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Ask The Geek Open arms for Open Source - Part 1 This week, a reader writes: I started using Ubuntu [Linux] about a year ago when my old HP Pavilion 522n with Windows XP Pro started acting up for the billionth time. I couldn't believe how easy it is! Any questions I had were readily answered via the Ubuntu Forums or a simple Google search. The Linux community is incredible — one of the best aspects ... Linux is such a revolutionary possibility and people need to know about it...I love hearing about countries all over the world switching their schools, government offices, etc. to a Linux OS. Incredible. Linux has found a home in the equipment rooms of businesses for many years. From dusty old PCs that run a tiny point-of-sale system to massive racks of clustered corporate servers, Linux is no stranger to hard work where scalability, security and reliability are crucial. If you've browsed the Web, you've benefited from Linux-based servers more than you realize. Thanks to rabid adoption and perpetual development by enthusiasts (aka "geeks"), the Linux operating system has confidently strolled out of the server room and right onto the persnickety "user desktop," where usability demands are high and configurations myriad. What is Linux? Simply put, it's an "operating system" (OS) in the same way that Microsoft's Windows and Apple's Mac OS X are operating systems. Linux is a free operating system developed each day by thousands of people around the world. It functions on many types of computers (even many Apple computers) and runs thousands of programs. What makes Linux unique is the "open source" model by which the software is written and distributed. Because Linux is licensed as an "open source" project, everyone in the world is free to look at the millions of lines of code that create it, as well as the code for much of the software that runs on top of Linux. If you were so inclined, you could bend, break and redesign Linux to your heart's content. Find a bug? Let someone know within any number of online community forums. Fix a bug? Submit your code back to the community and become a part of the collaboration yourself. That's the spirit of open source! The open-source model is by no means exclusive to Linux. There is plenty of open-source software for Windows as well (although Windows is far from open source itself), including many popular selections you've already heard of such as Mozilla Firefox and OpenOffice.org. Why would any sane non-geek give a hoot about Linux or open-source software? The answers to that question are as diverse as the folks who embrace open source. Many people have grown dissatisfied with Microsoft, and newer versions of Windows specifically, and have found an incredible alternative in Linux. Some folks are tired of "pirating" software and love knowing that every piece of software on their computer is free for the world to use without stifling licensing restrictions and prohibitive costs. For some, it is crucial that the software that powers their business not be proprietary software held captive by any one organization. I'll have much more information next week, but in the meantime, enjoy the links below and e-mail me with your own open-source fears, adventures, pitfalls and triumphs! Links: Kevin McDonald: Writer and professional computer/network administrator. He lives in Amarillo with his wife and children, and owns and operates Definition Computers (806-236-9615). E-mail Kevin at askthegeek@definitioncomputers.com with questions you'd like to see answered in this column.
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comments about this story Posted: July 3, 2008 |
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