The Linux Revolution

It was not long ago when I was a devoted user of Microsoft Windows operating system. I used to wonder if there would be anything better than this in this whole World. Soon, my eyes opened up and I realized that there are even more wonderful things this world has to offer. There came in Linux. As usual, just like others, I had an impression that this thing is not for geeks but for those who are far superior than geeks. I always felt that it is something like green code lines running up and down screen, just as in the movie 'The Matrix'. It seemed a piece of crap meant only for mad people. Tougher than the C programing......... Scarier than The Evil Dead........ these were my thoughts for Linux. Was I right? Hell NO!!! This Windows specific illusion was broken......... My life became so peaceful, as if I had attained Nirvana...... The first Windows I used was Version 3.10. The next one which I used was Windows 98. Windows 95 was released before it, but I have never seen that, never used that. Then I got few chances to try Windows 2000 in my school lab. And at last I started using Windows XP, which I had installed in my first computer, a laptop computer. The best part of this journey is, until my Windows XP experience I had never known what an Original version of Windows looked like. I always felt that it must be a great feeling to have an original-legallicensed copy of Windows. I always used to wonder if I would be able to buy one in my entire life. And on many occasions I thought that the best gift one could ever give me would be an original copy of Windows. My first encounter with an original-smiling Windows PC

happened in the year 2007, at my Dad's office. Since then I have seen only 4 PCs containing a licensed Windows. The whole point behind this bugging you with the above two paragraphs is, 'Can we afford Windows? Is Windows a right choice for us?' The real world scenario is the same as I have depicted in the above lines. I don't know the exact figures, but it is an inevitable truth that around 70% of PCs running Windows are running pirated copies of it. There are problems of frequent crashes. The deadly of most, Viruses. I have seen people crying when their PC had been infected with these nasty creatures Er...... sorry... nasty programs. Hadn't there been anti-viruses like Norton, Kaspersky etc. their fate would have been........ God knows what. The biggest problem that bothers all is its unimaginable price. I, actually, was using a pirated version of Windows. And I have still one installed on my HDD. I hope Microsoft isn't going to sue me for that. Well, if it does, it would be like a sum of 40 million dollars that I'll have to pay. Sorry Uncle Sam! I was actually fed up with Windows. My hero had become my nightmare. I was searching for an alternative. Then one day a friend of mine suggested me to migrate to Linux. I conveyed him my views about it. Hearing that, he laughed a lot at me and gave me a copy of Ubuntu Linux. And this is how I became a Linux lover from a MS supporter. Now its time to count the coins. I am going to give the reasons why Ubuntu is better than Windows. I shall try to treat Linux as whole but at some instances I shall use my favorite Linux distro (flavor) to give examples. I use Ubuntu and I am counting on that. Please bear with me. And please do remember that I am no expert, I am an end-user, just like most of us. I am giving here my daily life experiences, no big talks. So, here we go: Linux makes you live Virus-Free Yes! It is true! Linux doesn't get affected by Viruses. It has got some smart authorization management. In Windows, you can do anything as per your wish (you can do this in Linux too), and this applies to the programs running on the system too. If you can mess around with the system folders, then the programs on your computer can do this too. This makes the

most of work easier for viruses, which are off course computer programs. Once this nasty thing enters your computer, it can possibly do anything without your authorization. It is same as you install a program after you login to Windows. You do not need to verify your identity for doing this. But it is not the same in Linux. Once you login you can do the usual work. But, if you want to do some stuff like........ um......... anything that brings change in the system, you need to supply the administrator password. This is the thing which makes it a lot safer, not only from Viruses but also from the living threats. A jealous colleague of yours can't plant something nasty without your permission. Isn't that cool? Linux was developed for networked environment. So, the utmost care was taken about these infection related issues. It is theoretically possible to have a virus for Linux. But so far, nothing practical has been noticed. So, live life virus-free, live Linux! Not only Virus-Free but also FREE!!! In my locality, every software is free. Whether it be Windows or Adobe suite or any Microsoft product or anything. You go to a local computer shop, ask them to install anything, they would probably do it for free. If the computer guy is a nice person, he might give you a disk of the software for free too. Well, I am not talking about my locality here. The term 'free' is in global context and 'free' means exactly what it is supposed to be meant. Many of you must have original Windows software. It would have certainly cost you around the cost of your one month's meals. Now don't tell me,'Buddy! Windows ain't that costly'. Man! Certainly, it isn't dirt cheap. Or, if you take food worth $10,000 a month, then I can't help it!!! Whatever it be, we have to pay for it, if we want to become a legal owner of an authorized-licensed copy of Windows. Why pay for it when you are getting something better for free. Well, some might not agree with the 'better' tag here. Just keep reading, I am going to pull windows pants down so that you can see whats under it. :D Linux allows you to see its anatomy, lets you operate it It would be of great significance for the developers and extra brilliant kids. You can see the source code running behind this wonderful thing. You can modify it, kill it,

