To begin this perspective, I must say that I've intended the readers to be a computer techie.
Linux, as we know is the most successful example of the so called -open source revolution. It is an increasing phenomena that the world is slowly shifting to this
open-source evolution.
Microsoft remains Micro$oft and it remains as it is. Most of the
bussiness, educational institutions,
govermental organizations are turning their gear towards Linux, and
most of the softwares also
turning thier trend to the so called -free softwares [or open-source ].
This is a fact and you cannot
deny it. And even if you intend to defer, the world knows it already.
It is like something burning brightly at the sky
and we happen to see it very lately. It is gaining popularity among the
computer geeks for the last decade or so.
I bet
every serious computer programmer may know the ascent of this operating
system. If you look closely, you'll find the reasons behind it. I'm
giving some of the reasons.
ONE: Linux is a free software; means you can download from the internet
or get along in CD with trivial cost. If you want to see how it's
working inside, you're given the entire source-code to do so. It is licensed
under free-software license means you can modify [according to your
suit ], copy it, distribute it. If you go for Micro$oft windows, you've to
pay atleast US$100 or more without the freedom to modify or distribute
or copied.
TWO: Every known utilities like Office tools,desktop utilities,
media-players,compilers [c,c++,ada,java,perl,python,Lisp and many others ] are
already there. If you go for Micro$oft, you've to pay for some of these
entities.
THREE: Linux is open to everyone implies that a high quality support
[for free on the Internet ] in terms of newsgroup, mailling list, forums
are there and anything mishap is likely to resolve as soon as possible.
I bet Symantec [of Norton software ]is investing more dollars on
Anti-Virus softwares [for MicroSoft ]. Linux, whereas is a descendant of UNIX
architecture and it's build from the ground-up with security in mind.
FOUR: Making your Linux system a workstation, a web-server, a desktop or
a database-server is a simple matter during the Linux installation.
You're given an option [during installation]and you've to choose your
choice. Making the corresponding configuration will be done by itself on
behalf of you.It is as simple as that.
FIVE: Linux is highly portable. It is found to be run on different
architectures with an equal ease as it is on its founding architecture,
Intel.
SIX: Should a user decide to upgrade to a newer version of Linux, there
are no licensing fees or other software costs if the user selects a
free distribution (i.e., version). Moreover, the training, program
modification/conversion, hardware acquisition and other costs associated with
upgrading to a new version are also relatively low due to the
compatibility with earlier versions
SEVEN: Linux is highly resistant to system crashes and rarely needs
rebooting (i.e., restarting). This can be very important for large
organizations for which even a few minutes of down time can result in a
substantial cost.
The reason is that Linux has been designed from the ground
up to be an extremely stable and robust operating system, incorporating
all that has been learned about attaining these goals from the more
than 35 years of history of Unix-like operating systems
EIGHT: Linux and other free software uses open format file formats.
These are formats for word processing, spreadsheet and other file types
that conform to industry-wide standards and which can be used by any
developer of software to create compatible programs, in contrast to the
closed formats commonly used by some proprietary software.
This eliminates
the problem of lock-in to proprietary standards, with the consequent
difficulty and expense of switching to other software in the future. It
allows the user to have complete control of its data, particularly in
the event that at some future date the developer who originally created
the software goes out of business or stops supporting its earlier
software.
NINE: Very high ethical standards are maintained for Linux and other
free software, in large part due to the very openness of their development
process and the free availability of the source code. Linux has never
been convicted in a Federal court of violation of U.S. antitrust laws or
other crimes, nor has it had to pay penalties for the unauthorized
copying of technology developed by other companies.
TEN: For governmental agencies, Linux and other free software allows for
transparency of data because it stores the data in formats consistent
with industry-wide standards.
This is in contrast to the proprietary,
closed formats characteristic of commercial software. Such transparency
is important for maintaining an effective democracy. Keeping non-secret
data in standards-compliant formats allows anyone to access it without
having to purchase expensive proprietary software.
Also, storing secret
data in standards-compliant formats is widely regarding as being more
secure than keeping it in proprietary formats.
There're many reasons to be cited about here. I think the above ten
reasons are still suffice to say/mean the remaining reasons.
Reference:
http://www.linux.org
http://www.reallylinux.com --> for beginners
http://www.linuxtoday.com
http://www.linuxjournal.com
http://www.tuxmagazine.com
http://www.gnu.org
Please inquire about GNU/Linux and feel free to ask for
help/support/guidance by mailing to our mailing list:
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Sushil Mayengbam, a software Engineer in New Delhi and GNU/LINUX enthusiast, writes regularly to e-pao.net
He can be contacted at [email protected]
This article was webcasted on February 15, 2006.
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