With kind regards to Penny-Arcade
Does Microsoft fear Linux? Should it fear Linux? Does it fear Linux only in certain sectors, like Web servers, and not others, like the desktop? What exactly does “fear” mean here? Why do I still watch Lost? All important questions that deserve highly developed answers. PBS attempted to answer some of these questions, but that was in 1998. A lot has changed since then. I, for example, now wear a size 11 shoe as opposed to a 7.
I tend to view Linux as two different animals, rightly or wrongly. There’s Linux for the desktop, like Ubuntu, Gentoo, Knoppix and whatever flavor-of-the-month distro gets mentioned on this week’s Tekzilla. (I actually like Tekzilla, being a former TechTV viewer.) The average person, the man or woman who uses the computer at work to create spreadsheets or to order paper, doesn’t know Linux from Adam. At least until this past week, that is. They skip along happily, clicking “start” at the beginning of every day. Desktop Linux, supposedly, is for these folks, and certain distros, most notably Ubuntu, offer an easy-to-use environment, no command line needed. But really, with a 0.65 percent market share, do you really think Microsoft is worried about losing out to Linux? Its biggest competitor is Mac OS X, and that’s still only on 7.5 percent of all computers.
Linux on the server, however, is a whole ‘nother matter. A quick trip to microsoft.com offers a glimpse of how Redmond feels about the free as in freedom OS. There’s all sorts of charts and graphs and mentions of total costs of ownership.
But is that enough to call Microsoft “afraid” of Linux?
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Installing Ubuntu is literally as easy as dropping in a disk. However, it is important to understand that Ubuntu needs its own clean drive to run correctly. If you are a beginner, we would suggest installing Ubuntu on an older machine or running it from CD-ROM which will give you a taste of Linux without endangering your hard disk.
This is by no means an exhaustive examination of Linux but it does give you a quick and dirty description of how to install and run Ubuntu. Trust me: it’s easy.
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My feature for this week was to be “Linux rocks your Windows box” or something of the sort. Great, I thought. I’ll take Wubi for a spin, see how it stacks up against a partitioned install of Ubuntu, and search around for other ways of making Linux apps work in a Windows environment. Fun and informative!
But it’s just my luck that things wouldn’t go my way. Or rather, luck had nothing to do with it. Because Linux was out to get me.
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One of the great features of many Linux distributions is the ability to test them out before committing to installing them on your hard drive. Live distributions can be burned to bootable CDs, DVDs, flash drives, and more (even floppies, remember floppies?!).
Here’s a non-exhaustive list of ten popular live Linux distros as voted on over at FrozenTech. Feel free to add your favorites in the comments section.
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Linux, as we’ve been stressing all week, is not just for desktops. Linux works in all sorts of ways on all sorts of devices. Embedded Linux is a popular choice with many manufacturers to keep development costs down on new hardware. It’s also good for portable devices with open architectures because if you know desktop Linux, you know portable Linux.
Peter highlighted a handful of cool mobile devices running Linux, and here are a few more cool devices running different versions of the OS, including a forerunner to KITT.
KITT must run on Linux, right?
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Welcome to the Unreasonable Stance, where our own Devin Coldewey takes the minority opinion on a tech matter and defends it with convenient data, spun numbers, fanboyism, and insults until he proves, without a doubt, that those that disagree with him are filthy mouth-breathers.
Why are we having a whole week dedicated to this runty OS? You’d think this ridiculous open-source movement was supposed to be the future of computing. Well, it’s time someone took a stand and let the world know what everyone is afraid of saying: Linux sucks. It sucks bad.
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Today I got to chat with Gerry Carr, a product manager for Canonical, the people behind Ubuntu, the very popular desktop version of Linux. Besides the merits of the Seattle and Portland areas, we talked about Ubuntu’s current status and its future in gaming, portable devices, and even desktop computers.
CrunchGear So first off, which version of Ubuntu are you using on your personal computer right now?
Gerry Carr I’m using the latest beta of the 804 LTS (Hardy Heron). It’s got a few known bugs still but overall it’s really good.
CrunchGear What third party apps are you using with it day to day that you like?
Gerry Carr The Firefox 3 beta 4 works really great with the 804. In fact, when it’s done, we’ll be the first major distributer to ship a distro with Firefox 3 bundled. That’s pretty exciting. It’ll also have our regular mail app. Adobe and IBM both have apps they’re working on specifically for 804, but they won’t be included. We’re looking to ship April 24 of this year.
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Rather than bore you with a handful of other random gadgets and doodads that run Linux, I’ve decided to focus on one really big thing that’s phenomenal. So I present to you, dear readers, with Virgin America’s in-flight entertainment system, RED. I’ve written about it once or twice before and every flight I take on VA gets better. I’ll be flying to Vegas this weekend for CTIA and I’m as giddy as a schoolgirl because I’ll be taking VA. It’s a completely different experience and its only getting better, but don’t take my word for it. You should really take advantage if they’re servicing your city. If not, then wait it out and try it when you can. It’s definitely worth it and once Aircell’s GoGo network is implemented into VA’s fleet, you won’t find a better airline in the US.
