2004 &FORMAL-SSL; Gavin Henry Henry Gavin &LEGALNOTICE;

Linux is a complete operating system that is similar, but not identical to UNIX. It runs on a wide variety of hardware, ranging from 386's/486's/Pentiums/Pentium II's/Pentium III's/IV's and Athlon's to more exotic hardware such as IBM super computers, PowerPCs, and Silicon Graphics workstations. Probably the most unique characterisitc of Linux is that it is freely distributable. Freely distributable means that the source code for the kernel and most software cannot be withheld. It does not mean that companies cannot charge for it. Originally the term Linux referred strictly to the kernel (the core of the operating system), but the phrase itself refers nowadays to a collection of configured software that runs on top of the Linux kernel. These "collections of software" are known as distributions. Although these distributions often have their own unique (together with some proprietary software) flavour, they are essentially the same. The bewildering choice and ever increasing number of Linux distributions can be confusing for those of you who are new to Linux. There are over 100 distributions, but there are 10 which are generally considered as most widely used by Linux users around the world. There are no figures to back this up and there are many other distributions that might suit your particular purpose better, but as a general rule, all of these are popular and have very active forums or mailing lists where you can ask questions if you get stuck. Lycoris, Xandros and Lindows are considered the best for new Linux users who want to get productive in Linux as soon as possible without having to master all its complexities. On the other end of the spectrum, Gentoo, Debian and Slackware are more advanced distributions that require plenty of learning before they can be used effectively. Mandrake, Fedora Core, Red Hat and SUSE can be classified as good middle-road type distributions. Knoppix is a special case - it is great for trying out Linux without getting your hands dirty as it runs directly from a CD, with no installation required. These distributions are listed in order of popularity on DistroWatch, which is NOT an indication of their market share or quality. The Linux Logo The easiest way to obtain a Linux distribution is to purchase a CD-ROM containing the software. Unless you have a very fast connection to the Internet a CD-ROM represents the most convenient method. The Linux Emporium offers the popular distributions for 2 pounds, which includes postage. One thing they can't offer is technical support. If you think you will need some help in installing Linux I would recommend you purchase a Linux distribution from Suretec Systems Ltd. We can offer various support options and enable you to pick the right distribution. If I had to recommend one distribution to a newcomer it would be Fedora Core. Why, you ask? This is an up-to-date distribution which has some excellent utilities for configuring Linux, it has arguably the best package manager (for easy installation and de-installation of software), and has wide support among the Linux community. Check out Fedoranews for up to date articles and information about Fedora Core. Also our director, Gavin Henry, contributes to the Fedora community by way of writing for Fedoranews.org/ghenry

