About Linux

     In the space below we at 3b.IT Technology attempt to dispel many of the common myths and misconceptions people have about Linux and open-source software. The myths or misconceptions are in bold and below them is an explanation that hopefully will provide some understanding.

What is Linux?

     Linux is a computer operating system much like Windows or Mac OS. Linux provides all the same functionality and usability you have come to expect from any modern computer operating system. It provides a graphical desktop with icons and windows in much the same format you are currently used to. Linux is an open-source operating system, which means the source code for Linux, the machine readable code that makes Linux work, is freely available to anyone who wants to download it. Linux also gives you quick and easy access to the thousands of open-source programs available for Linux so there is little need to have to shop for applications ever again. Linux is also a highly configurable operating system, which means everything from the way Linux looks and behaves to the core system itself can be modified by manipulating simple text files. Below are a couple of screenshots of different Linux desktops. One is a basic Ubuntu Linux desktop immediately after a fresh install and the other has undergone considerable modification.

Will Linux work on the same network with my Windows computers?

     Absolutely! In fact they work so well in a Windows environment that those people not using a Linux desktop will never know they are being used. Your Linux machines will be able to access resources shared out by Windows desktops and servers and be able to share their own resources with the Windows machines in your office. Your Linux machines will have no trouble accessing your Microsoft Exchange e-mail server or any other email server you may have in your office. The biggest benefit with Linux interoperability with your Windows network is that you won't have to do a single thing to any of your Windows computers or servers to get ready for your Linux systems. Linux is designed to behave exactly like a Windows system on your network so your Windows machines never realize it is Linux.

Default Ubuntu Linux Desktop

Linux desktop modified to look like Mac OS X

Myth: Linux is only for tech savvy users and is difficult to use.

     Linux is no more difficult or complicated to use that a Windows desktop and while there is a bit of a learning curve involved with SWITCHING to Linux the learning curve is no more difficult than that of any switch in operating systems or software. The Linux desktop has been designed to function similarly to your current desktop system. All the intuitive features you expect in a desktop operating system are fully implemented in Linux. The ability to drag and drop items on your desktop and between applications works exactly as you would expect, as do all of the other windowing features like window resizing, moving, minimizing, and maximizing. If eye-popping visual effects are your thing Linux has plenty of those. With the installation of Beryl you have all the visual features of Windows Vista, plus a whole lot more. Below is a screen shot of a Linux desktop with Beryl installed and "desktop on a cube" turned on. This puts your desktop on a three dimensional cube which you can rotate in space for a very nice effect. Canonical’s work on Ubuntu, with the idea of creating a free operating system to be used by people in third world countries, is a testament to the fact that Linux is ready for everyone. Since Linux is a free operating system operating system there is no risk involved with it giving it a try. If you decide Linux is not for you, the switch to Windows can be made at any time.

Linux desktop with Beryl installed and "desktop on cube" turned on

Myth: Open source software is by its very nature more secure.

     Open source software, and Linux in particular, does not have any inherent security that other software is not capable of obtaining. It is, however, generally more secure than competing operating systems for a couple of reasons. The main reason is each Linux distribution has many hundreds or thousands of dedicated and knowledgeable programmers and testers looking over the source code all the time. The open nature of the operating system allows the bugs and security flaws that are there to be detected and corrected much more quickly than a closed source operating system. A secondary reason Linux is "more" secure is because of the relatively small market share Linux systems have as compared to other operating systems. Virus writers and people looking to break into computer systems often target operating systems with the largest user base so their "work" will have a larger effect or be useful to them on more machines.

Myth: Open source software is free software.

     This is generally true, however, it is not always the case. The term open source only refers to the open nature of the source code of the program, and means that the source code can be freely copied, redistributed, used for other purposes and modified by anyone who wishes. It says nothing of the cost involved with licensing the actual program. While the vast majority of open source software is also free software that fact should never be taken for granted, as a handful of open source programs must be purchased or licensed to be used legally. All Linux distributions offered by 3b.IT Technology as well as the other software pre-loaded on our Linux desktops are open-source and free.

Linux Distributions

     There are far too many Linux distributions available to mention them all here, however we will list a few of the most popular and give you a little information about each one. This information will hopefully help you in your decision when choosing which distribution you would like pre-installed on your 3b.IT Technology Linux desktop.

What is a distribution?

