Telstra has revealed the addition of almost one million new mobile services in the six months to December 2011, but Sensis revenues plummeted 24 percent in 12 months.
If you install Linux on your computer, then you have already saved yourself some money because you don’t have to pay for Microsoft Windows or any other OS. That’s because it is free of charge. And, because it’s free for you to use however you want, you can install it on as many computers as you need to. You will never be accused of software piracy when distributing or using Linux. You do not have to register it or activate it. You do not have to enter cryptic serial numbers or license keys. You do not have to keep track of the original CD case in the event you ever need to reinstall it.
Technically, “Linux” is the heart of the operating system. Yet, the term “Linux” is generally given a broader meaning; companies and individuals package together the operating system with a themed graphical user interface and a rich collection of useful programs and games. These bundles are known as distributions or distros, and these are the Ubuntus, the Red Hats, the CentOSes that you see mentioned. They’re all Linux, and they’re all fundamentally the same, but they come with more or less bundled options and generally a different theme for the user interface.
The collection of software is where Linux really kicks ass. You have word processors and spreadsheets and drawing tools. You have financial software and games and programming tools. However, the vast majority are free – once again, free as in no charge and free as in use them however you choose to do so. Once more there is no cost, there is no activation, there is no restriction on how many copies you install and how many you run at the one time.
Indeed, not only is Linux a financially good option but it can be an ethically superior option; try as you might, you’re not being a software pirate if you download, use and distribute software which explicitly says you can do with it whatever you want.
Additionally, Linux is a far more maintenance-free option. The risk of viruses on Linux systems is next to nothing and file fragmentation is greatly minimised. Linux systems are extremely stable; even if badly-written software crashes it will only rarely impact any other running program. It’s not unusual to see Linux systems which have hundreds of days of operation between reboots. By contrast, it’s a rare Windows systems administrator who doesn’t perform a regular routine reboot just for good measure.
It can’t be under-estimated just how large the collection of software available for Linux is. You will find a tool, even several, for any need you have. And, at the end of the day, its these needs – your needs – which ought to dictate what you do with your computer, not what the software or its lengthy legalese license permits you to do.
So, Linux is a good choice. And coming up I’ll give you a plan to switch to Linux without having to rush in.
David Bass
| For the fourth year in a row, IDC has placed content security provider Websense (NASDAQ: WBSN) at the top of the IDC Worldwide Web Security 2011 –…
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