--- Leo Mauler [email protected] wrote:

I thought I might try to combine bullet points from these documents praising Linux, sans Microsoft bashing, and put most of them together into a nice trifold brochure.

I picked out five reasons to choose Linux and wrote short descriptions of each. Let me know what you think:

==================== 1. Linux is Free and Open

Most Linux distributions are free to obtain and free to modify. The source code for the Linux operating system and most Linux applications

is available for review and modification. With everyone looking at the

source code, bugs and security problems are found and fixed much faster than with proprietary, closed-source operating systems and applications.

2. Linux is Reliable and Secure

Linux is a very stable operating system. Uptimes of more than two years have been reported in Linux servers. This is because the system is designed to be upgraded and modified "on the fly" -- the only reason to turn off a Linux system is to add or remove hardware, or boot from a different kernel. Modern Linux software packaging systems allow the user to upgrade the entire system without a reboot.

Linux has been designed from the ground up with security in mind. For example, a Linux user uses a regular user account instead of the root (Administrator) account for everyday needs. A robust firewall is included in Linux distributions and is enabled by default.

3. Linux is Flexible and User-Friendly

Linux can be configured to suit different types of computers and needs (desktop, laptop, or server; accessibility needs) very easily and without modifying the source code. Modern GUI configuration utilities allow end users to configure their system without editing text files by hand.

4. Linux has Applications

Linux has a wide range of applications for most needs: Openoffice.org (office suite), Thunderbird and Evolution (E-mail), Firefox and Mozilla (web browsers), and Xine (video and audio playback). Users can also send instant messages, view flash animations, read Adobe Acrobat PDF files, and play a variety of games.

5. Linux works on Most Hardware

Linux works on older hardware, allowing users to keep PC hardware working long after they become obsolete for modern versions of proprietary operating systems. Linux also works on Macintosh and 64-bit hardware. ====================

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Aha! An opportunity to test the bullet points before ITEC! :)

--- crash3m [email protected] wrote:

Regarding point 2, this unfortunatly is not always the case. One point that cannot be ignored is that a system is only as secure as the administrator makes it.

True enough, but consider that Linux, for almost every single distribution, has the user create an account without administrator privileges for daily use. The executables are protected behind the Root account and aren't writable by the User account. The fact is that Linux is more secure, "out of the box", than many proprietary operating systems (and quite possibly all of the non-*nix proprietary operating systems). It can be *more* secure than its fresh install security, but it is pretty darn secure after a basic installation.

I didn't mention the near lack of viruses and the total lack of spyware, because I'm not sure how to talk about those things without accidentally bashing a certain North American proprietary operating system. Would these two sentences meet with everyone's approval?

"Linux has only 14 known viruses and a near complete lack of spyware. No Linux developer has seen any need to develop an anti-spyware utility for Linux."

When I first started messing with linux, I was using telnet instead of ssh for 'remote administration' (from a whopping 2 feet away.) I've never seen any package manager complain about telnetd being an insecure means of communication so a newbie may not be aware of ssh.

I would point out that a newbie may not be aware of "remote administration". ITEC is a perfect opportunity to educate people on the existence of ssh and SSH Tunneling for VNC.

Another issue I have with OS'es is the number of services that are enabled by default. While a firewall will restrict access, it makes more sense to me to have unneeded services turned off as well as firewalled by default.

That would be nice as well, but the main point is still that Linux is more secure than many of the other operating systems, some of which also leave services turned on by default.

Regarding point 3, I think this may need to be worded as "Linux can be Flexible and User-Friendly." Distro's such as Gentoo or Archlinux are not so 'newbie friendly.' Though if a new user were inclined to pour through Gentoo's documentation it is quite extensive.

I think it is splitting hairs to argue that Linux might not be user friendly because there are distributions which aren't user friendly. There are versions of proprietary operating systems which are developed for server use and aren't user friendly, yet no one claims that those proprietary operating systems "can be" user-friendly, they say that they *are* user-friendly.

