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<!--Table of Child-Links-->
<A NAME="CHILD_LINKS"><STRONG>Subsections</STRONG></A>

<UL>
<LI><A NAME="tex2html3036"
  HREF="#SECTION005110000000000000000">D.1 L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> Overview</A>
<UL>
<LI><A NAME="tex2html3037"
  HREF="#SECTION005111000000000000000">What is L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL>?</A>
<LI><A NAME="tex2html3038"
  HREF="#SECTION005112000000000000000">What are U<SMALL>NIX</SMALL> systems used for? What can L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> do?</A>
<LI><A NAME="tex2html3039"
  HREF="#SECTION005113000000000000000">What other platforms does L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> run on including the PC?</A>
<LI><A NAME="tex2html3040"
  HREF="#SECTION005114000000000000000">What is meant by GNU/L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> as opposed to L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL>?</A>
<LI><A NAME="tex2html3041"
  HREF="#SECTION005115000000000000000">What web pages should I look at?</A>
<LI><A NAME="tex2html3042"
  HREF="#SECTION005116000000000000000">What are Debian, RedHat, Caldera, SuSE? Explain the different L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> distributions.</A>
<LI><A NAME="tex2html3043"
  HREF="#SECTION005117000000000000000">Who developed L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL>?</A>
<LI><A NAME="tex2html3044"
  HREF="#SECTION005118000000000000000">Why should I not use L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL>?</A>
</UL>
<LI><A NAME="tex2html3045"
  HREF="#SECTION005120000000000000000">D.2 L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL>, GNU, and Licensing</A>
<UL>
<LI><A NAME="tex2html3046"
  HREF="#SECTION005121000000000000000">What is L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL>'s license?</A>
<LI><A NAME="tex2html3047"
  HREF="#SECTION005122000000000000000">What is GNU?</A>
<LI><A NAME="tex2html3048"
  HREF="#SECTION005123000000000000000">Why is GNU software better than proprietary software?</A>
<LI><A NAME="tex2html3049"
  HREF="#SECTION005124000000000000000">Explain the restrictions of L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL>'s ``free''GNU
<BR>
General Public License.</A>
<LI><A NAME="tex2html3050"
  HREF="#SECTION005125000000000000000">If L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> is free, where do companies have the right to make money from selling CDs?</A>
<LI><A NAME="tex2html3051"
  HREF="#SECTION005126000000000000000">What if Linus Torvalds decided to change the copyright on the kernel? Could he sell out to a company?</A>
<LI><A NAME="tex2html3052"
  HREF="#SECTION005127000000000000000">What if Linus Torvalds stopped supporting L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL>? What if kernel development split?</A>
<LI><A NAME="tex2html3053"
  HREF="#SECTION005128000000000000000">What is Open Source vs. Free vs. Shareware?</A>
</UL>
<LI><A NAME="tex2html3054"
  HREF="#SECTION005130000000000000000">D.3 L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> Distributions</A>
<UL>
<LI><A NAME="tex2html3055"
  HREF="#SECTION005131000000000000000">If everyone is constantly modifying the source, isn't this bad for the consumer? How is the user protected from bogus software?</A>
<LI><A NAME="tex2html3056"
  HREF="#SECTION005132000000000000000">There are so many different L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> versions -- is this not confusion and incompatibility?</A>
<LI><A NAME="tex2html3057"
  HREF="#SECTION005133000000000000000">Will a program from one L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> Distribution run on another?
<BR>
How compatible are the different distributions?</A>
<LI><A NAME="tex2html3058"
  HREF="#SECTION005134000000000000000">What is the best distribution to use?</A>
<LI><A NAME="tex2html3059"
  HREF="#SECTION005135000000000000000">Where do I get L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL>?</A>
<LI><A NAME="tex2html3060"
  HREF="#SECTION005136000000000000000">How do I install L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL>?</A>
</UL>
<LI><A NAME="tex2html3061"
  HREF="#SECTION005140000000000000000">D.4 L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> Support</A>
<UL>
<LI><A NAME="tex2html3062"
  HREF="#SECTION005141000000000000000">Where does a person get L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> support? My purchased software is supported; how does L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> compete?</A>
</UL>
<LI><A NAME="tex2html3063"
  HREF="#SECTION005150000000000000000">D.5 L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> Compared to Other Systems</A>
<UL>
<LI><A NAME="tex2html3064"
  HREF="#SECTION005151000000000000000">What is the most popular U<SMALL>NIX</SMALL> in the world?</A>
<LI><A NAME="tex2html3065"
  HREF="#SECTION005152000000000000000">How many L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> systems are there out there?</A>
<LI><A NAME="tex2html3066"
  HREF="#SECTION005153000000000000000">What is the total cost of installing and running L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> compared to a proprietary non-U<SMALL>NIX</SMALL> system?</A>
<LI><A NAME="tex2html3067"
  HREF="#SECTION005154000000000000000">What is the total cost of installing and running a L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> system compared to a proprietary U<SMALL>NIX</SMALL> system?</A>
<LI><A NAME="tex2html3068"
  HREF="#SECTION005155000000000000000">How does L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> compare to other operating systems in performance?</A>
<LI><A NAME="tex2html3069"
  HREF="#SECTION005156000000000000000">What about SMP and a journalling file system? Is L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> enterprise-ready?</A>
<LI><A NAME="tex2html3070"
  HREF="#SECTION005157000000000000000">Does L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> only support 2 Gigs of memory and 128 Meg of swap?</A>
<LI><A NAME="tex2html3071"
  HREF="#SECTION005158000000000000000">Isn't U<SMALL>NIX</SMALL> antiquated? Isn't its security model outdated?</A>
<LI><A NAME="tex2html3072"
  HREF="#SECTION005159000000000000000">How does FreeBSD compare to L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL>?</A>
</UL>
<LI><A NAME="tex2html3073"
  HREF="#SECTION005160000000000000000">D.6 Migrating to L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL></A>
<UL>
<LI><A NAME="tex2html3074"
  HREF="#SECTION005161000000000000000">What are the principal issues when migrating to L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> from a non-U<SMALL>NIX</SMALL> system?</A>
<LI><A NAME="tex2html3075"
  HREF="#SECTION005162000000000000000">What are the principal issues when migrating to L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> from another U<SMALL>NIX</SMALL> system?</A>
<LI><A NAME="tex2html3076"
  HREF="#SECTION005163000000000000000">How should a supervisor proceed after making the decision to migrate to L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL>?</A>
</UL>
<LI><A NAME="tex2html3077"
  HREF="#SECTION005170000000000000000">D.7 Technical</A>
<UL>
<LI><A NAME="tex2html3078"
  HREF="#SECTION005171000000000000000">Are L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> CDs readable from Windows?</A>
<LI><A NAME="tex2html3079"
  HREF="#SECTION005172000000000000000">Can I run L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> and Windows on the same machine?</A>
<LI><A NAME="tex2html3080"
  HREF="#SECTION005173000000000000000">How much space do I need to install L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL>?</A>
<LI><A NAME="tex2html3081"
  HREF="#SECTION005174000000000000000">What are the hardware requirements?</A>
<LI><A NAME="tex2html3082"
  HREF="#SECTION005175000000000000000">What hardware is supported? Will my sound/graphics/network card work?</A>
<LI><A NAME="tex2html3083"
  HREF="#SECTION005176000000000000000">Can I view my Windows, OS/2, and MS-DOS files under L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL>?</A>
<LI><A NAME="tex2html3084"
  HREF="#SECTION005177000000000000000">Can I run DOS programs under L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL>?</A>
<LI><A NAME="tex2html3085"
  HREF="#SECTION005178000000000000000">Can I recompile Windows programs under L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL>?</A>
<LI><A NAME="tex2html3086"
  HREF="#SECTION005179000000000000000">Can I run Windows programs under L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL>?</A>
<LI><A NAME="tex2html3087"
  HREF="#SECTION0051710000000000000000">I have heard that L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> does not suffer from virus attacks. Is it true that there is no threat of viruses with U<SMALL>NIX</SMALL> systems?</A>
<LI><A NAME="tex2html3088"
  HREF="#SECTION0051711000000000000000">Is L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> as secure as other servers?</A>
</UL></UL>
<!--End of Table of Child-Links-->
<HR>