     Think of a Linux distribution as the team of dedicated professionals who are creating the operating system you will be using instead of a tangible item. A Linux distribution is more or less a wrapper or container for what is essentially the core of the Linux operating system; the Linux kernel. There is really no idea similar to a distribution in any other industry, but it may be easier to understand if you think of a Linux distribution as a "flavor" of Linux. With many different teams of programmers each working on their own "flavor" of Linux there are many options. Each distribution is more or less the same in functionality and all distributions share the same kernel and use many of the same programs from the open-source community. For this reason your decision should be based on which distribution's ideals have the most appeal to you. Keep in mind as you read the information below your choice of distributions will not limit you to one set of open-source software, as all open-source software created for Linux will work with all Linux distributions.

Red Hat Enterprise Linux and Fedora Core

     Quite possibly the most popular Linux distribution Red Hat Enterprise Linux and Fedora Core are off shoots of a single Linux distribution: Red Hat Linux. Red Hat Inc. broke its popular distribution into two separate distributions in order to serve two very different markets. Red Hat Enterprise Linux targeted at large corporations and any one else who needs phone support by a team of paid support professionals. Fedora Core Linux is the community arm of Red Hat Inc. and is used as a proving ground for new technology that will eventually make its way into the pay for Red Hat Enterprise Linux. Fedora Core Linux is the free distribution. Red Hat's popularity can be mostly attributed to it being one of the first Linux distributions with a simple install wizard. This was during a time when the other distributions required a mostly manual installation from downloaded source files.

Fedora Core Linux Screenshot

Debian GNU/Linux

     Arguably the most stable Linux distribution available and widely used on high demand servers across the world, Debian Linux is the distribution of choice for many of the worlds web, DNS, mail and file servers. Debian Linux is controlled and maintained by the Debian project, which has the largest base of volunteer developers of any Linux distribution. Due to the projects fanatical obsession with stability and quality, Debian Linux is sometimes seen as being a dated distribution. This is because the time between major version releases is sometimes as long as two years, however what Debian may lack in cutting edge technology it more than makes up for in stability and reliability. The end user does, however, have the freedom to install the newer software packages and features to bring the Debian install up to a more current state. Doing this could potentially cause stability issues that would not be present in a base Debian That is why it is preferred for most production server around the world. Install.

Debian Linux Screenshot

Ubuntu Linux

     Ubuntu Linux supported by Canonical Ltd. is a distribution with a mission. That mission is getting 3rd world countries equipped with new technology to allow them to keep pace with the rest of the connected world. Ubuntu is an African word meaning “humanity to others”. Canonical Ltd. is able to create major version releases Of Ubuntu Linux every six months by taking "snapshots" of the Debian Linux source code and putting on the finishing touches required for release. This frees the Ubuntu team from having to create their own distribution from scratch and allows them to put more effort into making Ubuntu a very simple Linux distribution to use. It is for this reason that Ubuntu Linux is possibly the best Linux distribution for people new to computers or people new to Linux. Ubuntu Linux is the distribution we normally suggest for your 3b.IT Technology Linux desktop.

Ubuntu Linux Screenshot

Suse Linux

     Suse Linux which is owned by Novell is another popular Linux distribution. Primarily with corporations that have an existing large Novell infrastructure. Suse is supported by several large computer corporations, with backers like AMD and Microsoft, Suse is seen by many as the distribution that will change the way many corporations view open-source software. The involvement of Microsoft with Suse Linux is also seen by many in the open-source community as a very bad thing. Many open-source enthusiasts and developers believe that Microsoft’s interests in Suse Linux are not benevolent, but instead are aimed at copy writing many of the technologies developed by the open-source community. For this reason Suse is often seen a Linux to be shunned by the community.

Suse Linux Screenshot

Slackware Linux

     Slackware Linux is the oldest Linux distribution still in active development. With the initial release on July 16, 1993 Slackware Linux has been existence for over 14 years. Slackware Linux is and has always been aimed at the tech savvy crowd. With installers that allow the disabling of any and all unnecessary processes or no installers at all requiring a fully manual install. Slackware Linux can be tuned to make the absolute most of any given computer system. For this reason Slackware Linux, or rather distributions based on Slackware are often used on embedded systems such as security systems, phones, networking hardware and many other devices which require embedded operating systems.