Here are 10 reasons why Linux could be the best operating system for you: 1. Software availablilty: A Linux Distribution has thousands of pounds worth of software for no cost (or a couple of pounds if purchased on a set of CD's) 2. Stability: The crash of an application is much less likely to bring down the operating system under Linux, if any crashes happen at all. If the visual side of Linux freezes, then it is just a matter of restarting the visual server (X server) and does not require a reboot, unlike other systems. 3. Reliability: Linux servers are often up for hundreds of days compared with the regular reboots required with a Windows system. Software installation does not require a reboot either. 4. Configurablilty: Extremely powerful and configurable. There is no messy registry on Linux. Configuration is done in text files, so settings can be changed by hand in text editor or by using visual tools that come with that particular distribution. These are easily backed up and can be placed on any server or desktop machine, therefore giving a quick rebuild route in disaster recovery. 5. Software development: Comes with a complete development environment, including C, C++, Fortran compilers, toolkits such as Qt and scripting languages such as Perl, Awk and sed. A C compiler for Windows alone would set you back hundreds of pounds. 6. Networking: Excellent networking facilities: allowing you to share CPUs, share modems, create low cost clusters, mail servers, web servers and much more... 7. Commercial Software: A wide variety of commercial software is available if your needs aren't satisifed by the free software. 8. Longtivity: An operating system that is easily upgradeable. After any length of time a typical installation of Windows and software gets into a complete mess. Often the only way to clear out all the debris is to reformat the hard disk and start again. Linux, however, is much better for maintaining the system. 9. Processors: Supports multiple processors as standard. 10. Viruses: There are several reasons for the non-issue of the Linux virus Bliss is the only Linux-compatible virus seen in the wild. Staog is the first known Linux virus. . Most of those reasons a Linux user would already be familiar with, but there is one, all important, reason that a student of evolution or zoology would also appreciate. First, let's take a look at the way Linux has stacked the deck against the virus. For a Linux binary virus to infect executables, those executables must be writable by the user activating the virus. That is not likely to be the case. Chances are, the programs are owned by root (Administrator on Windows) and the user is running from a non-privileged account. Further, the less experienced the user, the lower the likelihood that he actually owns any executable programs. Therefore, the users who are the least savvy about such hazards are also the ones with the least fertile home directories for viruses. Even if the virus successfully infects a program owned by the user, its task of propagation is made much more difficult by the limited privileges of the user account. Linux networking programs are conservatively constructed, without the high-level macro facilities that have enabled the recent Windows viruses to propagate so rapidly. This is not an inherent feature of Linux; it is simply a reflection of the differences between the two user bases and the resulting differences between the products that are successful in those markets. The lessons learned from observing these problems will also serve as an innoculation for future Linux products as well. Linux applications and system software are almost all open source. Because so much of the Linux market is accustomed to the availability of source code, binary-only products are rare and have a harder time achieving a substantial market presence. This has two effects on the virus. First, open source code is a tough place for a virus to hide. Second, for the binary-only virus, a newly compiled installation cuts off a prime propagation vector. Of course this doesn't mean that there can never be a Linux virus epidemic. It does mean, however, that a successful Linux virus must be well-crafted and innovative to succeed in the inhospitable Linux ecosystem. Other reasons: Of course there are many other reasons to use Linux such as the full source code is provided and can be modified but 'regular' application users will unlikely need the source code. It is possible to set up your system to have more than one operating system on your computer. If you are contemplating using Linux this can be very handy; it lets you still keep Windows 98,ME,2000,XP,2003 (e.g. if work commitments require that you use certain software) and use Linux. This will require creating partitions on your Hard Disk. Documentation that accompanies most Linux distributions will explain how to create a 'multi-boot' system. Linux's history: Linux is an operating system that was initially created as a hobby by a young student, Linus Torvalds, at the University of Helsinki in Finland. Linus had an interest in Minix, a small UNIX system, and decided to develop a system that exceeded the Minix standards. He began his work in 1991 when he released version 0.02 and worked steadily until 1994 when version 1.0 of the Linux Kernel was released. The current full-featured version is 2.6 (released 17th December 2003) and development continues. Linux's Licenses: Linux is developed under the GNU General Public License and its source code is freely available to everyone. This however, doesn't mean that Linux and its assorted distributions are free -- companies and developers may charge money for it as long as the source code remains available. Linux may be used for a wide variety of purposes including networking, software development, and as an end-user platform. Linux is often considered an excellent, low-cost alternative to other more expensive operating systems. Linux has an official mascot, the Linux Penguin (see front page), which was selected by Linus Torvalds to represent the image he associates with the operating system he created. Due to the very nature of Linux's functionality and availability, it has become quite popular worldwide and a vast number of software programmers have taken Linux's source code and adapted it to meet their individual needs. At this time, there are dozens of ongoing projects for porting Linux to various hardware configurations and purposes. Although many variations of the word Linux exist, it is most often pronounced with a short "i" and with the first syllable stressed, as in LIH-nucks.

You may be wondering: Why would people spend hours of their own time to write software, carefully package it, and then give it all away? The answers are as varied as the people who contribute. Some people like to help others. Many write programs to learn more about computers. More and more people are looking for ways to avoid the inflated price of software. A growing crowd contribute as a thank you for all the great free software they've received from others. Many in academia create free software to help get the results of their research into wider use. Businesses help maintain free software so they can have a say in how it develops -- there's no quicker way to get a new feature than to implement it yourself! Of course, a lot of us just find it great fun. You might be asking: If the software is free, then why do I have to pay a vendor for a CD, or pay an ISP for downloading? When buying a CD, you are paying for someone's time, capital outlay to make the disks, and risk (in case they don't sell them all). In other words, you are paying for a physical medium used to deliver the software, not for the software itself. When I use the word "free", I am referring to software freedom, not that it's without cost. You can read more on what I mean by "free software" and what the Free Software Foundation says on that subject. Most software costs over a hundred pounds. How can they give it away? A better question is how do software companies get away with charging so much? Software is not like making a car. Once you've made one copy of your software, the production costs to make a million more are tiny (there's a good reason Microsoft has so many billions in the bank). Look at it another way: if you had an endless supply of sand in your garden, you might be willing to give sand away. It would be foolish, though, to pay for a lorry to take it to others. You would make them come and get it themselves (equivalent to downloading off the net) or they can pay someone else to deliver it to their door (equivalent to buying a CD). This is exactly how Linux operates and why most of the CDs are so cheap (only £2 for three CDs).