<H1><A NAME="SECTION005100000000000000000">
D. L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> Advocacy Frequently-Asked-Questions</A>
</H1>

<P>
<A NAME="chap:corpfaq"></A>
<P>
<I>The capabilities of L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> are constantly expanding.
Please consult the various Internet resources listed for up-to-date information.</I>

<P>


<H1><A NAME="SECTION005110000000000000000">
D.1 L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> Overview</A>
</H1>

<P>
This section covers questions that pertain to L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> as
a whole.

<P>

<H2><A NAME="SECTION005111000000000000000">
What is L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL>?</A>
</H2>

<P>
L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> is the core of a free U<SMALL>NIX</SMALL> operating system for the PC
and other hardware platforms. Developement of this operating
system started in 1984; it was called the GNU project of the Free
Software Foundation (FSF). The L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> core (or kernel),
named after its author, Linus Torvalds, began development in
1991--the first usable releases where made in 1993. L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> is
often called GNU/L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> because much of the OS (operating system) results
from the efforts of the GNU project.

<P>
U<SMALL>NIX</SMALL> systems have been around since the 1960s and are a
proven standard in industry. L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> is said to be POSIX
compliant, meaning that it confirms to a certain definite
computing standard laid down by academia and industry. This
means that L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> is largely compatible with other U<SMALL>NIX</SMALL>
systems (the same program can be easily ported to run on
another U<SMALL>NIX</SMALL> system with few (sometimes no) modifications)
and will network seamlessly with other U<SMALL>NIX</SMALL> systems.

<P>
Some commercial U<SMALL>NIX</SMALL> systems are IRIX (for Silicon Graphics);
Solaris or SunOS for Sun Microsystem SPARC
workstations; HP U<SMALL>NIX</SMALL> for Hewlett Packard servers; SCO for
the PC; OSF for the DEC Alpha machine and AIX for the
PowerPC/RS6000. Because the U<SMALL>NIX</SMALL> name is a registered
trademark, most systems are not called U<SMALL>NIX</SMALL>.

<P>
Some freely available U<SMALL>NIX</SMALL> systems are NetBSD, FreeBSD,
and OpenBSD and also enjoy widespread popularity.

<P>
U<SMALL>NIX</SMALL> systems are multitasking
and multiuser systems, meaning that
multiple concurrent users running multiple concurrent
programs can connect to and use the same machine.

<P>

<H2><A NAME="SECTION005112000000000000000">
What are U<SMALL>NIX</SMALL> systems used for? What can L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> do?</A>
</H2>

<P>
U<SMALL>NIX</SMALL> systems are the backbone of the Internet.
Heavy industry,
mission-critical applications,
and universities have always used
U<SMALL>NIX</SMALL> systems. High-end servers and multiuser mainframes are
traditionally U<SMALL>NIX</SMALL> based. Today, U<SMALL>NIX</SMALL> systems are used by large
ISPs through to small businesses as a matter of course. A
U<SMALL>NIX</SMALL> system is the standard choice when a hardware vendor
comes out with a new computer platform because U<SMALL>NIX</SMALL> is most
amenable to being ported. U<SMALL>NIX</SMALL> systems are used as database,
file, and Internet servers. U<SMALL>NIX</SMALL> is used for visualization and
graphics rendering (as for some Hollywood productions). Industry
and universities use U<SMALL>NIX</SMALL> systems for scientific simulations
and U<SMALL>NIX</SMALL> clusters for number crunching. The embedded market
(small computers without operators that exist inside appliances)
has recently turned toward L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> systems, which are being produced
in the millions.

<P>
L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> itself can operate as a web, file, SMB (WinNT), Novell,
printer, FTP, mail, SQL, masquerading, firewall, and POP server to
name but a few. It can do anything that any other network
server can do, more efficiently and reliably.