Slackware Linux Screenshot with some modifications

Software and Linux

     When considering making a switch to Linux many people are concerned about not being able to use their existing applications in the new operating system. The section below will try to clarify some of the confusion and give you an idea of what programs are going to work on your Linux system and which programs may not. While the information below is as accurate as possible please understand that your experience with particular programs may vary depending on what other applications and processes you have running. The information below does not provide a guarantee that any application listed below as functional in Linux will function in every situation, but rest assured that we at 3b.IT Technology will do everything in our power to make sure your programs will work at the highest functionality level possible.

Will my windows programs work on Linux?

     It may surprise a lot of people to know that the vast majority of Windows programs will work quite nicely on a Linux desktop. Using a Windows wrapper program called Wine most of your windows applications will install and run in Linux environment with little or no difficulty and they will run at the same speed or even faster than they do on a Windows machine. There is, however, little if any need for most of your current Windows applications on your Linux desktop because there is an open-source alternative for nearly every program you use on your Windows based computer. Below we will list a few of the more popular open-source programs developed to replace the expensive commercial version available.

OpenOffice an alternative to Microsoft Office:

     By far the most popular application on any Windows, and some Mac, machine is Microsoft Office. The popular suite of programs provides Word, Excel, Power Point, Access, and a few other lesser known applications depending on the version. In order to provide an open-source alternative to Microsoft's Office; Sun Microsystems released OpenOffice. With both community supported free versions (OpenOffice) and pay for versions (StarOffice) Sun Microsystems has positioned OpenOffice to become the leading international office suite for all major computer platforms. The OpenOffice suite provides all the same programs provided by the Popular Office suite released by Microsoft and each OpenOffice programs works and looks very similar to its Microsoft counter part. With the ability to not only open native Microsoft Office files, but also to create native Microsoft Office files from OpenOffice, you could use OpenOffice at work and no one would even know the difference. Below is a screen shot of OpenOffice Writer (the Word alternative) in action. Notice the similarities between it and Microsoft's Word.

OpenOffice Writer - A Microsoft Office alternative

Evolution email an alternative to Microsoft Outlook:

     The second most popular application on computers today is the email client and the most popular email client in use today is Microsoft's Outlook. The Evolution email client provides a very Outlook like experience aimed at the average computer user, but where Microsoft requires paid licensing of Outlook; Evolution is completely free. Evolution provides a calendar, contact list, task list and email viewing in much the same format as Microsoft's Outlook. Evolution allows you to connect to multiple email accounts and will even allow you to connect to your Microsoft Exchange email server at the office. Check out the screenshot below to see Evolution running in a Linux environment.

Evolution email client in mail view

Mozilla Firefox - An Internet Explorer alternative:

     In today's world the Internet is an absolute necessity for businesses and is hard to live without for home users and no computer today would be complete without a web browser. On all Microsoft Windows machines the pre-installed web browser provided is Internet Explorer, on a Linux machine that is not the case. While Internet Explorer can be installed on a Linux machine. On most Linux distributions today Mozilla Firefox is installed during setup providing a high quality, highly compatible web browser right out of the box. Firefox is not just for Linux systems. The Mozilla team has released Windows versions as well and many Windows users prefer Mozilla's Firefox web browser over Internet Explorer. The reason for this is that Firefox provides a more secure web browsing experience than that of Internet Explorer. By not allowing web pages direct access to core operating system components like Internet Explorer does Mozilla Firefox makes it more difficult for Spyware and Viruses to embed themselves onto your system.

Mozilla Firefox Web Browser

Pidgin - An all-in-one Instant Messaging Client

     What would the Internet be without instant messaging? Used by many businesses to allow inter-office communication and communication between employees at remote offices instant messaging is a viable money saving technology. With the proliferation of multiple instant messaging providers each requiring their own instant messaging client application a bit of a problem has arisen. Pidgin (formerly Gaim) Instant Messaging client solves that problem, by allowing communication with all popular instant messaging services and doing so from one simple to use interface. It also does not come packaged with additional programs, ad-ware, or spyware to slow your system performance.

Pidgin Instant Messaging Client

GtkPod - IPod Management Software

     By far the most popular portable music player on the market today is the IPod and the open-source community understands this. There are several options for IPod management on a Linux system, but one of the best is GtkPod. GtkPod allows you to add and remove music and manage your play lists, photos, podcasts and data files. Not only that but you will not be required to “associate” your IPod with your Linux desktop which will allow you to use more than one computer to manage and add music to your IPod. One down side is that Itunes does not currently work on a Linux system. Which means that you will not be able to purchase music from the Apple music store, but the IPod itself will function as it should.

