Linux operating system downloads

As the operating system wars heat up, discussions often center on unix, windows NT and OS/2. Each has its proponents. But the bottom line is: Unix already offers what NT and OS/2 have been Promising for years, but have not yet delivered in a stable form. These features include multiuser capabilities, more scalable multitasking and memory, and better multiprocessor support.

When Bill Gates officially introduced NT, he said, "NT will be a better Unix than Unix." But to do this, NT must conform to the same international standards as Unix. And in the process, it would become just another proprietary version of Unix.

Unix runs admirably on machines that choke when presented with Windows NT or OS/2. True, Unix has not been popular on PCs. But until 386s came along, PCs were not powerful enough to support Unix. Several PC Unixes do fine on a 386 machine with 4Mb Of RAM and 120Mb of hard disk space. Graphical PC Unix requires 486 machines, 8Mb of RAM, and 340Mb of hard disk. Today, NT requires more horsepower than Unix, while doing less.

Certainly Unix has run into some acceptance problems, but these have been primarily due to unix vendors adding their own features and throwing a new name on the result. They then proceed to advertise their variant as something other than Unix, rather than promoting a unified front. They end up doing a disservice to customers, by increasing confusion, and to themselves, because they may lose sales based on that confusion. In truth, among the 100 or so variants of Unix, there are still only three major versions. These are so alike from a user perspective that moving from one to the other is rather trivial.

If you still question Unix's place in the industry, take a look in the help--wanted section of your local newspaper. Employers are requiring familiarity with Unix, AIX, HP-UX, OSF/1, SCO, Solaris, SunOS, DG/UX, Novell UnixWare, C, C++, TCP/IP, NFS and X Windows. In my local newspapers, such advertisements typically request familiarity with one or more of these things.

No matter what people say, the future is not DOS vs. Unix, or Windows vs. Unix. It is DOS + Windows+Unix, meaning that users want open systems so they can mix and match as they please.

Poor Man's Unix

But maybe you're afraid of commitment. If so, there's a way to try Unix without obligation. Linux, a Unix clone, is distributed free on the Internet. (Of course, you've got to consider the cost of transmission.) Linux is also available for under $100 on various vendor-supplied CD-ROMs.

Linux runs on any PC - 386 or greater - that MS-Windows runs on. It also has all the advanced features you'd expect from Unix, including development tools, X Windows and capabilities for an Internet connection. Linux can coexist with MS-Windows, DOS, OS/2 or NT on the same machine, or in the same network.

Linux is about four years old in name, which it got when Finnish student Linus Torvalds released his kernel in 1991. Torvalds wanted to develop a Unix system that could be distributed free, with all its source code. In concept, Linux is much older. Here's how the ball got rolling: Unix was originally delivered with source code to universities and those who could afford a license. The operating system is extremely modular - essentially you can take out one block and replace it with another. Over the years, various Unix vendors delivered buggy or feature-poor Unix components. Techies, caught between users who wanted results and vendors who would not or could not do the repairs in a timely fashion, would rewrite the component in question. They would then deliver it with source code to the Free Software Foundation. Through the foundation, it was reasoned, these components would be available to anyone who needed them.

After a while, virtually every part of Unix was reproduced bug-free and feature-enhanced -- the free and feature only thing missing was a kernel and administrative tools. When Torvalds released his kernel the 'Net, it was like throwing a match on dry leaves; the result was a new, open operating system - Linux. It is protected by the Free Software Foundation as part of its GNU project.

Today, Linux is the choice thousands of technical people who have tried it and prefer open systems and the democracy they represent. Many don't care to live in a Microsoft-dictated world.

In addition, there are more than a million Linux users from all walks of life and all areas of computing. Linux vendors have been distributing around 50,000 CDs a month for the last year. Also, users are downloading about 8 terabytes worth of Linux per month from various World Wide Web sites. Many times these downloads are used as Internet servers. In fact, research suggests that just under 50% of new Internet server implementations are Linux-based. This seems appropriate for a child of the Internet.

The operating system is even catching on with commercial vendors. Witness Ray Noorda's new Caldera, a desktop system built on top of Linux. Commercially Linux can be used as a personal Internet access workstation, World Wide Web server, Usenet News server, E-mail server, PC LAN server, commercial development platform, X Windows client or server, or Internet firewall.

What about support? Not to worry. A number of companies provide support services for Linux users.

Over the next five years, Linux will become to operating systems what the PC revolution was to hardware - the one common standard that everyone has access to. Recognizing this, major player Digital Equipment Corp. is already investing money in two porting projects to bring Linux to DEC Alpha. There are also projects underway by various vendors for PowerPC, Motorola, Spare, HP/Precision, Mips and other chip architectures.

Still, you say, isn't Linux just another Unix? Aren't there too many operating systems already? Of course there are - that's why we need one with the power to replace the others. The view from here says that's Linux.

Mark Bolzem is president of Work-Group Solutions Inc., a Linux vendor based in Aurora, Colo. He can be reached at mark@gcs.com

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