<P>
L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL>'s up-and-coming graphical user interfaces (GUI) are the
most functional and aesthetically pleasing ever to have graced
the computer screen. L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> has now moved into the world of
the desktop.

<P>

<H2><A NAME="SECTION005113000000000000000">
What other platforms does L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> run on including the PC?</A>
</H2>

<P>
L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> runs on

<P>

<UL>
<LI>386/486/Pentium processors.
</LI>
<LI>DEC 64-bit Alpha processors.
</LI>
<LI>Motorola 680x0 processors, including Commodore Amiga,
Atari-ST/TT/Falcon and HP Apollo 68K.
</LI>
<LI>Sun Microsystems SPARC
workstations, including sun4c, sun4m, sun4d, and sun4u
architectures. Multiprocessor machines are supported as is full
64-bit support on the UltraSPARC.
</LI>
<LI>Advanced Risc Machine (ARM) processors.
</LI>
<LI>MIPS R3000/R4000 processors, including Silicon Graphics machines.
</LI>
<LI>PowerPC machines.
</LI>
<LI>Intel Architecture 64-bit processors.
</LI>
<LI>IBM 390 mainframe.
</LI>
<LI>ETRAX-100 processor.
</LI>
</UL>

<P>
Other projects are in various stages of completion. For example, you
may get L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> up and running on many other hardware
platforms, but it would take some time and expertise to install,
and you might not have graphics capabilities. Every month or
so support is announced for some new esoteric
hardware platform. Watch the
<EM>Linux Weekly News</EM> <I>&lt;<TT><A NAME="tex2html93"
  HREF="http://lwn.net/">http://lwn.net/</A></TT>&gt;</I> to catch these.

<P>

<H2><A NAME="SECTION005114000000000000000">
What is meant by GNU/L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> as opposed to L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL>?</A>
</H2>

<P>
(See also ``What is GNU?'' and ``What is L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL>?''.)

<P>
In 1984 the Free Software Foundation (FSF) set out to create
a free U<SMALL>NIX</SMALL>-like system. It is only because of their efforts that
the many critical packages that go into a U<SMALL>NIX</SMALL> distribution are
available. It is also because of them that a freely available,
comprehensive, legally definitive, free-software license is
available. Because many of the critical components of a typical
L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> distribution are really just GNU tools developed long
before L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL>, it is unfair to merely call a distribution ``L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL>''.
The term GNU/L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> is more accurate and gives credit
to the larger part of L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL>.

<P>

<H2><A NAME="SECTION005115000000000000000">
What web pages should I look at?</A>
</H2>

<P>
<A NAME="page:whatwebpage"></A>
<P>
Hundreds of web pages are devoted to L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL>. Thousands
of web pages are devoted to different free software packages. A net search
will reveal the enormous amount of information available.

<P>

<UL>
<LI>Three places for general L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> information are:

<UL>
<LI><EM>Alan Cox's Linux web page</EM> <I>&lt;<TT><A NAME="tex2html94"
  HREF="http://www.linux.org.uk/">http://www.linux.org.uk/</A></TT>&gt;</I>
</LI>
<LI><EM>Linux Online</EM> <I>&lt;<TT><A NAME="tex2html95"
  HREF="http://www.linux.org/">http://www.linux.org/</A></TT>&gt;</I>
</LI>
<LI><EM>Linux International</EM> <I>&lt;<TT><A NAME="tex2html96"
  HREF="http://www.li.org/">http://www.li.org/</A></TT>&gt;</I>
</LI>
</UL>
</LI>
<LI>For kernel information, see

<UL>
<LI><EM>Linux Headquarters</EM> <I>&lt;<TT><A NAME="tex2html97"
  HREF="http://www.linuxhq.com/">http://www.linuxhq.com/</A></TT>&gt;</I>
</LI>
</UL>
</LI>
<LI>A very important site is

<UL>
<LI><EM>FSF Home Pages</EM> <I>&lt;<TT><A NAME="tex2html98"
  HREF="http://www.gnu.org/">http://www.gnu.org/</A></TT>&gt;</I>
</LI>
</UL>
which is the home page of the Free Software Foundation
and explains their purpose and the philosophy of software
that can be freely modified and redistributed.
</LI>
<LI>Some large indexes of reviewed free and proprietary L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> software are:

<UL>
<LI><EM>Fresh Meat</EM> <I>&lt;<TT><A NAME="tex2html99"
  HREF="http://freshmeat.net/">http://freshmeat.net/</A></TT>&gt;</I>
</LI>
<LI><EM>Source Forge</EM> <I>&lt;<TT><A NAME="tex2html100"
  HREF="http://www.sourceforge.net/">http://www.sourceforge.net/</A></TT>&gt;</I>
</LI>
<LI><EM>Tu Cows</EM> <I>&lt;<TT><A NAME="tex2html101"
  HREF="http://linux.tucows.com/">http://linux.tucows.com/</A></TT>&gt;</I>
</LI>
<LI><EM>Scientific Applications for Linux (SAL)</EM> <I>&lt;<TT><A NAME="tex2html102"
  HREF="http://SAL.KachinaTech.COM/index.shtml">http://SAL.KachinaTech.COM/index.shtml</A></TT>&gt;</I>
</LI>
</UL>
</LI>
<LI>Announcements for new software are mostly made on

<UL>
<LI><EM>Fresh Meat</EM> <I>&lt;<TT><A NAME="tex2html103"
  HREF="http://freshmeat.net/">http://freshmeat.net/</A></TT>&gt;</I>
</LI>
</UL>
</LI>
<LI>The Linux Weekly News brings up-to-date info covering a wide
range of L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> issues:

<UL>
<LI><EM>Linux Weekly News</EM> <I>&lt;<TT><A NAME="tex2html104"
  HREF="http://lwn.net/">http://lwn.net/</A></TT>&gt;</I>
</LI>
</UL>
</LI>
<LI>Three major L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> desktop projects are:

<UL>
<LI><EM>Gnome Desktop</EM> <I>&lt;<TT><A NAME="tex2html105"
  HREF="http://www.gnome.org/">http://www.gnome.org/</A></TT>&gt;</I>
</LI>
<LI><EM>KDE Desktop</EM> <I>&lt;<TT><A NAME="tex2html106"
  HREF="http://www.kde.org/">http://www.kde.org/</A></TT>&gt;</I>
</LI>
<LI><EM>GNUstep</EM> <I>&lt;<TT><A NAME="tex2html107"
  HREF="http://gnustep.org/">http://gnustep.org/</A></TT>&gt;</I>
</LI>
</UL>
</LI>
</UL>

<P>
But don't stop there--there are hundreds more.

