Linux is composed of computer operating system software, and packaged with a suite of utilities, or “helper programs”, like a browser, word processor, and a variety of other programs to display graphics, and play audio, and videos.

So what’s an operating system?

An “O.S.” is a set of instructions that get loaded from the hard disk into your computer’s RAM memory when the machine boots up. The OS manages the programs that make things happen on computer hardware. These things include reading, copying, and deleting files; and accessing the different devices such as the disk drives, the keyboard, mouse, modem, and monitor. You see, all of the application programs (word processors, games, drawing programs, spreadsheets) make requests to use the computer hardware. These requests go to the operating system where they are evaluated, and either fulfilled or denied depending on what else is going on in your computer at the time.

In practice, most “operating systems” contain vast amounts of software other than the actual OS -- like a word processor, for instance. Most OS’s include one, but technically it is a separate program. Microsoft Windows contains a huge set of tools and games that enable a first time user to get started immediately after the system installs, and so do other operating systems out there on the market such as the Mac OS X, and, yes, Linux.

Why should I change from Windows to Linux?

You shouldn't. That's not even remotely what this article is about. Linux is based on a different philosophy of software design than Microsoft Windows: it's easy, and it’s a whole lot of fun. If you'd like to broaden your horizons, and explore the world of software that you can copy freely and give out to your friends, then Linux is a great way to do so, but "getting people to change to Linux" is not what's going on around here. Regardless of the avalanche of advertisements we get swamped with these days, there is never a big burning need to change your computer’s software if it is already doing what you want it to do- it’s that simple.

Well if I don’t have to switch, and I can have the best of both worlds whenever I feel like going for it, what is so good about this Linux that I should want to expend the effort?

There are economic reasons to try it: it’s free. And upgrades are free. This paragraph is short, but I threw it in first because of its importance. Linux is free. Thousands of applications for it are also free. If you have the time, you can download an entire distribution from the Internet, or you can buy a CD for less than $5 from sites such as Linux System Labs. Currently, the Debian distribution of Linux has over 4000 packaged applications, utilities, and games, and Red Hat, a subsidiary of IBM itself, markets a commercial Linux distribution, packages 542.

There are also security reasons: 90% of viruses and spyware are written for Microsoft Windows computers. Of those that are written for Linux systems, few are successful because it is so easy and effective to set up the security. I watched so many people scramble during the last virus outbreak -- wringing their hands and wondering if they would make it through unscathed or not. Most folks got zapped. I forwarded myself one of those viruses just to see what would happen. No problem. Linux isn’t immune to all viruses though, merely well over 90% in today’s environment! A properly set up and configured Linux system is very hard to break into, not impossible, just harder than most. The worst thing a Linux virus can do is delete the files/programs owned by a single user. It won’t affect any other users on that system (unless they were using the same program installed by the other user), and DEFINITELY doesn't affect the system itself. The default, built-in security measures in Linux are the biggest reason vandals will have their damage potential limited under Linux. When you are logged on as a regular user in Linux you don't have the ability to write to the MasterBootRecord (how deep damage is done to your machine) or fire up a new mail/IRC server (how viruses use your machine to spread to others). Of course, you always have the option to log in as a system administrator to do system upkeep, but that is never done for routine tasks. Entire communities of people who really know their stuff review each line of software that goes into Linux and its applications. If a problem is found, and problems happen, patches to the code come out with amazing speed, often in less than 24 hours. Some argue that having the source code opened to the public contributes to security problems, because people can examine the code to find holes and problems, and it’s true, problems are easier to find. But here we get into big questions about society and human nature: which would you prefer, hundreds of unknown problems, or a few known, and quickly fixed problems? Also, the programmers who are savvy enough to find and exploit the problems are highly skilled professionals and usually ethical enough to fix and report them, not use them against innocent users.

There are reliability reasons: I have heard and read about Linux systems running for months and even years without a reboot. Not many other systems can make that claim, in fact I haven’t even heard of them. You can add the vast majority of new software without a reboot. In other systems, it seems that you can't upgrade, add new software, add new hardware, or even sneeze without rebooting or sometimes re-installing the whole operating system from scratch!

