Transcript Loving The Penguin: LINUX O/S

Loving The Penguin: LINUX
Nancie Rideout
Tiffany Smith
Tara Stuckless
Jo-Anne Tilley
Overview
Introduction/History - Nancie
Distributions - Tiffany
Hardware Compatibility – Tiffany
Requirements – Tiffany
Stability & Kernel – Tara
X Windows System - Tara
Software Compatibility - Tara
User Friendliness - Nancie
Popularity - Nancie
Cost – Jo-Anne
Licensing Agreement – Jo-Anne
Advantages/Disadvantages – Jo-Anne
References
Demo
The Creator
Linux kernel written by Linus Torvalds in
1991
student at University of Helsinki
first version of Linux released to the Internet
in September 1991
second version released to the Internet in
October 1991
logo/mascot of Linux is Tux (the penguin)
Linus’ Original Post: 25.8.91
Hello everybody out there using minix - I'm doing
a (free) operating system (just a hobby, won't be
big and professional) for 386(486) clones. This
has been brewing since April, and is starting to
get ready. I'd like any feedback on things people
like/dislike in minix, as my OS resembles it
somewhat (same physical layout of the filesystem (due to practical reasons) among other
things).
Distributions
prepackaged Linux systems ready to install
 make Linux more user friendly
 differences among distributions may include:

Different versions of kernel
 Different core sets of applications, utilities, and
management tools
 Different installation packages


some include:

Redhat, Slackware, Mandrake, SuSE
General Hardware Compatibility

Motherboards:


CPU





recent motherboards should work
Intel 386, 486
Pentium I to IV, and Celeron
AMD 386, 486, K5, K6, K6-2, K6-3, and Athlon
Cyrix 386, 486, 5x86, 6x86, and MediaGX
Hard Drives

Supports IDE and a number of popular SCSI
General Hardware Compatibility

PnP (Plug and Play)
computer detects and configures a new piece
of hardware automatically
 Linux not originally a PnP system
 newer kernels allow for PnP


compared to Windows

compatible to less hardware because it has
fewer users then Windows
Requirements
Bare
Minimum
RAM
1 MB
HD
Space
1.2 or 1.44
floppy
Usable
Comfortable
Use
4 MB
16 MB or
more
20 MB
200 MB to 1
GB or more
Difference in Requirements
Processor
Memory
(MB of
RAM)
Hard Drive
Space
Redhat
9
Slackware
10.0
Mandrake
10.0
SuSE
9.1
Intel Pentium
486, Intel,
AMD, Cyrix
Intel, AMD
Intel, AMD
128 for
64 min
16 min
32 min
graphical
mode
Recommend: Recommend: Recommend:
Recommend:
128
128
128
256
475 MB min
850 MB min
for server
5 GB for all
500 MB min
500 MB min
400MB min
Recommend: Recommend: Recommend:
2 GB or more 1 GB or more 2 GB or more
Stability

well designed kernel

structure

security from viruses
The Kernel
the ♥ of the OS – it is Linux
 developed in open source environment


No corporate deadlines!
based on Unix – mature, powerful
 from the beginning:

– multitasking, multi-user
 natural environment for networking

controlled by Torvalds – (commonality)
Structure and Security
only the root user has universal
permissions
 a virus can only infect executables
that are writeable by the user
activating the virus
 if a user’s program is infected, hard
to propagate
 few users, so not targeted by virus
writers.