<P>

<H2><A NAME="SECTION005116000000000000000">
What are Debian, RedHat, Caldera, SuSE? Explain the different L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> distributions.</A>
</H2>

<P>
All applications, network server programs, and utilities
that go into a full
L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> machine are free software
programs recompiled to run under the L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> kernel. Most
can (and do) actually work on any other of the U<SMALL>NIX</SMALL>
systems mentioned above.

<P>
Hence, many efforts have been made to package all of the
utilities needed for a U<SMALL>NIX</SMALL> system into a single collection,
usually on a single easily installable CD.

<P>
Each of these efforts combines hundreds of <I>packages</I> (e.g., the
Apache web server is one package, the Netscape web browser
is another) into a L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> <I>distribution</I>.

<P>
Some of the popular L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> distributions are:

<P>

<UL>
<LI><EM>Caldera OpenLinux</EM> <I>&lt;<TT><A NAME="tex2html108"
  HREF="http://www.calderasystems.com/">http://www.calderasystems.com/</A></TT>&gt;</I>
</LI>
<LI><EM>Debian GNU/L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL></EM> <I>&lt;<TT><A NAME="tex2html109"
  HREF="http://www.debian.org/">http://www.debian.org/</A></TT>&gt;</I>
</LI>
<LI><EM>Mandrake</EM> <I>&lt;<TT><A NAME="tex2html110"
  HREF="http://www.linux-mandrake.com/">http://www.linux-mandrake.com/</A></TT>&gt;</I>
</LI>
<LI><EM>RedHat</EM> <I>&lt;<TT><A NAME="tex2html111"
  HREF="http://www.redhat.com/">http://www.redhat.com/</A></TT>&gt;</I>
</LI>
<LI><EM>Slackware</EM> <I>&lt;<TT><A NAME="tex2html112"
  HREF="http://www.slackware.com/">http://www.slackware.com/</A></TT>&gt;</I>
</LI>
<LI><EM>SuSE</EM> <I>&lt;<TT><A NAME="tex2html113"
  HREF="http://www.suse.com/">http://www.suse.com/</A></TT>&gt;</I>
</LI>
<LI><EM>TurboLinux</EM> <I>&lt;<TT><A NAME="tex2html114"
  HREF="http://www.turbolinux.com/">http://www.turbolinux.com/</A></TT>&gt;</I>
</LI>
</UL>

<P>
There are now about 200 distributions of L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL>. Some of these are
single floppy routers or rescue disks, and others are modifications of
popular existing distributions. Still others have a specialized
purpose, like real time work or high security.

<P>

<H2><A NAME="SECTION005117000000000000000">
Who developed L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL>?</A>
</H2>

<P>
L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> was largely developed by the <EM>Free Software Foundation</EM> <I>&lt;<TT><A NAME="tex2html115"
  HREF="http://www.gnu.org/">http://www.gnu.org/</A></TT>&gt;</I>.

<P>
The <EM>Orbiten Free Software Survey</EM> <I>&lt;<TT><A NAME="tex2html116"
  HREF="http://www.orbiten.org/">http://www.orbiten.org/</A></TT>&gt;</I>
came up with the following breakdown of contributors after
surveying a wide array of open source packages. The following lists
the top 20 contributors by amount of code written:
<BR>

<P>
&nbsp;

<P>
<TABLE CELLPADDING=1 BORDER="1">
<TR><TH ALIGN="LEFT"><B>Serial</B></TH>
<TH ALIGN="LEFT"><B>Author</B></TH>
<TH ALIGN="LEFT"><B>Bytes</B></TH>
<TH ALIGN="LEFT"><B>Percentage</B></TH>
<TH ALIGN="LEFT"><B>Projects</B></TH>
</TR>
<TR><TD ALIGN="LEFT">1</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">Free Software Foundation, Inc.</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">125565525</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">(11.246%)</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">546</TD>
</TR>
<TR><TD ALIGN="LEFT">2</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">Sun Microsystems, Inc.</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">20663713</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">(1.85%)</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">66</TD>
</TR>
<TR><TD ALIGN="LEFT">3</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">The Regents of the University of California</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">15192791</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">(1.36%)</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">156</TD>
</TR>
<TR><TD ALIGN="LEFT">4</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">Gordon Matzigkeit</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">13599203</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">(1.218%)</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">267</TD>
</TR>
<TR><TD ALIGN="LEFT">5</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">Paul Houle</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">11647591</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">(1.043%)</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">1</TD>
</TR>
<TR><TD ALIGN="LEFT">6</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">Thomas G. Lane</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">8746848</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">(0.783%)</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">17</TD>
</TR>
<TR><TD ALIGN="LEFT">7</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">The Massachusetts Institute of Technology</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">8513597</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">(0.762%)</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">38</TD>
</TR>
<TR><TD ALIGN="LEFT">8</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">Ulrich Drepper</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">6253344</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">(0.56%)</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">142</TD>
</TR>
<TR><TD ALIGN="LEFT">9</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">Lyle Johnson</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">5906249</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">(0.528%)</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">1</TD>
</TR>
<TR><TD ALIGN="LEFT">10</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">Peter Miller</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">5871392</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">(0.525%)</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">3</TD>
</TR>
<TR><TD ALIGN="LEFT">11</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">Eric Young</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">5607745</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">(0.502%)</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">48</TD>
</TR>
<TR><TD ALIGN="LEFT">12</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">login-belabas</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">5429114</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">(0.486%)</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">2</TD>
</TR>
<TR><TD ALIGN="LEFT">13</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">Lucent Technologies, Inc.</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">4991582</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">(0.447%)</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">5</TD>
</TR>
<TR><TD ALIGN="LEFT">14</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">Linus Torvalds</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">4898977</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">(0.438%)</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">10</TD>
</TR>
<TR><TD ALIGN="LEFT">15</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">(uncredited-gdb)</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">4806436</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">(0.43%)</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">1</TD>
</TR>
<TR><TD ALIGN="LEFT">16</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">Aladdin Enterprises</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">4580332</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">(0.41%)</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">27</TD>
</TR>
<TR><TD ALIGN="LEFT">17</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">Tim Hudson</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">4454381</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">(0.398%)</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">26</TD>
</TR>
<TR><TD ALIGN="LEFT">18</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">Carnegie Mellon University</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">4272613</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">(0.382%)</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">23</TD>
</TR>
<TR><TD ALIGN="LEFT">19</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">James E. Wilson, Robert A. Koeneke</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">4272412</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">(0.382%)</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">2</TD>
</TR>
<TR><TD ALIGN="LEFT">20</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">ID Software, Inc.</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">4038969</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">(0.361%)</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">1</TD>
</TR>
</TABLE>

