six-month
wait for a service release, and many serious bugs (such as security
flaws) are fixed within hours by the online Linux community.



· Disspelling the FUD
· Why Should You Bother?
· Which Linux Should I Get?
· A Few More Details
· Find Out More


  Why Should You Bother?
There are plenty of good reasons to use Linux.

There are no royalty or licensing fees. Although Linus Torvalds
holds the Linux trademark, the Linux kernel and much of the
accompanying software are distributed under the GNU General Public
License. This means you may modify the source code and sell
resulting programs for profit, but original authors retain copyright and
you you must provide the source to your changes.

Linux runs on nearly any CPU. Although most popular on Intel-based
computers, Linux runs on more CPUs and different platforms than any
other computer operating system. One of the reasons for this, beside
the programming talents of its rabid followers, is that Linux comes with
source code to the kernel and is quite portable.

Linux extends the life of legacy hardware. The recent trend of the
software and hardware industry is to push consumers to purchase faster
computers with ever-increasing amounts of system memory and hard
drive storage. Linux doesn't suffer the prevalent bloat of "creeping
featurism," and works quite well, even on aging x486-based computers
with limited amounts of RAM.

Linux controls the software and you control Linux. This means that
on the rare occasion a program crashes, Linux won't collapse like a house
of cards. You can kill the program and continue working with confidence.
Linux uses sophisticated, state-of-the-art memory management to
control all system processes. You won't lose control and won't have to
suffer the indignities of rebooting the system.
Linux works very well as a personal computer Unix for the desktop. You'll
find many of your favorite applications available for Linux, such as Corel's
WordPerfect, games like Quake II and Civilization, and Internet software,
such as Netscape Communicator and Sun Microsystems' StarOffice 5.1a.
If you need a support platform for server operations, Linux has real
advantages, especially when compared to the cost of other operating
systems, such as Windows 2000. With each distribution, you'll get 2,000
or more programs (such as word processors and spreadsheet and graphics
applications), and a graphical interface, the X Window System.
An additional benefit is that Linux is, for practical purposes, immune to the
horde of computer viruses that plague other operating systems. Because
of the GNU GPL and Open Source, nearly your entire system comes with
source code.



· Disspelling the FUD
· Why Should You Bother?
· Which Linux Should I Get?
· A Few More Details
· Find Out More


  
Which Linux Should I Get?

Most Linux vendors, along with collecting, collating, compiling, organizing,
and updating Linux, include "extras" to make their distribution more enticing.
Many include specialized scripts to automate installation. Some include
commercial software, specialized drivers, or customized graphical interfaces
for X or the console. You'll have to look at the features and included software
of each distribution to decide which is best for you.

Here's a rundown on some of the more popular distributions.

Caldera OpenLinux 2.2 (now at version 2.3 in September!) Caldera Systems
leap-frogged the competition in terms of installation with this latest release
of its Linux distribution. OpenLinux 2.2 (with Linux kernel 2.2.5) features
custom versions of a PowerQuest's PartitionMagic and BootMagic. Installing
OpenLinux can be as easy as a dozen mouse clicks. An interesting feature is
that during the installation process, you'll continue configuring your system
while the software copies to your hard drive.

After installing OpenLinux, you'll boot directly to an X Window System session
using the popular K Desktop Environment, or KDE, a window manager and
collection of productivity programs. OpenLinux 2.2 also includes WordPerfect 8.0
for Linux, the tremendously capable StarOffice Office suite of programs (which
includes word processor, spreadsheet, graphics, mail, and database clients), and
an installation manual.

Red Hat Linux 6.0 One of the newest Linux distributions, Red Hat Linux 6.0 uses
version 2.2.5 of the Linux kernel, and provides an automated and easy installation.
When you buy a "Deluxe" Red Hat Linux 6.0 distribution, you'll receive a Red Hat
Linux installation CD, an installation manual, and an additional CD containing
extra software and demo versions of commercial software.

When you configure Red Hat Linux to boot directly to a graphical interface, you'll
find yourself using the Enlightenment window manager with the latest GNOME
software libraries. Red Hat includes a customized version of the linuxconf utility,
which make system administration a snap.

SuSE 6.2 Long known as a "killer" distribution, SuSE 6.2 now includes one of the
latest Linux kernels, version 2.2.10, along with six CDs of software, making this
the largest Linux distribution by far. Installation is accomplished through a menu-
driven system management tool called YaST. This Linux distribution has it all,
including WordPerfect 8.0 for Linux, the StarOffice 5.1 Office suite, and a 450-page
printed installation and configuration manual.
SuSE Linux also excels in supporting the latest graphics hardware, so Voodoo I, II,
Rush, Banshee, and III graphics card users may be able to boot directly to the
default KDE environment for X11 sessions. If you want the very latest KDE
distribution for X, and emulators for DOS, Atari, Commodore, Nintendo, and
Gameboy computers, check out this distribution.

Debian, Slackware and Others Other distributions, such as Debian 2.1,
Slackware, Pacific HiTech's TurboLinux (a very advanced clustering version of Linux
popular in the Pacific Rim) also offer other features, such as the ability to install
from floppy disks or boot from an Iomega Zip drive.

You should probably use the distribution that came on your book's CD-ROM. You'll
probably find better support for older hardware. The latest and greatest whiz-bang
graphics card may not be supported (but most likely will be in the near future). Some
vendors use only the latest "stable" release as the default kernel to be installed,
whereas others provide the latest version available. In many cases, you also get the
source to the next version.



· Disspelling the FUD
· Why Should You Bother?
· Which Linux Should I Get?
· A Few More Details
· Find Out More


  A Few More Details
What do I need to run Linux?
If your computer runs DOS, it should run Linux. Whether X will work on your computer
depends on how much memory you have and if your graphics card and monitor are
supported.
If you have an Intel-based 386 or better PC, and have an ISA, VESA Local Bus, PCI, or
EISA box with a 3.5-inch floppy, an MFM, RLL, or IDE hard drive, IDE or ATAPI CD-ROM
player, and a Super VGA monitor, you shouldn't have any problems. SCSI hard drives
and CD-ROM players are also supported.
How much hard drive space and memory do I need for Linux?
Most installations run from 150 megabytes to one gigabyte. If you want any performance
when using X11, you should have at least 16MB for a responsive system, with 32MB
being even better and 64MB being ideal.

How do I install Linux?
You can usually boot directly to an install from a CD-ROM.
Some distributions, such as SuSE, allow you to boot or run Linux directly from a 'live
filesystem' CD-ROM with installation. A typical install process requires these steps:



· Disspelling the FUD
· Why Should You Bother?
· Which Linux Should I Get?
· A Few More Details
· Find Out More




  Find Out More

There are many sources of information about Linux.

•

Browse the Web, read documentation online, and directly download

•

Purchase one of the latest Linux distributions from a major vendor

•

Browse through the numerous books from Que and Sams to help

· Disspelling the FUD
· Why Should You Bother?
· Which Linux Should I Get?
· A Few More Details
· Find Out More