From the New York times
October 8, 1998
Mac, Windows And Now, Linux
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This Operating System Is Free and Fast, And Is Moving Out of Its
Techie Niche
By KATIE HAFNER
Since it was first developed in 1991 by Linus Torvalds, a student
at the University of Helsinki, the operating system called Linux
has engendered strong -- some might say fanatical -- loyalty among
a growing community of users. To be a Linux devotee today is a bit
like being one of the early users of the Internet, when using it
required a solid technical grounding.
As it inches its way into the computing mainstream, Linux is
beginning to enjoy more widespread acceptance. Last month, Intel
and Netscape, along with venture capital firms, invested in Red Hat
Software, a company that sells a packaged version of Linux together
with applications. And rumors abound that Intel is planning
investments in other Linux companies as well. Other
well-established computer companies -- Oracle, Informix, Computer
Associates, Corel Computer and I.B.M. -- have announced plans to
make products available for Linux.
But the question remains: Is Linux for you? Not if you're a
beginner or technically faint of heart. If the words "device
driver" make you nervous, you should probably stick to Windows or
Macintosh.
But if you like to tinker, if the canned computer with bells and
whistles that everyone has seems too mundane and you want to be
impossibly hip in your choice of computing platforms, you might be
ready for a small adventure.
Linux (rhymes with "cynics") is a simpler clone of the Unix
operating system, which started out in the engineering and
scientific communities in the 1970's, then migrated to large
corporations. Until recently, Linux found its primary users among
Internet service providers, software developers, Web sites and
universities. But in the past year or so, Linux has been showing up
in some large corporations, and it's beginning to spread, ever so
slowly, to home computers, especially for running home-based Web
sites.
Part of Linux's appeal is emotional. "If you don't want Microsoft
running your life, then you should try Linux," said James Love,
director of the Consumer Project on Technology in Washington, a
nonprofit consumer advocacy group, founded by Ralph Nader, that
focuses on high-technology issues.
The dominance that Nader's group would like to combat began with
the first I.B.M. PC in 1981, a machine that used MS-DOS, the
Microsoft Disk Operating System. Now 97 percent of all PC's run
under some flavor of operating system created by Microsoft, said
Rob Enderle, an analyst with Giga Information Group in Santa Clara,
Calif.
Unix was developed by computer scientists at AT&T's Bell
Laboratories in 1969, the year Torvalds, now 28, was born. Linux,
of course, came much later, when Torvalds set out to develop a
simpler version of Unix that could run on a PC.
The sheer fun and challenge also attracted Torvalds. "He did it for
the hack value," said Eric Raymond, a programmer who is a
well-known Linux evangelist.
The grass-roots spread of Linux emerged through Internet-based
newsgroups and mailing lists around the world. Linux adherents say
their operating system is simply better than Windows. It is, they
point out, powerful, fast, stable and -- best of all -- free.
Although most new computers come bundled with Windows, upgrading to
Windows 98 from Windows 95 costs around $100.
Even better, all the information surrounding it is completely open,
even its source code, the technical blueprint for an operating
system. That means that anyone can tinker with it to customize or
improve the system and can disseminate their variations.
"One of the reasons people like Linux is a lot like why they find
the Internet so cool," Love said. "There's no owner, no Bill Gates
and no AT&T. It's owned by the community of people who use it."
And it is getting easier to use. "When it first came into
existence, the only person who knew how to use it was Linus," said
Larry Augustin, president of VA Research, a computer supplier in
Mountain View, Calif., that sells machines with Linux installed.
"He posted it, and there were five other people in the world who
could figure it out. And two months later, there were 25 people in
the world who could figure it out." Today, according to industry
estimates, some seven million people worldwide use Linux, and that
number is doubling every year.
The spread of Linux is often likened to the evolution of the
Internet. Throughout the 1970's and 80's, the Internet was
navigable only through arcane commands, all text, filled with
exclamation marks and abbreviations. Then came the World Wide Web
and its visual point-and-click browsers, its graphical user
interfaces. Much the same is happening with Linux. Graphical user
interfaces for Linux are springing up everywhere, with each new one
easier to use than the last.
One obstacle to any wider acceptance of Linux is the relative
scarcity of commercial applications like word processors, checkbook
programs and so on. By contrast, there are more than 100,000
applications available for Windows. And, perhaps not surprisingly,
Microsoft has no plans to develop applications for Linux, said Jon
DeVaan, vice president for Microsoft's desktop applications
division.
For years, the only software available for Linux was freeware,
programs and applications written by Linux enthusiasts and
distributed for little or no charge. The commercial sector has only
recently begun developing Linux software, and the number of
commercial programs is beginning to grow. "We're beginning to see
an explosion of innovation in the Linux platform," Love said.
