Article: Are You Ready for Linux?

From: Lionel Wagner (ck508_at_ncf.ca)
Date: 09/30/05 

Date: Fri, 30 Sep 2005 09:26:02 -0400

I am not a computer expert, but rather an advanced user.
I wrote this article for a non-profit amateur publishing
association (APA) of thirty people. I would appreciate
any constructive criticism to improve the accuracy...

ARE YOU READY FOR LINUX?
LINUX IS READY FOR YOU

For years an alternate operating system has been
floating around the net. It is completely open
and shared by everyone. Computer experts from all
over the world have refined it to a high degree.
There are over one hundred different versions
(distributions). They all share the same core
(kernel).

In its raw form, Linux is worse than DOS.
Fortunately most distributions have a GUI
(graphical user interface) that make it very
similar to operate than Windows.
Its philosophy of operation is different.
In Windows, you can go from step A directly to D.
This works most of the time, but sometimes the
computer "crashes" and you have to reboot.
In Linux you go from A to D and nothing happens.
A, B, D nothing happens. A, C, D nothing happens.
A, B, C, D works every time and the computer never
crashes. There is no such thing as the
"blue screen of death" in Linux.

There are three levels of users in Linux.
The root user has his own password and
can go anywhere and do anything.
The network users each have their own passwords
and are well separated from each other.
They have their own desktops, documents, and e-mails.
The third level is everyone else.
The root user can control who does what,
by granting "permissions".
For example: Tom and *** can read and
modify a certain document but Jane can read it only.
Everyone else can do nothing.
This hierarchy gives Linux a measure of protection
against viruses and stupidity.
If *** catches something on the net,
it will not necessarily affect Tom and Jane.
If Jane makes a mistake it will not affect Tom and ***.
Nobody can do anything out of the ordinary without
permission from the root user. This inhibits the spread
of trojans and worms since they need password protected
permission to spread. The different distributions
of Linux give another measure of protection.
A virus targeted at Mandriva may not necessarily
affect Fedora Core or others.

A good web site to get information on the
different distributions of Linux can be found at:
           www.distrowatch.com
Some distributions provide a free demonstration CD
that enables you to try Linux without affecting
your computer. Ubuntu have been kind enough to ship
me a half-dozen copies. In order to test run,
it is necessary to do a tiny modification to the BIOS
of your system. You simply have to alter the boot
sequence so that the computer "sees" the CD first.
Most computers have a sequence: A then C.
This should be changed to D-A-C or D-C-A so long
as D is first. This modification can be left in
place permanently. The only effect it will have is
lengthen the boot-up time by about 5 seconds.
Once this is done, you simply power up the computer
with the demo CD already in place. The computer will
run off the CD without any effect on the hard drive.
The only exception being if you have less
than 64megs RAM. In this case Linux will create
a swap file on your hard drive to compensate.
It can be left there or deleted from the root
directory of C.

If for any reason you are unable to configure
your BIOS to boot from the CD- ROM, you can make a
floppy boot disk. Ironically this disk is made
in Windows. Once made, you can boot in Linux
and proceed with the demonstration or installation.

When using Linux, check its ability to read
complex MS Word documents. Linux has word processors
that will more-or-less recognize Word and Word Perfect.
Its word processors will enable you to save documents
in HTML and many other formats, including MS Word.

Once you have tried Linux, and like it,
you can consider installing it. Before doing so,
check if your printer and other hardware will work.
Information on supported hardware can be found at:
               www.tldp.org/howto
               www.linmodems.org
Linux will support most printers, sound cards and
video cards but there is a problem with modems.
Most computers have built-in cheap "stripped down"
modems that rely on Windows to do some of their work.
These Winmodems do not work with Linux.
You require a stand-alone controlerless modem.
Some internal modems are OK. All external modems
will work. There is no problem with Ethernet cards,
so you can connect on high speed.

It is possible to install Linux on the same
hard drive that has Windows. Make sure the hard drive
is big enough: 4gig or more. Defrag Windows before.
When you install Linux it formats the hard drive
its own way. So if you do not partition it properly,
you risk not being able to access Windows.
For this reason I prefer to install Linux on an old
"spare" computer, or at least, another hard drive.

Years ago, Corel, under the direction of Michael Cowpland,
created their own version of Linux. It was simple
and smooth. It won awards. I found this version
to work well in a Pentium II with 64megs of RAM.
Sensing a threat, Microsoft "invested" in Corel.
You guessed it... a few months later Corel abandoned Linux.
Fortunately Xandros has taken it over.
I have ordered this version and am looking forward
to testing it.

Another version of Linux is called "Dam Small Linux" (DSL).
It occupies only 50megs of hard drive and will work
on 32megs of ram. It claims to work on a 486!
(must be 16 bit). It has its own little browser
and word processor. All with a GUI !

These versions of Linux are ideal on an old
second computer dedicated for internet use.
Because its internal "language" is totally different
from Windows, it is unaffected by 90% of the viruses,
adware, and spyware that pollute the net.

My "big" computer is used for fancy things such as:
photo processing, music, and games. It rarely goes
on the net. The older computer has Linux and is bullet
proof on the internet. A happy marriage!

I will conclude with some of the colourful messages
I see every time I shut down Linux:

>recovery thread got woken up
>shutting down APM daemon
>unmounting file systems
>saving random seed
>starting killall
>halting system

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