There are reasons related to freedom: at a recent APCO meeting, one man was told that if he added enough new hardware to his computer so that the Operating System thought it was “too much”, the OS then made a decision on its own that it had been pirated and it shut down and his whole computer refused to operate until he went through some kind of re-registration process over the phone to a help desk. In other words, he needed permission from his software to make extensive modifications to his own computer’s hardware. The philosophy of Linux is that since it’s free (as in speech) and also costs nothing to download (CDs cost a bit - in the five dollar range.), the rights of the user (you) come first. You will never run into licensing problems using Linux. If you buy or download one copy of a version of Linux, you can use that software on as many machines as you want. You can share it with your friends as if you wrote it yourself.

You'll never have to buy a license package. There's no such thing as a pirated copy of Linux. The whole point of writing it was to get beyond restrictions and turn people loose on it.

There are speed reasons: Linux is very lightweight - easy on the RAM. Even with many applications open and running simultaneously, you will not notice much disk swapping or slowdown.

What can I do with Linux that is so great that I should take the time to try it?

• It’s free.
• It crashes far less often than most commercial software you've ever seen.
• The applications are often faster.
• Access to many useful and free applications.
• It works just great on old hardware, and doesn’t require ever larger systems to support it.
• And best of all (for me): You don't have to get rid of Windows if you don't want to!

Why should I not use Linux?

Many games are written for the MS Windows mass market, and won’t work on Linux systems, but that’s about it. There are Linux applications such as graphics editors (paint programs) and word processors that are capable of dealing with documents in Paint and Word formats, so you can try out Linux applications and Windows applications on the same files and compare performance and ease-of-use for yourself.

So, if no large corporation paid somebody to develop Linux, then how did it get made?

Linux is an operating system that was initially created as a hobby by a young student, Linus Torvalds, at the University of Helsinki in Finland. Linus had an interest in Minix, a small UNIX system, and decided to develop a system that exceeded the Minix standards. He began his work in 1991 when he released version 0.02 and worked steadily until 1994 when version 1.0 of the Linux Kernel was released. The kernel, at the heart of all Linux systems, is developed and released under the GNU General Public License and its source code is freely available to everyone. It is this kernel that forms the base around which a Linux operating system is developed. There are now literally hundreds of companies and organizations and an equal number of individuals that have released their own versions of operating systems based on the Linux kernel. Apart from the fact that it's freely distributed, Linux's functionality, adaptability and robustness, has made it the main alternative for proprietary Unix and Microsoft operating systems. IBM, Hewlett-Packard and other giants of the computing world have embraced Linux and support its ongoing development. More than a decade after its initial release, Linux is being adopted worldwide as a server platform primarily. Its use as a home and office desktop operating system is also on the rise. The operating system can also be incorporated directly into microchips in a process called "embedding" and is increasingly being used this way in appliances and devices.

Throughout most of the 90's, tech pundits were caught unaware by Linux's rapid development and acceptance, and dismissed it as a computer hobbyist project, unsuitable for the general public's computing needs. They were unable to grasp the potential of Linux, and got caught by surprise.

Through the efforts of developers of desktop management systems such as KDE and GNOME, office suite project OpenOffice.org and the Mozilla web browser project, to name only a few, there are now a wide range of applications that run on Linux and it can be used by anyone regardless of his/her knowledge of computers. Those curious to see the capabilities of Linux can download a live CD version called Knoppix, for Knopper Linux, developed by a German Electrical Engineer named Klaus Knopper. It has everything you might need to carry out your daily tasks and it needs no special skills to install. It will run from a CD in a computer capable of booting from the CD drive, after typing "install" at the prompt.

If you're interested in learning about Linux, need help with some aspect of its use or are enthusiastic about it and want to help foster its adoption, you may want to get in touch with a Linux User Group in your area. There are groups in practically every country, region and city in the world, so there is likely to be one near you. In San Antonio just look up the San Antonio, Texas Linux User Group.