Linux-based word-processing programs and spreadsheets, and even a
photo manipulation program, are available. Netscape makes a Linux
version of its Web browser. Corel plans to begin selling
Wordperfect 8.0 for Linux soon; it says the price will be somewhere
between $59 and $99.
"If you're doing word processing, writing letters, sending e-mail
or cruising the Internet, you can do it perfectly easily in a Linux
environment," said Geof Myers, a software engineer and Linux fan in
Woodstock, Ga. "Not only that, you can do it on a cheaper machine."
The reason for that, Myers said, is that the operating system
requires less powerful hardware than Windows 98. Linux can be
installed on older computers, including those with a 486 processor,
for example.
Myers recently installed Linux on a machine he bought for his
mother-in-law to use for e-mail and word processing. He built the
computer for $75. Myers said she used the computer without
difficulty.
The dearth of games for Linux is perhaps more of a problem. With a
handful of notable exceptions -- Doom, Quake, several versions of
Solitaire and a few others -- the number of commercial games for
Linux remains small. Raymond pointed out that Linux had hundreds of
free games of its own, ranging from arcade-style shoot-'em-ups to
complex multiplayer strategy games. "They're not as slick as the
commercial ones, but they're often more interesting," he said.
But Linux's speed is attracting teen-age gamers who play Doom on
the Net.
"Fourteen-year-olds playing multiplayer Doom are upgrading to Linux
to compete better," said Bob Young, president of Red Hat, in
Durham, N.C.
An increasing number of specialized computer suppliers offer
machines with Linux installed. VA Research's machines range in
price from $1,200 to $40,000. Augustin said that 10 percent of the
orders were from home users. The rest are corporate and academic
customers.
By and large, however, you have to go out of your way to buy a
computer running Linux. It would not be possible, for instance, to
walk into CompUSA, slap down a credit card and buy a Dell Computer
loaded with Linux.
To test computer manufacturers' willingness to sell a PC installed
with Linux, Love and Nader sent a letter in September to Dell,
asking if they might buy two computers configured with Linux. The
computer manufacturer replied that they would need to purchase a
minimum of 50 such machines.
Young believes that companies like Dell will soon begin offering
Linux as an option. "I'm reasonably comfortable assuring you that
you'll be able to get one within the next three months," Young
said.
For its part, Apple says it has no plans to sell computers
preconfigured with Linux. But you can walk into many computer and
consumer electronics stores now and walk out with a $49 CD-ROM for
installing Linux on a PC.
A lthough the operating system itself is free, the CD-ROM, sold by
Red Hat, also contains a collection of applications, Netscape's
browser for Linux, a graphical user interface and several games.
Red Hat throws in a 300-page printed manual and 90 days' of
technical support as well.
Caldera Systems, a software company in Orem, Utah, sells a Linux
CD-ROM similar to Red Hat's, also for $49. It is also possible to
download a panoply of Linux software, including the operating
system itself, directly off the Net.
Linux can be made to run on a PC in lieu of Windows. It can also be
installed so the computer runs in "dual boot" mode, which means
that when the computer starts up, the user is given the option of
running Windows or Linux. Macintosh users can also install Linux.
But installation can be a challenge, requiring some knowledge of
the workings of a computer. "I wouldn't recommend that my mom
install Linux," said Ben Drasin, a programmer in Cary, N.C., who
uses Linux. "While you're installing, it will ask you things like
what kind of video card you have, and what resolution your video
card is displaying. If that's troubling to you, then installing
Linux is not something you'll be very happy with."
Once the system is up and running, it is likely to suffer far fewer
crashes than Windows, its users say. Linux fans send reports to one
another of machines that run continuously for months, even years,
without crashing.
Stuart Hysom, a graduate student at Emory University in Atlanta who
is gradually converting to Linux, said he would recommend that
people use a dual boot machine until they felt comfortable enough
with Linux as their sole platform. "With pretty much any OS, the
more you use it, the more you get used to it, and the easier it
becomes," he said.
As Linux becomes easier to use, it continues to seed the user
community in important ways. College students, for example, are
taking to Linux in increasing numbers. "Linux is everywhere on
campuses these days," said Raymond. "You can't go anywhere with a
significant computer science department and not trip over a lot of
Linux users." When they graduate, those young users will take Linux
out into the world with them.
Last month, Linux fans at Emory University held a Linux
install-a-thon, with installations for anyone who wanted them. The
purpose, Hysom said, was to generate interest on the campus for
students who wanted to use Linux but didn't feel comfortable
installing it themselves.
All things considered, it's probably best for most home computer
users to wait a bit, perhaps nine months to a year, before taking
the Linux plunge.
By then, computers with Linux installed will be easier to find, the
system will be easier to install and use, and software to run on it
will be more plentiful.
"It's getting better faster than Windows is," Love said. "The
graphical user interfaces are getting better faster, and some of us
are thinking that a year from now, they will be way better."
Copyright 1998 The New York Times Company
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