How to Liberate Your Computer with Linux by Maurice George Contents
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How to Liberate your Computer with Linux by Maurice George This text is copyrighted by Maurice George. It can be freely copied and republished provided that my authorship is acknowledged. Contents 1. The Story of Accessible Computing 2 Why Choose Linux #1 3. Why Choose Linux #2 4. Why Choose Linux #3 5. Trying and Installing Linux 6. File systems in Linux 7. How to Organise your Linux Computer 8. What I use Linux for 9. You and Your Browser 10. Favourite Linux Programs – G.I.M.P. 11. Favourite Linux Programs – Inkscape 12. Favourite Linux Programs – Libre Office Writer 13. Computer code rules the world 14. Privacy and Security in Linux #1 15. Privacy and Security in Linux #2 16. The New Linux Phone 17. Sound and Music in Linux 18. How to Promote Linux 19. Windows and Linux : The Future The Story of Accessible Computing The story of modern computing can be told through the contributions of two very different men who each had a profound influence on the development of information technology. Bill Gates, an American, was the genius who acquired a basic computer operating system which became known as MSDOS. His company, Microsoft, aggressively began the revolution which has transformed the world we know. Starting with a system which only technologists could use, he gradually invented a system which became Windows; it first appeared in 1987 as a primitive O.S. which used a visual interface on the monitor, rather than a series of lines of code. After versions 1, 2, 3 etc, his great breakthrough came with Windows XP which finally made computing available to a wide range of users. Gates dominated the computer scene for decades and Windows has now reached version 10. In the process he became one of the *richest men in the world. Microsoft has kept the computer code of Windows totally **secret; it can't be examined or amended by the user. It's private property. You can't buy it; you can only rent it. Linus Torvalds is from Finland and is less well-known; he hasn't become vastly rich and has operated outside the capitalist system inhabited by Gates. He invented the code which is at the centre, the kernel, of the Linux operating system. (Its correct name is GnuLinux to give credit to another pioneer, Richard Stallman.) The distance between Microsoft and Linux is enormous. In the process of writing the O.S., Torvalds has strenuously kept Linux free. Another benefactor of accessible computing is, again, an unknown : Mark Shuttleworth. Having made his fortune in South Africa, he moved to the U.K. and set up a company called 'Canonical'. He funded the creation of a Linux distribution called 'Ubuntu' – an African word which means 'for all people'. This rapidly became the top free O.S. in the world and was of special importance in the Third World. You can obtain one of the many versions of Linux without paying a penny; and all programs are also free. But Linux is also free in the other way : all the code which makes up the operating system can be viewed and changed by anyone. It's free as in freedom. It's part of the tech world known as F.O.S.S. - Free and Open Source Software. It therefore has a greater claim to have benefited all of humanity than Microsoft or Apple. Of course Linux and the capitalist systems can easily co-exist. You can choose either or both. But if you choose a closed system, it will cost you lots of money and you'll have no right to adapt or examine the software. They are both equally usable and versatile. Everything you do in Windows or Apple, you can do just as well in Linux. No-one will blame you if you don't follow the F.O.S.S. path. You may have guessed by now that I'm no friend of Microsoft or Apple. But I honestly do try to be impartial ! So what comes next ? Perhaps we could look at the areas where each O.S. is most popular and most used. All three systems can be used for general computing. But Windows has a strong presence in business and finance; Apple has always been popular in the creative industries; and Linux is the O.S. which keeps the Internet running. One big difference, however, is that it's still not easy to buy a computer already loaded with Linux : a serious handicap which is only slowly waning. You can acquire a 'live' DVDROM to try and/or install by buying one of the magazines. Or you can download a version (or distro) of Linux from its website and then use a specialised program to load it onto a CD ROM, DVD ROM or USB memory stick from which you can install it on your machine. Not exactly user-friendly but at least you can run Windows and Linux side by side on the same computer. * Gates deserves credit for donating vast sums to charities. ** It's no coincidence that the spies of G.C.H.Q., N.S.A, and MI5 find it much easier to be allowed to hide their surveillance activities secretly within Windows. Why choose Linux ? Part 1 History In the twenty-first century, anyone who doesn't know how to use a computer will soon find it impossible to earn a living or communicate with friends and family. So the cost and availability of computers are crucially important. Linux and Windows are operating systems. A computer needs an O.S. to change if from a few kilos of metal and plastic into a useful and functional product. There are a number of operating systems but only two are available on the market : ®Microsoft Windows and ®Apple. These systems are incompatible. What works on one will not work on the other. When you bought that new computer, part of the cost went to ®Microsoft or ®Apple; this cost is hidden in the price of the computer.. Windows and iOS are owned by large corporations. Their technology is secret and protected by law. Their priorities are dictated by commercial necessity. Their computer code is created only by paid employees. There is only one authorised version of each O.S. No variations are allowed On the other hand, Linux is not owned by any individuals or corporations The operating system costs nothing and all programs are also free. Its computer code is written by community volunteers or paid developers employed by companies which generously support Free and Open Source Software (F.O.S.S.) All technical information is open and can be used freely. There are lots of different versions of Linux for a variety of requirements. In Linux you can create documents using the Microsoft format .DOC; your images use the same .JPG suffix and your music will be filed as .MP3. This makes it easy to switch from Windows to Linux. In Linux there are no viruses or malware. It's supported by a large international movement of enthusiasts. There are no secret 'back- doors' in the O.S. for spies to exploit. But few machines are available on the commercial market with Linux ready-installed. Windows works. Apple works. Linux works. So we're lucky to have the choice. Except that the vast majority of computers on the world market run only Microsoft Windows or Apple iOS. So we really have no choice. The mega-corporations use all their power to keep Linux out. You could say “Who cares which O.S. a machine uses ? They can all do the same jobs. But it could be that it's not simply a techno- logical or a commercial question : maybe it's a matter of politics. So why on earth should politics affect the choice of a computer ? You could say “Just leave politics out of this. All I want is a computer that works”. That's fine. So now please go on to Part 2. Why choose Linux ? Part 2 Politics The O.S. is the heart of any computer. It controls every aspect of the computer's behaviour. Linux, Apple iOS and Windows are all excellent operating systems so how can we choose the best one for our new (or old) computer ? I suggested last time that there are big issues in choosing an operating system, both commercial and political. This may surprise you but let me explore this issue. Microsoft Windows and Apple iOS are products of the American capitalist economic system. They fought their way to the top of a fierce 'live-or-die' money-oriented battle which labels low profits as 'failure' and punishes share-holders accordingly. They both originate from the early years of computing; Windows started as a primitive O.S. based on a highly technical predecessor called MSDOS. Microsoft's Bill Gates exploited the demand for a less technical system with a visual interface with the user. Then he shrewdly eliminated competitors. Steve Jobs, one of Apple's founders, used a visual interface from the beginning and developed brilliantly innovative machines. They both built monopolistic empires – Windows mainly in the business world and Apple in creative industries. Their operating systems cost a considerable sum and programs must also be bought. Apple and Microsoft have both generated enormous profits. They both keep the coding of their systems secret and fiercely protect their intellectual property. Computer code is the foundation of all operating systems and ultimately uses the binary mathematical model based on noughts (0) and ones (1). (But I'll cover the digital foundations in a future article.) These operating sytems enable us to use e-mail, improve our photos, play our music and survive in the new online world.