           
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!
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Linux
News and Notes
"In Germany, we have achieved
our purpose," LinuxTag spokesperson Andreas Gebhard told NewsFactor.
"They (SCO) are no longer allowed to say they have the intellectual
property rights on the Linux kernel."
SCO Group, which has warned companies of possible legal action resulting
from their use of Linux, has itself become the target of legal action.
The
Lindon, Utah-based company has decided to take down its German Web site
after LinuxTag , a German Linux company, obtained an injunction against
it.
Lawyers from LinuxTag sent a letter to SCO on May 23rd saying that SCO
must "desist from unfair competitive practices." The group sent
the letter in
response to an SCO missive, sent to 1,500 companies, that warned of
potential consequences from using Linux.
LinuxTag demanded that the German SCO subsidiary retract its claims
regarding ownership of the Linux kernel code by May 30th or make its
evidence public. "SCO must not be allowed to damage its competitors
by
unsubstantiated claims, to intimidate their customers, and to inflict
lasting damage on the reputation of GNU/Linux as an open platform,"
said
LinuxTag's Michael Kleinhenz.
"SCO needs to stop claiming that the standard Linux kernel violates
its
copyrights, or they need to lay the evidence for their claim on the table,"
he added.
SCO Response
LinuxTag filed its request in German court. Under German law, fines can
be
levied against SCO if it does not provide substantiation for its claims
--
or retract those claims -- by the date specified.
In response, SCO initially removed copies of its letter from its Web site.
But when LinuxTag obtained a restraining order, SCO decided to take down
its entire German site as a precaution.
Claims Victory
LinuxTag spokesperson Andreas Gebhard told NewsFactor that his group has
received no response directly from SCO. He said he does not expect LinuxTag
to take any further action.
"In Germany, we have achieved our purpose," he said. "They
are no longer
allowed to say they have the intellectual property rights on the Linux
kernel."
SCO representatives were not immediately available for comment.
Continuing Case
The legal confrontation between LinuxTag and SCO is the latest development
in a dispute that began with SCO's US$1 billion lawsuit against IBM, which
alleges that Big Blue misappropriated code from Unix copyright holder
SCO.
IBM has denied the charges.
To support its case, SCO has said it will show the Unix source code it
has
found in Linux. It has announced plans to show the code to industry experts
who sign nondisclosure agreements. The code will not be available to the
public.
Novell Development
Complicating the case, Novell, one of the companies which owned rights
to
Unix prior to SCO, last week claimed that it still owns the intellectual
property rights to Unix.
According to Novell, the 1995 agreement governing SCO's purchase of Unix
from Novell does not grant SCO the associated copyrights.
SCO has disputed Novell's claims, stating that it did indeed purchase
full
intellectual-property rights to Unix, including patents and the right
to
enforce those patents. SCO has said that it is preparing to settle its
dispute with Novell in court.
Novell's claims are merely "an attempt to make itself relevant and
to look
like they're still a top-tier player," Yankee Group analyst Laura
DiDio told
NewsFactor. She said that SCO's claim of owning the full copyright to
Unix
has merit.
SCO vs. IBM
The decision by famed attorney David Boise to represent SCO in its lawsuit
against IBM lends credence to its case, according to DiDio. "He doesn't
have
to take this on for publicity's sake," she pointed out. "It's
safe to say he
wouldn't be touching this thing if he didn't think it had merit."
Furthermore, "the fact that Microsoft immediately signed up and licensed
[Unix] from SCO" also adds credibility, she said. Microsoft's licensing
agreement with SCO could also be seen as "a shot across IBM's bow,"
DiDio added.
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