dacs.doc electric

The subject of the August general meeting was announced as “Red Hat Linux.” I think it should have been “Is Linux for Me?” Presenter Gene Callahan, owner of St. George Technologies, Ltd., began his talk with a brief history of Linux and its creator, Linus Torvalds.

Part of the free Unix had been done before, by academics, but Linus took his project one step further. He published to the public domain and made his announcement to the News Groups, thus initiating sometime in 1991 a mad open-source development project that ended as the Linux kernel 1.0.0.

Linus copyrighted the kernel and controlled the source code so that anyone could submit additions or improvements for review and addition. Control is now administered through www.kernel.org, which maintains current, beta, and archived versions.

Gene told us about the contribution of Eric Raymond, an evangelist for Open Source software development who provided sources of further information through news groups, of which there are dozens. This is quite possible since twelve million installations are currently known to exist.

Where do I get Linux?

Linux is open source and free, but since it is a 500+ MB distribution, downloading from the Internet is not practical. This is where commercial vendors like Red Hat, SuSe, Debian, Caldera, Walnut Creek, Solaris enter the picture.

What platform runs it?

Linux will run on just about any platform, including Intel platforms from the 80386, Motorola 68k, Power-PC, Sparc, and probably many more. What about Tech support? If you purchase your distribution, the vendor will usually provide support for a limited period of time, but then what? Why not try DACS own Advanced OS SIG! If you buy third-party Linux software, go to the vendor. RTFM works too.

Installing Linux

To help you install and configure your Linux distribution, Gene said that most of the vendors place great effort in giving you an easy-to-install script and acceptable configuration. That is how they add value to their products. You can then spend all sorts of time tweaking your installation.

Stability & reliability

How stable and reliable is Linux? Gene stated that Windows NT will stay up for twelve weeks at a time without problems compared to Linux at eight months. Further, the Windows NT file system may be accessed through Samba, a Linux application. Gene recommended Linux for business server applications. He also said that emulators are available for DOS and Windows.

Members wanted to know what applications are available for Linux? Gene cited integrated packages such as Star Office, Applix, Wine (Windows emulator), Word Perfect 8, and Gimp, which is a Photoshop lookalike. Other applications include Netscape Communicator, C++ compiler, a full TCP/IP suite, and many more. Comments

At the beginning of the program, Gene mentioned Linux “zealots.” I am one. I have been running Linux as a second OS since 1995 and as a primary OS since last January. I have found it challenging; solutions are possible, but sometimes it takes a while to figure them out.

The one point with which I disagree with Gene is that of who should be running Linux. I think everybody should at least give it a try. It helps a lot if you have a solid DOS or Unix shell background. If you like to play computer games, Linux is a natural: You are always solving a quest and going on to another level. Linux has dual boot configuration so that you can run your Windows or other OS on the same machine with only a small risk, but if you have an old 486 or better lying around collecting dust, you can go for broke.

Here are some sites that might help:
www.kernel.org
www.linux.org
www.linux.games.org
www.freshmeat.net
metalab.unc.edu
www.tuxedo.org
www.redhat.com

Gene in my opinion gave a very good talk. He was concise, workmanlike, and presented Linux clearly with minimal frills. I checked out his Web site (www.stgtech.com), which tracked very well. Do check it out—and do try Linux!