<P>
This listing contains the top 20 contributors by number of projects contributed
to:

<P>
<TABLE CELLPADDING=1 BORDER="1">
<TR><TH ALIGN="LEFT"><B>Serial</B></TH>
<TH ALIGN="LEFT"><B>Author</B></TH>
<TH ALIGN="LEFT"><B>Bytes</B></TH>
<TH ALIGN="LEFT"><B>Percentage</B></TH>
<TH ALIGN="LEFT"><B>Projects</B></TH>
</TR>
<TR><TD ALIGN="LEFT">1</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">Free Software Foundation, Inc.</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">125565525</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">(11.246%)</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">546</TD>
</TR>
<TR><TD ALIGN="LEFT">2</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">Gordon Matzigkeit</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">13599203</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">(1.218%)</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">267</TD>
</TR>
<TR><TD ALIGN="LEFT">3</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">The Regents of the University of California</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">15192791</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">(1.36%)</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">156</TD>
</TR>
<TR><TD ALIGN="LEFT">4</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">Ulrich Drepper</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">6253344</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">(0.56%)</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">142</TD>
</TR>
<TR><TD ALIGN="LEFT">5</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">Roland Mcgrath</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">2644911</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">(0.236%)</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">99</TD>
</TR>
<TR><TD ALIGN="LEFT">6</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">Sun Microsystems, Inc.</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">20663713</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">(1.85%)</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">66</TD>
</TR>
<TR><TD ALIGN="LEFT">7</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">RSA Data Security, Inc.</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">898817</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">(0.08%)</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">59</TD>
</TR>
<TR><TD ALIGN="LEFT">8</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">Martijn Pieterse</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">452661</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">(0.04%)</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">50</TD>
</TR>
<TR><TD ALIGN="LEFT">9</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">Eric Young</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">5607745</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">(0.502%)</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">48</TD>
</TR>
<TR><TD ALIGN="LEFT">10</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">login-vern</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">3499616</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">(0.313%)</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">47</TD>
</TR>
<TR><TD ALIGN="LEFT">11</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">jot@cray</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">691862</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">(0.061%)</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">47</TD>
</TR>
<TR><TD ALIGN="LEFT">12</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">Alfredo K. Kojima</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">280990</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">(0.025%)</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">40</TD>
</TR>
<TR><TD ALIGN="LEFT">13</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">The Massachusetts Institute of Technology</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">8513597</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">(0.762%)</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">38</TD>
</TR>
<TR><TD ALIGN="LEFT">14</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">Digital Equipment Corporation</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">2182333</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">(0.195%)</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">37</TD>
</TR>
<TR><TD ALIGN="LEFT">15</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">David J. Mackenzie</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">337388</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">(0.03%)</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">37</TD>
</TR>
<TR><TD ALIGN="LEFT">16</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">Rich Salz</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">365595</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">(0.032%)</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">35</TD>
</TR>
<TR><TD ALIGN="LEFT">17</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">Jean-Loup Gailly</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">2256335</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">(0.202%)</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">31</TD>
</TR>
<TR><TD ALIGN="LEFT">18</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">eggert@twinsun</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">387923</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">(0.034%)</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">30</TD>
</TR>
<TR><TD ALIGN="LEFT">19</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">Josh Macdonald</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">1994755</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">(0.178%)</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">28</TD>
</TR>
<TR><TD ALIGN="LEFT">20</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">Peter Mattis, Spencer Kimball</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">1981094</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">(0.177%)</TD>
<TD ALIGN="LEFT">28</TD>
</TR>
</TABLE>

<P>
The preceding tables are rough approximations. They do, however, give an
idea of the spread of contributions.

<P>

<H2><A NAME="SECTION005118000000000000000">
Why should I not use L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL>?</A>
</H2>

<P>
If you are a private individual with no U<SMALL>NIX</SMALL> expertise available
to help you when you run into problems and you are not
interested in learning about the underlying workings of a U<SMALL>NIX</SMALL>
system, then you shouldn't install L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL>.

<P>

<H1><A NAME="SECTION005120000000000000000">
D.2 L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL>, GNU, and Licensing</A>
</H1>

<P>
This section answers questions about the nature of free
software and the concepts of GNU.

<P>

<H2><A NAME="SECTION005121000000000000000">
What is L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL>'s license?</A>
</H2>

<P>
The L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> kernel is distributed under the GNU General Public
License (GPL) which is reproduced in Appendix <A HREF="node52.html#chap:gpl">E</A>
and is available from the
<EM>FSF Home Page</EM> <I>&lt;<TT><A NAME="tex2html117"
  HREF="http://www.gnu.org/">http://www.gnu.org/</A></TT>&gt;</I>.

