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Why Linux?

Glad you asked! Linux is commonly known as a server operating system or an operating system for advanced users. Can a non-pro use it, and why should he or she do so?

While Linux did begin its life as a server operating system and an
operating system for advanced users, Linux has made significant progress in a most key area: its graphical user interface.

Linux now has a very easy to use interface for both the Windows and Mac crowd. The desktop looks, acts and feels incredibly familiar, as do applications such word processors, spreadsheets and photo editors.

Here are a few reasons to use Linux:
FUNCTIONALITY
Linux comes with many tools you normally must buy separately if you run Windows or Mac, including a full featured office suite (amazingly similar to Microsoft Office) and a complete software development kit that is comparable to Visual C++.
STABILITY
Linux is a very stable operating system. Linux systems don't crash often, and don't need to be rebooted for anything other than upgrading the operating system itself.
(ALMOST) NO VIRUSES
Linux is not prone to viruses. Because of how Linux handles data, a virus cannot overwrite system files or append itself to applications unless you are working as the "root" user. Linux has no registry or DLL files, so Windows viruses have no effect on Linux at all.
PRICE
Linux is available for download for free. You have the option of buying Linux CD sets at a very low price. But the two or three core disks, with thousands of applications and tools, are there for the taking. And these are "crippled" versions. They have the same files as the CDs in the store box.
OPEN SOURCE
Linux is completely Open Source, meaning programmers around the world have access to its "source code", which is code programmers can read and modify. While this may not affect you as an end user directly, it affects you indirectly because this means that Linux and its tools and apps are under continuous, shared development. And updates to the operating system and all the other software is a snap.
INDEPENDENCE
If the maintainers of traditional proprietary software (such as Windows or Microsoft Office) stop working on it, or choose to ignore your problems, you're on your own. Nobody can help you. DOS users remember a great program called Q&A. Once the company that developed Q&A went out of business, another company bought this marvelous app and then let it die. If someone stops maintaining a Linux software application, someone steps in and continues the work. The software is not "company owned" and controlled, and so won't become a Q&A.
SPEED of development
Due to the its open source nature, many programmers from all around the world work on Linux, causing it to develop and mature much faster than other software.
FLEXIBILITY
If you need a feature in an application (or the operating system itself), you don't need to turn to the maker of the application to get it in - any
programmer can do it for you!

Linux News and Notes

As reported in e-Week magazine:

In a week of appointments designed to improve the use of Linux in the public sector, General H. Hugh Shelton, the former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and counsel to the President, joined Red Hat Inc.'s board of directors, while several open-source luminaries joined forces with George Washington University's Cyber Security Policy and Research Institute.

In a statement released on Thursday, General Shelton said he was enthusiastic about joining the Red Hat board and about its "tremendous vision." A native of Tarboro, N.C., Shelton received a Bachelor's Degree in Textiles from North Carolina State University. He later became the 14th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on October 1, 1997, and served two 2-year terms.

Meanwhile, Brian Behlendorf, a founder of the Apache Web server project; Miguel de Icaza, the co-founder of open-source desktop and server solution provider Ximian; Hans Reiser, creator of the Reiser file system; and Jeffrey Bates, a founder of the Slashdot Web site, have all pledged to help the CSPRI promote the use of open-source software in the public sector.

Behlendorf said that while he wants the public sector to adopt open-source technologies, he also wants to help the government to understand that it "can work with the open-source community to promote open standards, open systems and open government."

De Icaza said he was excited about the opportunity to help further promote the use of free software in the government and all its branches.

But Reiser was attracted by the the open-source community's ability to continue building on the infrastructure to support military grade security. "We have already rewritten the infrastructure supporting the old hierarchical semantics so that they can be upgraded without being discarded. Now, with the assistance of CSPRI, we will be able to start working on these exciting new semantics. We will take Linux into the new millennium by adding support for semi-structured data querying and modeling," he said.

Other companies working with Linux have recently moved to seek a federal stamp of approval for their applications running on Linux. IBM in February said it would work with the Linux community to enter the Common Criteria certification process for the Linux operating system early this year and will proceed to certify Linux at increasing security levels through next year.

Separately, Oracle Corp. also said in February that it would submit Red Hat Inc.'s Linux Advanced Server for a Common Criteria evaluation at Evaluation Assurance Level 2. Once that is completed, which is expected to happen this year, the next step is to evaluate the Oracle9i Release 2 database on top of the evaluated Linux. That is expected to take a few months.