kiss it.......... whatever you wish. You can even redistribute it. For students, it is a great source of learning and innovation. For researchers and developers it is a greatest boon for making our lives better with better computing. Does Windows allow you to do this? Can you create a Windows of your own flavor? No! You can't. Because Windows doesn't want to reveal the mystery. It doesn't want the people to know how it runs, sits, sleeps etc. Now, you decide why is it so with Windows. Why did its fathers make it like this? Install it, play with it I remember those days when I had to reinstall my Windows OS. It used to be very disgusting. Reinstall the OS, then do the same for office suite, then the drivers, then..... list is never ending. But to make your computer function properly and to have its full advantage, these were the least troubles to bear with Windows. Just check out Linux. I use Ubuntu and I get almost everything essential with the installation of the OS, just unlike Windows. I have never needed to install drivers separately (there may be exceptions). It comes with a office suite attached to it. Well, it comes with everything which you have to install on a Windows machine 'separately', when you install it for the first time. Isn't this an advantage? If you are not happy with it, go to synaptic package manager and choose the softwares which you wish to install. The beauty of the thing is that all the softwares are free, and you need not go hunting and paying for the softwares on various websites. Your computer is just as a baby, and Linux is a very good nanny Here I shall talk about Ubuntu Linux. It gets frequent updates ensuring your computer to be the most secure and most advanced. Ubuntu gets its new version every six months. The security updates, which it receives quite frequently ensures it to be the safest machine for you. Lesser number of bugs and frequent updates makes it a robust and unshakable platform for your computer. What else would one need to keep ones system super-cool?

Stability and toughness is in its blood If you don't believe Linux to be most stable OS, then look at the fact that most of the servers in the world run Linux operating system. These computers run 24x7. What makes its owners to choose Linux as its operating system? Think about it. So, what's its use in normal life, I mean, in Tom-Dick-Harry type person's life? Man! You can keep your computer powered on for hours. You will forget what the term 'stuck' means. Keep a normal Windows machine powered on for hours and see what happens. Let me guess....... um.... you shall have a drastic hair-fall!!! Bring a dead computer to life........ Yeah! Bring your Granddad's Linux can inject life is old computers. It can make those perform quite well, which you cannot ever imagine doing with Windows. Well, if you have dumped your old computer, it would be probably for the reason that the hardware has become out of date and 'Windows' isn't running properly on it. Trust me! Throw Windows out of the Window! If you are not able to run Windows on your old computer and can't afford to buy a new machine, then Linux is for you. Can Windows Vista run on 512 MB RAM? A plain answer 'NO. But here comes Ubuntu and its brothers for rescue. Now, its up to you if you love your old computer. I hope nobody would deny this. See the picture, even Bill Gates hasn't missed a chance to run his old computer on Linux. Bugs are lovely You find a bug, don't worry! No need to wait for the next release to have the bug fixed. Report the bug and find it gone when you update your system next time.

Need help? You have whole world to help you out! Windows is a proprietary software. And if you need support, you might have to buy that too. I don't know how much it costs, but it is certain that it costs something. It is not same for the Linux. Linux is community driven, so anybody who knows a solution for your problem will come forward to help you. Just ask for help, it will come flooding. People are nice because it is almost like give and take relationship, symbiosis. There are IRC channels, web forums and many other resources which would supply you unlimited and free support. This 'free' is freaking. :) No back doors in your software Linux's source code is open and Changing the source code of open source software is a much more open process. By definition, all the codes are public. Every time someone wants to change the source code, all other developers are able to see the change ("hey man, why did you add this code spying on the user's keyboard input, are you out of your mind?"). And even if the whole team of maintainers for a piece of software go crazy and start adding puppy-killing features all over their source code, someone outside the team can very well take the code, remove all the bad bits, create a whole new version of it, and let the world know what the difference is. It's open.