Linux will run on almost all personal computers, including most older models. Each new release of Linux generally supports a larger number of computer architectures. For a complete list of currently supported hardware, see these sites: Redhat's hardware compatibility site, Mandrake's hardware compatibility site, Linux on Laptops , another laptop site and a big list. There are many more sites. Just search on http://www.google.com/linux if you want to find something quickly. There are a few companies that make support difficult by not releasing specifications for their hardware. This means you might not be able to use their hardware with GNU/Linux. Some companies provide non-free drivers, but that is a problem because the company could later go out of business or stop support for the hardware you have. We recommend that you only purchase hardware from manufacturers that provide free drivers for their products (i.e. not open source).

Don't take my word for it - try Linux yourself. Since hard disk space has become less expensive, you can probably spare about 500MB (1.0GB approx if you want a graphical interface). Linux can be easily installed on this extra space and can coexist with your existing OS. If you eventually need more space, you can simply delete one of your OSes (and after you see the power of a Linux system, I am confident you won't delete Linux). As trying a new operating system will take some of your valuable time, it is understandable that you may have reservations. For this reason I have compiled a list of pros and cons of Linux. This should help you decide whether you think it's worth it. Pros: It's almost free to relatively inexpensive. Source code is included. Bugs are fixed quickly. Linux is more stable than other modern operating systems. Linux is truly multi-user and multi-tasking. Help is readily available. Linux comes with commercial-grade applications that make office work simple. Linux has internet connectivity built in. Linux runs on equipment that other operating systems consider too underpowered. Cons: My ______ program won't run on Linux. Isn't as popular as Windows. No one commercial company is responsible for Linux. This was taken from A Linux User Group's website as I thought it was a very good summary .

I'm glad you asked. Well we at Suretec Systems Ltd. can give you support and set Linux up for you. We are specialists in Linux with many years experience. Installing, troubleshooting, designing servers, firewalls and coming up with tailored solutions are what we like to do (for a small fee of course). Remember if you have an existing I.T. solution, we offer a Migration Strategy. Please visit our site for more information and contact details.

Organisations throughout the world are embracing Linux and open source as legitimate, inexpensive alternatives to proprietary vendors such as UNIX and Microsoft Windows. But what about your organisation? Will a Linux and open source strategy work for your organisation? How will you maximize the value of a Linux move and achieve the strong return on investment you keep hearing about? How will you transition your critical systems to Linux without jeopardizing your core business processes? If your organisation is struggling with these and similar questions, Suretec Systems Ltd. offers all the solutions you need. Our experienced staff will work with your team to clarify issues, uncover options and possibilities, and arrive at a shared understanding of critical success factors. We then help you create a clear roadmap for a successful move to Linux that includes the strategies and solutions required to help you meet your objectives.

Based in Aberdeen, Scotland, Suretec Systems Ltd. was conceived in 2003 as an Open Source Linux Company to supply consultancy and support services to meet the needs of businesses in obtaining the best possible IT solution. We specialise in assisting businesses and home users in harnessing the power, flexibility and reliability of the Linux Operating system, and also benefit from the cost effective nature of Open Source Software. Freedom to control the development of your IT systems is a luxury not offered by traditional proprietary solutions. Suretec Systems Limited can help your business dictate it's own upgrade and development path, thus vastly reducing the disruptive and costly nature of traditional volume licenses or contractual agreements. Customer satisfaction is our aim, therefore by providing a first class service we can achieve this. With open solutions, the customer always knows what is happening; from start to finish, we explain exactly what is going on and the reasoning behind our choices. This ensures that there is no confusion as to why open source software is the best possible route. Suretec Systems Ltd. Logo