Advocating Linux
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Screenshots of Linux Mandrake
9.2 (KDE) running on my PC |
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September 4th 2004: First anniversary of L-Day
This is in way of a celebration. I have been using Mandrake Linux now as my main operating system on my home PC for about one year (used every day for all my work). I've got to say this date is a little vague, due to my not recording exactly when the 'migration' took place - it could have actually been longer than this. But rather than spend time trying to work it out exactly, I'm fairly arbitrarily appointing September 4th as 'L-Day'.
Why bother to change?
For
me this upheaval has been brought about by a combination of inclination and
necessity. I own a variety of PCs, but the one I mainly use for work is an
aging Packard Bell Pulsar 600, a 600 Mhz Pentium 3 that I bought from
Dixons four or five years ago. At the time it was 'state of the art' (as
everybody thinks when they buy their new PC) - and when bought it already
had Windows 98SE installed. I need the machine to help administer the
APTT (I'm Secretary) and to develop
my work as a teacher - I depend heavily on computer access to research material
for lessons, produce handouts, etc. As it happens I also am interested in
computers as a hobby, so as most people will surmise, I spend a lot of time
with machines both for work and pleasure. I also run my own tiny home network;
the 'main' Pentium 3 is hooked up to a router to which are also connected
my laptop (an ancient Toshiba T2130CT running Windows 95) and an old 500
Mhz Pentium 3 HP Pavilion 8360 running Windows 98SE. This one was kindly
donated to me by a student (thanks Maggie!). I'm an experienced computer
user, though by no means a technical expert.
Trouble is, I was constantly getting crashes, some of them serious, resulting in the loss of important data. One in particular destroyed the main hard disk boot sector of the Pulsar 600 and corrupted the drive containing my documents (and guess who didn't have a recent backup?). After this happened three times in the same year I was getting rather fed up with Windows 98SE. I then 'upgraded' to Windows ME (mainly because is had the System Restore utility) - but discovered after the event that it was even more unstable than 98. I then bought a copy of Roxio GoBack (a kind of 'super system restore') which cured the problem of lost data, but slowed the system down significantly and did nothing for the regular crashes. I did investigate moving to Windows XP - only to discover that my machine included a lot of hardware and software incompatible with the new OS.
And during all this of course we had the same old Microsoft problems: worm attacks via email, security problems, bugs and a steady stream of propaganda saying how wonderful Microsoft products were and how the world was better off being controlled by the M$ monopoly if only the users would stop moaning about how Windows wasn't much good. Not only that, but I felt very aggrieved at the lack of choice available to people like myself (i.e. those who can actually use their computer and don't need their hands held by a 'benevolent' dictatorship like Microsoft). According to the 'Holy Word of Bill Gates' there was only one Way for the future of computing - The Microsoft Way. So... more of the same then!
(It seems ironic that in a world supposedly dominated by the free market we have less choice now as to what Operating System we have on our computers than at any time in the past).
The Migration
I'd known about Linux for some time, having experimented with a very old version of Slackware on an old 486 some years ago, but had not been too impressed. I then read some articles in PC Plus magazine about the newer Linux distributions, and got a copy of the 'easy boot from CD' distribution called Knoppix from a magazine cover disk. Trying this out was a revelation. The CD version ran nearly as fast as Windows ME, and looked pretty darn good! It also had stacks of good and free software, and an interface not far removed from Windows in look and feel (KDE). Since I'd just upgraded my PC to a much larger hard disk (120 Gb) and more RAM (to 320 Mb) it seemed worth trying out one of the newer Linux versions on a 'shared' basis with Windows (i.e. repartition my hard disk, add a partition for Linux and 'dual boot' between it and Windows). I thought that, if things didn't go well I could always delete Linux and go back to Windows again.
I bought a copy of Mandrake (now 'Mandriva') Linux 9.00 from CheapLinux (saving money! At that time I didn't have broadband and couldn't download the disks for free), backed up all my data, and installed the CDs in an hour or two on the new partition. Why Mandrake? Well, it was recommended by PC Plus (and a lot of other magazines) as easy to install and use. Amazingly enough, this was very true! Everything went without hitch. Installation was as easy (or easier) than Windows, and included a mountain of interesting software. Mandrake even recognised all my hardware and when I finally got logged in it took only a few minutes to get into using KDE.
