Re: What Will Linux Gurus Allow?

From: Aragorn (stryder_at_telenet.invalid)
Date: 10/22/05 

Date: Fri, 21 Oct 2005 22:32:23 GMT

On Friday 21 October 2005 16:45, Bob Bobbitt stood up and spoke the
following words to the masses in /comp.os.linux.advocacy...:/

> I mean as to kinds of users? Somebody who knows nothing about PCs and
> just wants to use them for work or play?

As it was pointed out already, your question could very well be a
trolling attempt - and it most likely is, considering the cross-post to
/comp.os.linux.misc,/ which is a technical newsgroup. But I'll take
the bait... ;-)

First of all, GNU/Linux is Free Software and Open Source Software.
There is a mild distinction between the two, based upon what their
respective licenses allow or not. The "Free" in "Free Software"
implies freedom, not "gratis" - albeit that most free software is also
free as in "free beer".

Most of any GNU/Linux distribution - i.e. the GNU operating system tools
and the Linux kernel - are released under the GNU General Public
License. This license exists so that the intellectual property of the
coders could not be abused by proprietary vendors.

Since GNU/Linux is Free Software, anyone is free to obtain, install,
use, copy, modify and redistribute the software under the terms and
conditions specified in the respective licenses. For the GPL, please
visit...

        http://www.gnu.org

The above all means that aside from the conditions of the GPL - or other
applicable licenses - you are free to use the system in any way you
wish.

However, the above all said, there is the technical side of things.
GNU/Linux is a UNIX-style operating system. UNIX is a multi-user
operating system architecture that follows the client-server design
model. Such a system may and probably will look and feel quite
differently from what you yourself have in mind.

Functionalitywise, GNU/Linux can do everything that Microsoft Windows
can, and will do those things better - from the technological and
security points of view. In addition to that, GNU/Linux can do lots of
stuff that Microsoft Windows cannot do, regardless of what the Windows
zealots and Microsoft advocates tell you or promise you.

The above however is a technical aspect, and poses no restrictions on
your right as a user to opt for GNU/Linux. Be aware however that
certain hardware has been manufactured specifically for use with
Microsoft Windows, and that due to the licensing of such hardware -
namely the non-disclosure agreements (NDA) that some hardware vendors
have signed with Microsoft - the support for such devices or chipsets
by the Linux kernel is either absent or still in development.

If you are planning on moving away from Microsoft Windows based upon you
being displeased with Microsoft's End-User License Agreement (EULA),
and you think Free Software is a good thing, then there are various
projects you can turn to.

Free & Open Source Software developers are working hard to create
general-purpose operating systems, FOSS clones of existing operating
systems, or alternative and totally new operating system designs.

If what you want is a Windows-like operating system that doesn't come
from Microsoft, then I would suggest taking a look at Freedows or
ReactOS.

If you liked the Be Operating System, then you might be interested to
know that there are various attempts - both Open Source and proprietary
- to revive BeOS.

However, most of the FOSS operating systems are based upon the UNIX
architecture, simply because IT-wise, this is the most scalable,
flexible, portable, reliable, configurable, versatile and powerful
operating system of all.

GNU/Linux is the most popular of such platforms, and it runs on just
about everything in between a wristwatch and an IBM mainframe, up to
supercomputers and clusters.

So the question is not what kind of users GNU/Linux gurus - I presume
you mean the developers? - allow, but much rather whether GNU/Linux is
right for you.

As it is Free Software in the sense of freedom, the choice is all
yours... ;-) 

-- 
With kind regards,
*Aragorn*
(Registered GNU/Linux user #223157)

Relevant Pages

  • E-newsletter on GNU/Linux... from India (free to share)
    ... The Free Software Directory is a project of the Free ... particularly the GNU operating system and its GNU/Linux ... Linux, Novell has introduced a new version of SuSE Linux ... GNOME runs on a variety of platforms, including GNU/Linux ...
    (comp.os.linux.announce)
  • Re: I want to migrate to Linux
    ... Microsoft considers the x86 platform to still be what it was when it was ... Dirty Operating System"; not to be confused with the Q-DOS ... 1.x versions had a GUI called Presentation Manager, from which the Windows ... Thompson has stated that GNU/Linux and cousins are all de facto UNIX ...
    (comp.os.linux.hardware)
  • Re: KDE (was: Slack 13 -- WTF!)
    ... Yet, as I have said before, a GDE can never replace a commandline ... enemies of GNU/Linux or FOSS in general. ... internals of the operating system on the machine he uses solely for the ...
    (comp.os.linux.setup)
  • Re: Why is Fedora not a Free GNU/Linux distributions?
    ... Why is Fedora not a Free GNU/Linux distributions? ... If you think Linux, or Linus, is unethical ... you refer to the *operating system*, though, that's a different story. ...
    (Fedora)
  • Re: READ THIS B4 POSTING IN COLA. C.O.L.A Newcomer FAQ (Read This Before Posting in COLA)
    ... I don't know about the Windows XP group, ... It's quite biased in regards to the people using Gnu/Linux ... > and elsewhere that you may find useful in your quest to try linux. ... some great and stable software for free with your operating system, ...
    (comp.os.linux.misc)
Loading