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Los Angeles Computerhelp Newsletter
Computer Networking News |
Linux versus WindowsLinux vs Windows is a debate that has been ongoing now in serious IT circles for the last four years. Before that, the use of Linux — an alternative computer operating system — was geared to the IT professional or technically-minded person only. Which means that most of you have never heard of Linux, or if you have heard of it, have only a vague idea what it is or what it does. So I'll start off with that assumption and move on from there. What is an Operating System?First point: Your computer has to have instructions in order to do ANYTHING. When you first turn on your computer, it reads the list of instructions on how to boot up contained in a special chip (device) that uses very little power and learns that there is a hard drive, floppy drive, what the data and time are, what speed your CPU is, etc., and gets itself up and running. Only then can it start to read your hard drive and the instructions that are installed on it. (Note to techies — this next part is NOT for those in the know, but is written to impart a simpler, plain-English understanding.) The instructions on your hard drive that are read next are what is known as the Operating System. The operating system is the set of instructions that run on your computer before you can start any of the programs that you normally use — to get on the Internet, work on those legal documents, create those absurdly huge spreadsheets or put a mustache on the picture of your sister. Get the idea? Operating system first; only then can you run your programs. Other Operating SystemsNow, some 90% of the world's personal computers run the operating system known as Microsoft Windows. Other operating systems do exist and are known by names such as Apple, BSD, Linux, Unix and more. In other words, Windows is not the only, the best or the most capable operating system that a personal computer can run. It is simply the most used at the time of this writing. The reasons for using one computer operating system over the other have to generally with personal preferences and knowledge of computers. There are those who will argue any point as being THE REASON why their operating system is better, such as Ease Of Use, It's Pretty, It's Stable or You Will Be Saved Only If You Use Our Operating System. And zealots abound on both sides. Now, on to the subject of this article — and I'll try my best to not make this a Linux vs Windows article .... LinuxI've been using Linux as the operating system on my desktops for about the last four years, and on servers and firewalls for the last seven years. Why? "…personal preferences and knowledge of computers." I'll leave it at that for now. :-) In my trials of many different versions (actually known as "distributions") of Linux, there is usually one that I settle on for that period of time before it's time for an upgrade of either hardware or software, when I try another. Up until this point, my favorite has been Mepis Linux v3.3.1. It's very stable, very good at detecting most hardware, and very easy to use, but getting long in the tooth (at least until they get the new update sorted out). Kanotix LinuxIn the meantime, I've had to install a version of Linux on a few computers, including desktops, Mini-ITX (very small footprint) and laptops. The current Linux distribution that I have been using that has been able to install and run correctly on all of them, has been Kanotix Linux. Kanotix is based on the extremely popular Knoppix Linux which is famous for its hardware detection, a weakness in some other distributions of Linux. Kanotix has a complete complement of programs and utilities, including an office suite, scanning software, network configurations (it even saw the wireless card that others did not), and a full complement of multimedia software — more than the owners of those computers will probably ever use. Speaking of which, on a Sony laptop running a 600Mhz CPU with only 256MB RAM and a 15GB hard drive, I installed the client's version of Windows XP and Kanotix. (Yes you can do this, but ONLY if you install Windows first and don't use the whole hard drive — it doesn't play fair otherwise.) While in Kanotix, this laptop played movies better than Windows even thought of trying to do. The only problem I've seen so far is at one point the Kanotix website went down for about a half a day and I couldn't update at that point. To be fair, when it came back up it was improved and all was back to normal. And, as is the case with most distributions of Linux these days, if you want to try it, you do not even have to install it! Simply boot your computer with the CD and shortly you'll be up and running Linux. The Linux vs Windows debate will go on, be assured of that. But if you are the average computer user and want a good stable operating system, for browsing the Internet, writing email and documents, creating huge spreadsheets or drawing a mustache on the picture of your sister, I can definitely recommend you trying Kanotix. Cheers! Call (818) 352-8700 or email now to enhance your efficiency and productivity. Home : Computer Networking News  |