X Window System
• Provides Linux with a GUI
Window Manager -dresses the desktop;
highly customizable
↕
-provides display support; sets resolution,
X Server
refresh rate; displays/closes windows.
↕
Kernel
Compatibility with Windows
and
Windows Software
Samba
 Wine

Samba
Windows uses SMB protocol to manage the
exchange of date among file servers and
clients
 there are differences in the Linux and
Windows file systems
 Samba mimics the behaviour of a Windows
file server by implementing SMB
 thus, you can have a Linux server with
Windows clients on your network

Wine

initiative (in progress) to bring applications
developed for Windows to Linux users.
Application ↔ API ↔ OS

new APIs to allow interaction with Linux

http://www.winehq.com/
Lots of Free Stuff
Free Software Foundation http://directory.fsf.org/
 examples:

Emacs – text editor
 Xv – image editor
 Gimp (General Image Manipulation Program)
 Xfig – vector based drawing utility
 LaTeX – mathematical type-setting


some MS programs based on popular
Linux application
User Friendliness - Positives
some distributions, once installed, are
easy to use
 desktop can look much like Windows
 fairly easy to navigate
 large Linux community = lots of advice!

Desktop Screenshots
Desktop Screenshots
User Friendliness - Negatives
installation can be difficult
 difficult to configure/need to know your
components
 can be difficult (possibly expensive) to get
tech support – especially ‘formal’ tech
support
 can be buggy and unstable

Popularity
Popularity

Linux accounts for 2.8% of desktop O/S
and 25% of servers*

Source: International Data Corporation (IDC) 2002
usability of Linux for a set of specific
desktop-related tasks was “nearly equal to
Windows”


Source: Relevantive
Main reasons for popularity
cost
 stability (servers in particular)
 no BSOD (blue screen of death!)
 ‘lack of vendor lock-in’

Linux-Friendly Businesses
France’s Department of Defense
 National Security Agency (USA)
 American Express
 Amazon.com
 Schwab.com

(just to name a few!)
The Future – According to IDC
IDC 2004 predictions (June 18): Linux O/S
will account for 29% of units shipped into
the worldwide server market in 2008, up
from 12% in 2003
 Windows will account for 37% of 2008
server market

Microsoft’s Worried!
Popularity – Microsoft’s Worried!
(now defunct) LinuxMyths page on
Microsoft.com
 Get the Facts on Windows and Linux
 ‘Dump Linux’ program
 Microsoft honchos’ public comments

COST
GNU
the General Public License
GNU's not Unix
 is intended to guarantee your freedom to
share and change free software for all its
users.
 free software refers to freedom , not price
 you have the freedom to distribute copies
of free software

GNU Con’t
to protect your rights restrictions are put in
place to ensure you are not denied of your
right to free software.
2 steps:
1.Copyright the software
2. Offer you this license which
gives you legal permission to
copy, distribute and /modify
the software

Disadvantages
 technical
support is hard to
find
 hard to configure
 not as user friendly as XP
Advantages
It’s
FREE
secure
 it’s stable (Stays running)
 some distributions are very user friendly
 the graphical user interface is more
configurable. You can choose from a
number of desk top environments

References
IDC: Linux to take 29% of 2008 server shipments.
http://www.computerworld.com/softwaretpics/os/linux/story/0,10801,93900,00.html
Mandrake Store
www.mandrakesof.com
Evaluating Linux: Reality vs. Hype
http://www.techrepublic.com.com/5100-6261-1053944-3.html
Try Out Linux
http://www.tryoutlinux.com
Linux.org
www.linux.org
The TCO Question: Can Linux beat Microsoft?
http://www.searchenterpriselinux.techtarget.com/qna/0,289202,sid39_gci883142,00.html
‘Linux sales surge past competitors’.
http://news.com.com/2100-1001-236732.html?legacy=cnet

http://www.slackware.com/

http://www.mandrakelinux.com/en-ca/

http://www.suse.com/us/

http://www.tldp.org/HOWTO/Hardware-HOWTO/

http://www.tldp.org/HOWTO/Plug-and-Play-HOWTO-3.html#ss3.5
References
Screenshots
http://tryoutlinux.com/screenshots.html
GET LINUX – FREE!!!
Fedora
http://fedora.redhat.com/download/
 SUSE

http://www.suse.com/us/private/download/suse_linux/
Mandrake
http://www.mandrakelinux.com/en/ftp.php3