GtkPod IPod Management Software

Linux Distributions and Cost

     One of the major factors in any decision is cost. Cost is not only calculated by the price you pay to obtain a product, but also by the productivity gained or lost by using something new. There is also the added value provided by a product that is also factored into the calculation. Below you will find information on the actual cost of Linux as well as some other benefits not already mentioned that can be of enormous benefit to you personally or your business, as well as how the various distribution make the money they use to continue development of their operating system.

How much does Linux cost?

     By and large Linux is a free operating system, however, those looking to use Linux as a business operating system who would also like to have support provided by a team of trained professionals several distributions provide a pay for option. Keep in mind that the prices below are only for the paid support options and that a FREE ALTERNATIVE EXISTS for each of the distributions below. Red Hat Enterprise Linux for the desktop can currently be purchased for as low as $80.00 which includes 1 year of support while the server version is $349.00 for the same support option. Novell's Suse Linux desktop operating system is $50.00 for 1 year of support and their server product is $349.00 for 1 year. Canonical provides support for it's Ubuntu distribution for the cost of $250.00 per year for desktop support and $750.00 per year for server support. Other distributions do not offer paid support, but rather provide support for free only through their forums and mailing lists.

How do the distributions make money?

     While the majority of Linux distributions do provide their operating system at no cost to the end user there are several models in use by the distributions themselves to bring in enough money to keep the project going. A popular option used by several of the larger distributions is releasing two concurrent versions of essentially the same operating system. One of those versions being a no cost community version with support provided only in support forums on their web page and the other being a purchased version with support provided by the distribution via all the regular support channels that any other pay for software would provide. These pay for versions of Linux are typically only purchased by businesses who see the value in the Linux operating system, but still want to have immediate access to technical support when problems arise. The community versions are typically used as a testing ground for newer technologies that are being refined and tested before they are put into the pay for version. This is not to say the community version is less stable than the pay for version, it is not, but rather the newer features that are either not appropriate for business systems or have not been fully developed. Because of the nature of open-source software the currently available community version of any given distribution is released in an effort to provide a more thorough test of the software and allow users a chance to request new features. Other models in use include selling copies of the distribution on CD for little cost to allow people with slow Internet connections or none at all to be able to access their distribution, or the selling of books about the installation and use of their particular distribution. Most distributions also have pages on their websites where donations can be made.

What added value does Linux provide?

     The single most important aspect of Linux when talking about added value is the fact that it is an open-source operating system and as a result the overwhelming majority of open-source software is written for Linux. This gives the average Linux user access to the thousands of free open-source applications that are written to take the place of all the expensive applications you are currently using on your other operating system. There is also no need to insert stacks of different CDs in order to install each application, because Linux provides a simple to use program which searches for available free open-source applications and then installs and configures them on your system with a simple click of the mouse. Upgrade headaches are also a thing of the past with Linux. When upgrading from one version of a program to another the configurations made to the old version are preserved when going to the new version and in the rare occasion that the old settings will no longer work the install program notifies you of this fact and saves a copy of the old configuration file for you to reference when configuring the new version. This saves you time and trouble. Linux is also a much more stable and secure operating system than others on the market today. Because of its open-source nature security holes and software bugs are not only detected faster, but they are also corrected faster allowing you to worry less about problems.

Making the switch.

     Quite possibly the most worrying aspect of any major change is the learning curve involved in making the switch. While Linux is a different operating system with some substantial differences there is actually a relatively small learning curve for the end user. The interaction with the desktop is extremely similar to that of Microsoft's Windows operating system and all the intuitive feature you have come to expect in an operating system are fully implemented in Linux. Things like dragging and dropping items on the desktop and between applications, context sensitive menus, the ability to move and re-size windows, and all the other expected features are not only present, but are often implemented in a more intuitive or more complete way. This allows the end user to be able to easily transition from their old operating system to Linux with little frustration. Add to that the similarity between open-source applications and their pay for counterparts; like the similarities between Open Office and Microsoft Office and most users will make the transition with little or no down time all.

What programs won't work?