Today, we’re interviewing Charles Ogilvie, the Director of Inflight Entertainment and designer of RED.
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In honor of Linux week, I’d like to talk about some distros I’ve known and loved. This isn’t an exhaustive list and many aren’t really distros, but it’s more an exercise in nostalgia than anything else.
I’ve been loving *NIX since 1993 or so. That’s when I got my first shell account at Ohio State while I was still in high school. I didn’t realize what I was using at the time but I understood the power after spending some time at AT&T’s Scouting group where they invited Boy Scouts in to play on some monstrous UNIX machines in their training center in Columbus. I understood shell scripts and networks, but not enough to fully grasp the power of the platform. It was during this time that I wrote POSDT to copy some of the things I learned in UNIX. My friends in college were already using UNIX with regularity and used to borrow my account to telnet to distant accounts.
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Just in time for All About Linux week we offer this little Sweded gem. After all, those twisty little passages didn’t invent themselves, right?
As previously mentioned in this week’s Orientation, Linux is not limited to just desktops. It’s far reaching, actually. Not that you’d have a Terminal app on it or anything, but you could. Some of you may have a mobile phone running Linux and you probably don’t even know it. The most popular phone in the world runs Unix. That’s right. The iPhone, my arch nemesis, runs on Unix. Are there any other cool mobile devices out there running on Linux or Unix? Of course there are. Enter, dear friends, and be amazed.
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Continuing with this week’s festival do Linux, I’ll be endorsing open source software today. Not so random, no. Only software that’s free as in freedom has been considered; freeware that I can’t futz around with the source code, not that I would know what to do, rightly, was ignored. Devastating, yes.
This endorsement is a twofer. First I’ll try to answer the tough question as to why, pray tell, you should give a damn about open source source, hereafter referred to as OSS. I write that sentence knowing full well that, oh, say, all of you already know what OSS is and why it’s worth your while. I’m merely following orders. Anyway, part two will be a few applications that you might want to check out… again, knowing full well that you’re probably aware of lots of them. Have you heard of Firefox? I hear it’s all the rage these days.
Anyhow, OSS. It’s cool. Use it.
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Linux, as most people think of it, is an alternative desktop OS for nerds. And those people are right: the vast majority of machines running Linux are the personal computers of hobbyists and enthusiasts. That being said, you might be using Linux now and not even know it.
Stripped-down versions of Linux are well suited for modern cellphones. The OS already has all most of the needed code for connectivity of every kind built into it, and there are enough other open-source apps that can be adopted that it cuts production time — and costs — considerably.
Because of this many smartphone makers and application makers and carriers are turning their attention to Linux for handsets. And you might want to consider it too.
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The above video may or may not be an accurate depiction of the early days of Linux.
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The “What’s the difference between UNIX and Linux?” question can be answered similar to the analogy section that many of us had to complete on the SAT test;
UNIX is to DOS as Linux is to Windows.
That’s a grossly oversimplified answer to a complex question and I’ll no doubt get flamed by some of the more advanced UNIX and/or Linux users out there but in the interest of keeping things simple, let’s go with the above italicized sentence.
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Purdy!
You know who you are: the guy who doesn’t do Linux. Windows works fine, all of your software works under Windows, and things are much cooler when you don’t have to worry about all that command-line garbage. Sure, Vista is a dog and SP1 causes cancer. Sure gaming is getting hit or miss without enough hardware to launch a space mission. Windows works for business and pleasure. I’m here to convince you otherwise, if I can.
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Keeping with our Linux theme for the week, I present this week’s Orientation on, well, Linux. Despite a market share of less than 1 percent for the Linux OS compared to 92 percent for Windows and a smidge over 7 percent for Apple’s Mac OS, the seldom used (by the general public) OS is the epitome of open source dev and free software. I mostly dabbled with Linux in college and haven’t really used it much since. I’m a Mac user now but Darwin is different from the Linux kernel. It’s all based on Unix, but different nonetheless.
So for the uninitiated, here’s Linux in a nutshell.
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As a service to you, our dear readers, and to us, the clueless morons, we’re going to explore Linux in all its guises this week, deciding once and for all if this crazy, hippy-dippy thing they call “Linux” is ready for prime time.
Just joking, fanbois. We know Linux kicks ass. It runs most web applications, powers millions of desktops, and is gaining traction in the average user space every day. Heck: OS X owes a debt to Linux and Open Source and Android promises to bring Linux-alike abilities to common smartphones. Linux is everywhere but it is, unfortunately, mostly invisible.
This week we’ll explore a number of distributions, talk about installing Linux for fun and profit, and discuss some of the fastest ways to start working with the OS without buying a manual. Stay tuned.