<P>
Most of all other software in a typical L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL>
distribution is also under the GPL or the LGPL (see below).

<P>
There are many other types of free software licenses. Each of
these is based on particular commercial or moral outlooks. Their
acronyms are as follows (as defined by the L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> Software Map
database) in no particular order:

<P>
<DL>
<DT><STRONG>PD:</STRONG></DT>
<DD>Placed in public domain.
</DD>
<DT><STRONG>Shareware:</STRONG></DT>
<DD>Copyrighted, no restrictions, contributions solicited.
</DD>
<DT><STRONG>MIT:</STRONG></DT>
<DD>MIT X Consortium license (like that of BSDs but with no advertising requirement).
</DD>
<DT><STRONG>BSD:</STRONG></DT>
<DD>Berkeley Regents copyright (used on BSD code).
</DD>
<DT><STRONG>Artistic License:</STRONG></DT>
<DD>Same terms as Perl Artistic License.
</DD>
<DT><STRONG>FRS:</STRONG></DT>
<DD>Copyrighted, freely redistributable, might have some restrictions on redistribution of modified sources.
</DD>
<DT><STRONG>GPL:</STRONG></DT>
<DD>GNU General Public License.
</DD>
<DT><STRONG>GPL+LGPL:</STRONG></DT>
<DD>GNU GPL and Library GPL.
</DD>
<DT><STRONG>restricted:</STRONG></DT>
<DD>Less free than any of the above.
</DD>
</DL>
More information on these licenses can be had from the
<EM>Metalab license List</EM> <I>&lt;<TT><A NAME="tex2html118"
  HREF="ftp://metalab.unc.edu/pub/Linux/LICENSES">ftp://metalab.unc.edu/pub/Linux/LICENSES</A></TT>&gt;</I>

<P>

<H2><A NAME="SECTION005122000000000000000">
What is GNU?</A>
</H2>

<P>
GNU (pronounced with a hard G) is an acronym for GNUs Not U<SMALL>NIX</SMALL>.
A gnu is a large beast and is the motif of the Free Software
Foundation (FSF). GNU is a <I>recursive acronym</I>.

<P>
Richard Stallman is the founder of the FSF and the creator of
the GNU General Public License. One of the purposes of the
FSF is to promote and develop free alternatives to proprietary
software. The GNU project is an effort to create a free
U<SMALL>NIX</SMALL>-like operating system from scratch; the project was
started in 1984.

<P>
GNU represents this software licensed under the GNU
General Public License--it is called <U>F</U>ree software.
GNU software is software designed to meet a higher set of
standards than its proprietary counterparts.

<P>
GNU has also become a movement in the computing world. When the word
GNU is mentioned, it usually evokes feelings of extreme left-wing
geniuses who in their spare time produce free software that is far
superior to anything even large corporations can come up with
through years of dedicated development. It also means distributed
and open development, encouraging peer review, consistency, and portability.
GNU means doing things once in the best way possible, providing
solutions instead of quick fixes and looking exhaustively at
possibilities instead of going for the most brightly colored
or expedient approach.

<P>
GNU also means a healthy disrespect for the concept of a
deadline and a release schedule.

<P>

<H2><A NAME="SECTION005123000000000000000">
Why is GNU software better than proprietary software?</A>
</H2>

<P>
Proprietary software is often looked down upon in the free
software world for many reasons:

<P>

<UL>
<LI>The development process is closed to external scrutiny.
</LI>
<LI>Users are unable to add features to the software.
</LI>
<LI>Users are unable to correct errors (bugs) in the software.
</LI>
<LI>Users are not allowed to share the software.
</LI>
</UL>

<P>
The result of these limitations is that proprietary software

<P>

<UL>
<LI>Does not conform to good standards for information technology.
</LI>
<LI>Is incompatible with other proprietary software.
</LI>
<LI>Is buggy.
</LI>
<LI>Cannot be fixed.
</LI>
<LI>Costs far more than it is worth.
</LI>
<LI>Can do anything behind your back without your knowing.
</LI>
<LI>Is insecure.
</LI>
<LI>Tries to be better than other proprietary software without 
meeting real technical and practical needs.
</LI>
<LI>Wastes a lot of time duplicating the effort of other
proprietary software.
</LI>
<LI>Fails to build on existing software because
of licensing issues.
</LI>
</UL>

<P>
GNU software, on the other hand, is open for anyone to
scrutinize. Users can (and do) freely fix and enhance
software for their own needs, and then allow others the benefit of
their extensions. Many developers of different areas of expertise
collaborate to find the best way of doing things. Open
industry and academic standards are adhered to, to make
software consistent and compatible. Collaborated effort between
different developers means that code is shared and effort is not
replicated. Users have close and direct contact with developers,
ensuring that bugs are fixed quickly and that user needs are met.
Because source code can be viewed by anyone, developers
write code more carefully and are more inspired and more
meticulous.

<P>
Possibly the most important reason for the superiority
of <U>F</U>ree software is peer review. Sometimes this means
that development takes longer as more people quibble
over the best way of doing things. However, most of the time
peer review results in a more reliable product.

<P>
Another partial reason for this superiority is that GNU
software is often written by people from academic
institutions who are in the center of IT research and are
most qualified to dictate software solutions. In other cases,
authors write software for their own use out of their own
dissatisfaction for existing proprietary software--a
powerful motivation.

<P>

<H2><A NAME="SECTION005124000000000000000">
Explain the restrictions of L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL>'s ``free''GNU
<BR>
General Public License.</A>
</H2>

<P>
The following is quoted from the GPL itself.

<P>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
When we speak of free software, we are referring to
freedom, not price. Our General Public Licenses are
designed to make sure that you have the freedom to
distribute copies of free software (and charge for this
service if you wish), that you receive source code or can
get it if you want it, that you can change the software or
use pieces of it in new free programs; and that you know
you can do these things.