     While the developers of the various Linux Distributions are working hard to make sure that all applications have a viable open-source counter part and the developers of Wine and making sure that all applications for Windows will work on Linux there are a few programs that are not yet up to par. In the interest of completeness and to make sure that you are absolutely satisfied with your 3b.IT Technology Linux desktop we will try to list as completely as possible the major applications that do not yet properly function in a Linux environment.

Quickbooks - As of right now Quickbooks does not run on Linux even when running under Wine. While Peachtree does work with a few minor problems Quickbooks is the most popular accounting application and may be the biggest roadblock to running Linux on your accounting computers. There are however open-source alternatives to Quickbooks, but sadly they are not competitive with Quickbooks.

ITunes - While the IPod works fine on a Linux system with the ability to manage your songs, play lists, podcasts, images, and videos with no problems, ITunes does not work. There is some talk about a possible Linux version of ITunes released by Apple in the future and with the popularity of the IPod the Wine developers will likely get the bugs worked out soon, but as of right now ITunes will not work. This only effects your ability to purchase music from the ITunes music store.

Photoshop CS3 only - While Photoshop CS2 and all previous versions work with no problems what so ever, CS3 does not as of now work properly on Linux. The fact that all previous versions work flawlessly should be taken as an indication that CS3 will be working soon. Keep in mind that there is also an open-source photo editing program called Gimp that is preferred over Photoshop by many people. If Photoshop is required you can always keep running CS2 problem free until the bugs get worked out.

Microsoft Office 2007 - This should not really be seen as a roadblock to implementation of Linux desktops as OpenOffice is freely available for your Linux desktops and has the ability to not only open Office documents but also to save newly created files in Office formats and provides the exact same functionally as Office.

For a complete list of applications that do not function under wine and to check and see if applications you depend on will not function you can browse through the application database on the Wine website. From there you can not only see what applications will not function, but also what parts of each application do not function properly. Also if you have any questions about the applications you run and switching to Linux please give us a call at 918.770.8683

Other Open-Source Software

     Still not convinced that open-source free software is up to the task of running your business? Below are a few examples of open-source free software in use today by many large and small corporations that are using these applications for mission critical operations. These applications are in wide use today and some of them you yourself may be using without even realizing it. These are examples of how wide spread the use of open-source software has become and an indication of the stability and readiness of open-source for business use.

Examples of Popular Open-Source Software

     Below you will find some examples of popular open-source software not mentioned in the previous pages as well open-source software that you likely use on a daily basis without even realizing it.

Apache Web Server

     Web server software is what makes the Internet work, a web server can be thought of as an application rather than a physical piece of hardware. A web server takes requests from web browsers like Mozilla's Firefox and Microsoft's Internet Explorer and sends the files that the browser uses to render the web page on your screen. Apache Web Server is one of those applications and it powers many of today's most popular web sites. If you have used the Internet then it is guaranteed that you have used an Apache web server due to the fact that Apache web server has maintained its dominance of the web server market since 1996 and currently holds 47.73% of the market share in web server software. Microsoft having the next biggest slice of the market is over 10% behind and falling. (source: Netcraft LTD: November 2007)

Java

     Besides being a great morning beverage, Java is also an extremely popular web technology. Java can be thought of as a programming language designed to be a cross-platform all purpose language developed by Sun Microsystems. While Java is primarily seen as an Internet technology used for web pages and web applications Java is powerful enough to be used as a stand alone programming language for desktop applications. You are probably most familiar with Java through the use of web based games where Java is used widely to create a wide range of games that work on your computer regardless of your operating system or web browser.

MySQL

     Any web site where there are products to order, or places to login to user accounts, or even simply large amounts of data which can be searched through require the use of some sort of database technology. MySQL is an open-source database application which is used to power the back end of many popular websites. Used largely in conjunction with Apache web server MySQL is the most popular open-source database software in use today.

Gimp - An Adobe Photoshop alternative:

     Used widely in the website design as well as graphic design field; Adobe Photoshop allows manipulation of image and graphic files. Gimp an acronym for GNU Image Manipulation Program provides exactly the same functionality, but for free. Gimp allows the creation and manipulation of many different image formats and is fairly simple to use. Allowing the creation of layered images and providing the adjustment of opacity as well as color balance and adjustment of color channels, Gimp is an extremely powerful image manipulation program.Below is a screen shot of Gimp.

Gimp (GNU Image Manipulation Program