Linux is flexible, and most distributions are (now) user friendly. If you go with one of the more well-known distributions, and the fee-for-CDs distributions know which side their bread is buttered on, you will not be disappointed as a user completely new to Linux.

Ubuntu is user-friendly and we are handing out CDs for Ubuntu (and possibly for Mandriva One, another user-friendly distribution). Chances are the first distribution they try out, is the Ubuntu CD they picked up along with this brochure.

Regarding point 4, So does every other operating system for the most part.

Yes, but one common myth about Linux is that it doesn't have applications. I thought I would nip that one in the bud.

One less than impressive thing about linux is its ability to play games. Microsoft dominates this arena. Yes I am aware of crossover, cedega etc... but it tends to be a pain compared to windows (next accept next next ok next accept, start game)

Game playing isn't usually the focus of the ITEC audience, so I thought emphasizing productivity applications would be a good way of pointing out that Linux is a valid choice for a desktop operating system.

As for playing games under Windows, <removes gloves>, one advantage that Cedega and Crossover have over Windows is that game compatibility will remain the same regardless of which version of Linux you happen to be using. Testing groups are already reporting that many popular games *will not run* in Vista, and Microsoft itself is dropping support for DirectX 7, 8, and 9 in the new DirectX 10. While DirectX 10 may be a grand new environment for gaming, Microsoft is effectively dropping support for many older games (and all Windows98 games) in Vista. Microsoft has announced that there will be a DirectX 7/8/9 *emulation* in Windows, a software layer guaranteed to run a lot slower than Cedega and certainly a lot slower than Windows XP runs games. Once a game runs in Cedega, it runs in Cedega, be it 2006 or 2010 or 2038.

Naturally, none of the preceding paragraph will be in the brochure.

On 10/12/06, Leo Mauler [email protected] wrote:

...

I picked out five reasons to choose Linux and wrote short descriptions of each. Let me know what you think:

====================

1. Linux is Free and Open

Most Linux distributions are free to obtain and free to modify. The source code for the Linux operating system and most Linux applications is available for review and modification. With everyone looking at the source code, bugs and security problems are found and fixed much faster than with proprietary, closed-source operating systems and applications.

2. Linux is Reliable and Secure

Linux is a very stable operating system. Uptimes of more than two years have been reported in Linux servers. This is because the system is designed to be upgraded and modified "on the fly" -- the only reason to turn off a Linux system is to add or remove hardware, or boot from a different kernel. Modern Linux software packaging systems allow the user to upgrade the entire system without a reboot.

Linux has been designed from the ground up with security in mind. For example, a Linux user uses a regular user account instead of the root (Administrator) account for everyday needs. A robust firewall is included in Linux distributions and is enabled by default.

3. Linux is Flexible and User-Friendly

Linux can be configured to suit different types of computers and needs (desktop, laptop, or server; accessibility needs) very easily and without modifying the source code. Modern GUI configuration utilities allow end users to configure their system without editing text files by hand.

4. Linux has Applications

Linux has a wide range of applications for most needs: Openoffice.org (office suite), Thunderbird and Evolution (E-mail), Firefox and Mozilla (web browsers), and Xine (video and audio playback). Users can also send instant messages, view flash animations, read Adobe Acrobat PDF files, and play a variety of games.

5. Linux works on Most Hardware

Linux works on older hardware, allowing users to keep PC hardware working long after they become obsolete for modern versions of proprietary operating systems. Linux also works on Macintosh and 64-bit hardware. ====================

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--- Leo Mauler [email protected] wrote:

I picked out five reasons to choose Linux and wrote short descriptions of each. Let me know what you think:

====================

1. Linux is Free and Open
2. Linux is Reliable and Secure
3. Linux is Flexible and User-Friendly

4. Linux has Applications

I didn't even realize it when I wrote it, but "Linux has Applications" has a double meaning which doesn't quite hit you until later: Linux has applications, meaning it has its uses. That is the kind of message we need to have, one which someone reads one meaning into it right away, "Linux has applications [to run in Linux]", and then they have a double-take later when they realize that Linux really does have its applications (home, business, school, industrial equipment, etc.).

5. Linux works on Most Hardware

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