</BLOCKQUOTE>

<P>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
To protect your rights, we need to make restrictions that
forbid anyone to deny you these rights or to ask you to
surrender the rights. These restrictions translate to certain
responsibilities for you if you distribute copies of the
software, or if you modify it.

</BLOCKQUOTE>

<P>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
For example, if you distribute copies of such a program,
whether gratis or for a fee, you must give the recipients
all the rights that you have.  You must make sure that
they, too, receive or can get the source code.  And you
must show them these terms so they know their rights.

</BLOCKQUOTE>

<P>

<H2><A NAME="SECTION005125000000000000000">
If L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> is free, where do companies have the right to make money from selling CDs?</A>
</H2>

<P>
See ``Where do I get L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL>?'' on page <A HREF="node51.html#page:wheredoigetlinux"><IMG  ALIGN="BOTTOM" BORDER="1" ALT="[*]" SRC="crossref.png"></A>.

<P>

<H2><A NAME="SECTION005126000000000000000">
What if Linus Torvalds decided to change the copyright on the kernel? Could he sell out to a company?</A>
</H2>

<P>
This situation is not possible. Because of the legal terms of the GPL,
for L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> to be distributed under a different copyright
would require the consent of all 200+ persons that have ever
contributed to the L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> source code. These people come from
such a variety of places, that such a task is logistically
infeasible. Even if it did happen, new developers would
probably rally in defiance and continue to work on the kernel
as it is. This free kernel would amass more followers and
would quickly become the standard, with or without Linus.

<P>

<H2><A NAME="SECTION005127000000000000000">
What if Linus Torvalds stopped supporting L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL>? What if kernel development split?</A>
</H2>

<P>
There are many kernel developers who have sufficient
knowledge to do the job of Linus. Most probably, a team of
core developers would take over the task if Linus no longer
worked on the kernel. L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> might even split into different
development teams if a disagreement did break out about some
programming issue, and it might rejoin later on. This is a process
that many GNU software packages are continually going
through, to no ill effect. It doesn't really matter much from
the end user's perspective, since GNU software by its nature
always tends to gravitate towards consistency and
improvement, one way or another. It is also doesn't
matter to the end user because the end user has selected a
popular L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> distribution packaged by someone who has
already dealt with these issues.

<P>

<H2><A NAME="SECTION005128000000000000000">
What is Open Source vs. Free vs. Shareware?</A>
</H2>

<P>
Open Source is a new catch phrase that is ambiguous in
meaning but is often used synonymously with Free. It
sometimes refers to any proprietary vendor releasing source
code to their package, even though that source code is not
free in the sense of users being able to modify it and
redistribute it. Sometimes it means ``public domain'' software
that anyone can modify but which can be incorporated into
commercial packages where later versions will be unavailable in
source form.

<P>
Open Source advocates vie for the superiority of the Open
Source development model.

<P>
GNU supporters don't like to use the term Open Source. Free
software, in the sense of <I>freedom</I> to modify and redistribute is
the preferred term and necessitates a copyright license along
the same vein as the GPL. Unfortunately, it's not a marketable
term because it requires this very explanation, which tends to bore
people who don't really care about licensing issues.

<P>
Free software advocates vie for the ethical responsibility of
making source code available and encouraging others to do
the same.

<P>
Shareware refers to completely nonfree software that is
encouraged to be redistributed at no charge, but which
requests a small fee if it happens to land on your computer. It
is not Free software at all.

<P>

<H1><A NAME="SECTION005130000000000000000">
D.3 L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> Distributions</A>
</H1>

<P>
This section covers questions that about
how L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> software
is packaged and distributed and how to obtain L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL>.

<P>

<H2><A NAME="SECTION005131000000000000000">
If everyone is constantly modifying the source, isn't this bad for the consumer? How is the user protected from bogus software?</A>
</H2>

<P>
You as the user are not going to download arbitrary untested
software any more than you would if you were using Windows.

<P>
When you get L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL>, it will be inside a standard
distribution, probably on a CD. Each of these packages is
selected by the distribution vendors to be a genuine and
stable release of that package. This is the responsibility
taken on by those who create L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> distributions.

<P>
Note that no corporate body oversees L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL>.
Everyone is on their own mission. But a package will not
find its way into a distribution unless someone feels that it is
a useful one. For people to feel it is useful means that they
have to have used it over a period of time; in this way
only good, thoroughly reviewed software gets included.

<P>
Maintainers of packages ensure that official releases are
downloadable from their home pages and will upload original
versions onto well-established FTP servers.

<P>
It is not the case that any person is free to modify original
distributions of packages and thereby hurt the names of the
maintainers of that package.

<P>
For those who are paranoid that the software they have
downloaded is not the genuine article distributed by the
maintainer of that software, digital signatures can verify
the packager of that software. Cases where vandals have
managed to substitute a bogus package for a real one are
extremely rare and entirely preventable.

<P>

<H2><A NAME="SECTION005132000000000000000">
There are so many different L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> versions -- is this not confusion and incompatibility?</A>
</H2>

<P>
(See also next question.)

<P>
The L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> kernel is now on
release version 2.4.3 as of this writing. The only
other stable release of the kernel was the previous 2.2 series
which was the standard for more than a year.

<P>
The L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> kernel version does not affect the L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> user. L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL>
programs will work regardless of the kernel version. Kernel
versions speak of features, not compatibility.

<P>
Each L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> distribution has its own versioning system. RedHat
has just released version 7.0 of its distribution, Caldera, 2.2,
Debian, 2.1, and so forth. Each new incarnation of a
distribution will have newer versions of packages contained
therein and better installation software. There may also have
been subtle changes in the file system layout.