Using Mandrake Linux
I discovered very quickly I could access all my old documents, spreadsheets, graphics, etc. via OpenOffice, and that the Internet worked just as it did before (maybe a bit quicker). The crashes all stopped - I have not had one major (or minor) incident since I started using Linux Mandrake. Virus and worm infection has also stopped. Not only that, but I'm able to run Web, FTP, Webcam, and Music servers over my broadband link (ever since May this year when I upgraded via Telewest) which allows secure access to my data at home from work. Whilst I was away on holiday my PC ran continuously and when I got back I found it was still running without a hitch. In terms of usability, Mandrake Linux 'feels' as responsive as the Windows XP machines running on 'Ghz-speed' machines - and I can say one thing for certain: I have FAR fewer problems than we get at work!
The down-side?
So what are the problems? There have got to be problems? Right!? Well, Mandrake Linux was incompatible with my old modem, and I had to shell out for a new one. Installing software with Linux can be a pain, and if there's a technical problem to fix it can be a bit like rocket science to get a solution (plenty of advice on the Internet - but some of it difficult to understand). Linux still relies heavily on the command line, which makes some operations feel somewhat primitive (though I 'grew up' with MS-DOS so I'm more used to typing commands than most computer users these days). I also have one hard disk running on an IDE expansion card that Mandrake can't 'see'. Thankfully this is the one that has all the old Windows software on it, so it's not really needed much, and I have found a hint or two recently about how I might get it working. Linux also takes up a lot of hard disk space, and RAM - you may as well forget about getting it working in under 64 Mb unless you only want to only type commands! As it happens though, my old machine was more than adequate with its current upgrades and I think I will get another two or three years of use out of it because of moving to Linux. Also, if you want to play modern games, then Linux is still short of these. For the present, you'd be better off with Windows for game-playing.
One final comment: running any kind of publically accessible server software on a broadband link also makes you a prime target for every antisocial 'black hat' and 'script-kiddy' in the world who wants to crack an Internet site. Security is still of the essence even with Linux and my view is that a little paranoia over security (even with Linux) is a good thing - they really are out to get you!
The up-side?
Apart from it being stable and relatively secure, Linux is also free - and that means permanently. If you don't want to you don't have to even spend money on buying it - though it's usually easier to install and run if you buy a 'distro' (short for 'distribution', such as Mandrake) from a supplier. Also there is literally a mountain of software to use with it, varying from full office suites (such as the excellent OpenOffice) through to simple text editors and image viewers. A lot of the software is as good or better than the Windows equivalent: OpenOffice, FireFox, K3B, CrossOver office, GIMP and Konqueror are all excellent. And if you're keen on keeping familiar Windows programmes then there's always CrossOver Office and WINE which will help to run the item under Linux (yes, it is possible! Even Internet Explorer can be run this way, and for those with an interest in irony you can even run Windows 95 or 98 in its own little window - see the thumbnail graphic above). Better still though, I don't feel under the thumb of Microsoft; that's worth the bother of the changeover alone!
Advice for those keen on changing to Linux
If you have the same problems I've had and are keen on learning something
new, then go ahead and try Linux out. If however you can't be bothered with
learning new commands or methods of working and are happy with what you've
got on your computer, then just ignore all the above and stay as you are.
If you want to give Linux a try, then you need the following:
... and with any luck, after you've used it for a while you'll be just as much the enthusiast as I am!
Addendum: Two years on - and Linux is still running
Yes, it's now two years since I wrote the above. Linux is still my main operating system on my domestic PC, and the old Packard Bell is still running. I have on many occasions thought of buying a new machine, but decided against it as the current 'old crate' suits me just fine. Refusing to join in the rush to buy the latest model is not just because I haven't got the cash, it's largely because Linux has kept my old box running and doing exactly what I want. Why fix something if it ain't broke? So, thanks to everyone in the OSS world: you've saved me about a thousand quid!
Since I last wrote I've changed distros from Mandrake/Mandriva to SUSE. This was because I'm teaching this distro' as part of the APTT's accredited 'Introduction to Linux' course (SUSE was the distribution installed at the Discovery Museum in Newcastle and I simply changed to make life easy when creating handouts). As it happens, SUSE 9.3 has the edge, I must admit, over Mandrake 9.2. Hardware detection is excellent, installation is simple, and the whole thing is rock-solid. Software updates are also very simple to do, and support from Novell and the OpenSuse community is first rate. If you have event the slightest doubts about Windows you really need to change to Linux, and SUSE could be just the thing to slot into the gaping hole left by Billy Gates' monster.
Bob Groves
(Updated:
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Post Scriptum: The joke picture of the bloke in Soviet army uniform is Linux 'guru' and originator Linus Torvalds, together with 'Tux', the Linux penguin logo (complete with Red Star!). Is it a gag or paranoia - that's the question :-)