Freedom would freak you out By now you would have understood how Linux is free and Windows isn't. Linux comes under GPL (General Public License). It states that anyone is allowed to copy the software,

see the source code, modify it and redistribute it as long as the final outcome remains under the GPL. To add to this 'free' notion, the supporting company of Ubuntu Linux, Canonical has done a great job. It distributes professionally designed Ubuntu CD s for free. If you cannot download Ubuntu Linux because of slow Internet connection or other problems, you can always order a free CD. If you want to gift CD s to your friends or family members, you can always ask for more. For more info visit http://shipit.ubuntu.com Please do remember that these guys are doing a very noble work. Its not easy for anybody to distribute anything for free. So, take care of the amounts you order. Else think before you order,'Do you really need that?'

Multitasking is the need of hour Linux was built keeping multiuser and multitasking in mind. With years of development and testing, this feature has become robust and stable. So don't hesitate to juice your machine to its very last drop. It will never let you down.

Some cool things about Ubuntu 1. You hover mouse pointer over a music file and you would find it playing without opening a music player. It is very helpful when you are in a pile of music files and don't know where is the file you are looking for. It might also help you in choosing the music of your taste without double clicking each of the files. 2. There are directory level buttons similar to those found in Windows Vista. These help you a lot in navigation. It also saves you hitting backspace when you enter a directory. 3. In the right hand side panel of every navigation window you can see an eject button besides the removable media, if it is loaded. It saves you right-clicking the media and choosing unmount/eject volume. You can do it directly by clicking that eject button besides the media icon. 4. By default there are two desktops in Ubuntu. If you have opened too many Windows

in one, you can transfer few to the other. This will save your desktop from getting cluttered. 5. There is a small button in the left hand side corner of the desktop, which functions similarly to the show desktop option in Windows. It has been reduced to a small button for greater usability and off course for the ease of use.

6. It is very easy to search. Just type the thing you wish to search. Where to type??? Man! Just type! A search box automatically appears when you strike keys. 7. Almost all the essential softwares are preinstalled in Ubuntu. You have everything ranging from an office suite to graphics editor. 8. You can open deleted files directly from the Thrash (Ubuntu's 'Recycle Bin'), without restoring those, unlike Windows. 9. Softwares can be installed directly by synaptic package manager. There are thousands of softwares listed there. You need not search for softwares of your flavor on the Internet. Just select and install. Ubuntu would do the rest of work for you to rest in peace.

10.Boot Up and Shut Down time is very low as compared to Windows. My Windows OS used to take around 100 seconds to boot and around 60 seconds to shut down. Ubuntu takes 15 seconds to boot and 10 seconds to shut down. 11.If you are not satisfied with all this and would like to stick to Windows for your few favorite programs or games, then this is for you. There is a software called Wine. It is a Windows compatibility layer for Ubuntu. You install this and almost all of your Windows programs would run flawlessly on Ubuntu. Anything else, which makes you tell no to Ubuntu? 12.We have a very cool 'free' monthly magazine for Ubuntu Linux community by Ubuntu Linux community. It is 'Full Circle Magazine', popularly know as FCM. It is actually an e-magazine and you can read it to make yourself familiar with Ubuntu. This magazine is suitable for all, whether it be a novice or a pro. It is produced under creative commons license. The articles in it are really very useful. See it, to believe it. Grab the latest issue at http://fullcirclemagazine.org/

If you get this so much features in an OS, why would you stick to Windows. There might be only one answer: all my friends use Windows, so do I. And, if Linux would have been better, they would have migrated to it. Any other answer would either be crap or excuses. Well, this answer is crap too. And nobody can argue for this. One is 'free' to think the way he/she has to live or which OS he/she has to use for his/her computer. This

is also one of the freedoms provided by Linux. Live with pride...... Live with Linux. Always use authentic software We see many public service advertisements, 'Stop Software Piracy'. If you support this, then stop using pirated Windows. Let the companies create gold out of thin air. If you feel it shameful to use pirated software and can't afford a Windows license, then use Linux. This is the friend which would always welcome you with open arms. You shall have an authentic software and you will have no guilt. Come, join Linux family! Now, I am devoted to my favorite distro of Linux, Ubuntu. It has few shortcomings, but still, it is far-far better than Windows. I have told my friends about this and they have started learning to use it. Many of them still stick to Windows, but are very grateful to Ubuntu, for it is the thing which comes for their rescue when their Windows crashes. It is the thing which they run from their CD drives to browse web, when Windows betrays them. Day by day, they are getting transformed. And I am sure that one day they would realize the correct path and would follow Linux forever. I hope the same for you. Long Live Linux! Long Live The People who support it! Let there be peace in the world! Comments and criticism are highly welcome. Thank you for reading!

Ankur Mishra http://ankurwidguitar.blogspot.com