<P>
The L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> U<SMALL>NIX</SMALL> <B>C</B> library implementation is called <TT>
<FONT COLOR="#0000ff">glibc</FONT></TT>. When
RedHat brought out version 5.0 of its distribution, it changed
to <TT>
<FONT COLOR="#0000ff">glibc</FONT></TT> from the older <TT>
<FONT COLOR="#0000ff">libc5</FONT></TT> library. Because all packages
require this library, this was said to introduce incompatibility.
It is true, however, that multiple versions of libraries can
coexist on the same system, and hence no serious
compatibility problem was ever introduced in this transition.
Other vendors have since followed suit in making the
transition to <TT>
<FONT COLOR="#0000ff">glibc</FONT></TT> (also known as <TT>
<FONT COLOR="#0000ff">libc6</FONT></TT>).

<P>
The L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> community has also produced a document called the
L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> Filesystem Standard. Most vendors try to <TT>
<FONT COLOR="#0000ff">comply</FONT></TT>
with this standard, and hence L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> systems will look very
similar from one distribution to another.

<P>
There are hence no prohibitive compatibility problems between
L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> distributions.

<P>

<H2><A NAME="SECTION005133000000000000000">
Will a program from one L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> Distribution run on another?
<BR>
How compatible are the different distributions?</A>
</H2>

<P>
The different distributions are very similar and share binary compatibility
(provided that they are for the same type of processor of course)--that is,
L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> binaries compiled on one system will work on another.
This is in contrast to the differences between, say,
two U<SMALL>NIX</SMALL> operating
systems (compare Sun vs. IRIX). Utilities also exist to convert
packages meant for one distribution to be installed on a
different distribution. Some distributions are, however, created
for specific hardware, and thus their packages will only run
on that hardware. However, all software specifically written for
L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> will recompile without any modifications on another L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL>
platform in addition to compiling with <I>few</I> modifications on
other U<SMALL>NIX</SMALL> systems.

<P>
The rule is basically this: If you have three packages that
you would need to get working on a different distribution,
then it is trivial to make the adjustments to do this. If
you have a hundred packages that you need to get working,
then you have a problem.

<P>

<H2><A NAME="SECTION005134000000000000000">
What is the best distribution to use?</A>
</H2>

<P>
If you are an absolute beginner and don't really feel like
thinking about what distribution to get, one of the most popular and
easiest to install is Mandrake. RedHat is also supported quite
well in industry.

<P>
The attributes of some distributions are:

<P>
<DL>
<DT><STRONG>Mandrake:</STRONG></DT>
<DD>Mandrake is RedHat with some packages
added and updated. It has recently become the most popular and may
be worth using in preference to RedHat.

<P>
</DD>
<DT><STRONG>Debian:</STRONG></DT>
<DD>This is probably the most technically advanced. It is
completely free and very well structured as well as standards
conformant. It is slightly less elegant to install. Debian package
management is vastly superior to any other. The distribution has
legendary technical excellence and stability.

<P>
</DD>
<DT><STRONG>RedHat:</STRONG></DT>
<DD>This is possibly the most popular.

<P>
</DD>
<DT><STRONG>Slackware:</STRONG></DT>
<DD>This was the first L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> distribution and is supposed
to be the most current (software is always the latest). It's a pain
to install and manage, although school kids who don't know any
better love it.
</DD>
</DL>

<P>
What's nice about RPM based distributions (RedHat, Mandrake, and others) is
that almost all developers provide RedHat <TT>
<FONT COLOR="#0000ff">.rpm</FONT></TT> files (the file that a RedHat
package comes in). Debian <TT>
<FONT COLOR="#0000ff">.deb</FONT></TT> package files are usually provided, but
not as often as <TT>
<FONT COLOR="#0000ff">.rpm</FONT></TT>. On the other hand, Debian packages are mostly
created by people on the Debian development team, who have rigorous standards
to adhere to.

<P>
TurboLinux, SuSE, and some others are also very popular. You can find reviews on
the Internet.

<P>
Many other popular distributions are worth installation. Especially
worthwhile are distributions developed in your own country
that specialize in the support of your local language.

<P>

<H2><A NAME="SECTION005135000000000000000">
Where do I get L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL>?</A>
</H2>

<P>
<A NAME="page:wheredoigetlinux"></A>
<P>
Once you have decided on a distribution (see previous
question), you need to download that distribution or
buy or borrow it on CD. Commercial distributions may contain
proprietary software that you may not be allowed to install
multiple times. However, Mandrake, RedHat, Debian, and
Slackware are all committed to freedom and hence will not
have any software that is not redistributable. Hence, if you
get one of these on CD, feel free to install it as many
times as you like.

<P>
Note that the GPL does not say that GNU software is without
cost. You are allowed to charge for the service of distributing,
installing, and maintaining software. It is the nonprohibition to
redistribute and modify GNU software that is meant by the
word free.

<P>
An international mirror for L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> distributions is
<EM>Metalab distributions mirror</EM> <I>&lt;<TT><A NAME="tex2html119"
  HREF="ftp://metalab.unc.edu/pub/Linux/distributions/">ftp://metalab.unc.edu/pub/Linux/distributions/</A></TT>&gt;</I>.
Also consult the resources in Chapter <A HREF="node16.html#chap:linuxresources">13</A>,
``What web pages should I look at?'' on page <A HREF="node51.html#page:whatwebpage"><IMG  ALIGN="BOTTOM" BORDER="1" ALT="[*]" SRC="crossref.png"></A>,
and the <B>Web sites</B> entry in the index.

<P>
Downloading from an FTP site is going to take a long time
unless you have a really fast link. Hence, rather ask around
who locally sells L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> on CD. Also make sure you have the
latest version of whatever it is you're buying or downloading.
Under no circumstance install from a distribution that has
been superseded by a newer version.

<P>

<H2><A NAME="SECTION005136000000000000000">
How do I install L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL>?</A>
</H2>

<P>
It helps to think more laterally when trying to get
information about L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL>:

<P>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Would-be L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> users everywhere need to know how to
install L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL>. Surely the Free software community has long
since generated documentation to help them? Where is
that documentation?

</BLOCKQUOTE>

<P>
Most distributions have very comprehensive installation guides, which
is the reason I do not cover installation in this book. Browse around
your CD to find it or consult your vendor's web site.

<P>
Also try see what happens when you do a net search with ``linux
installation guide.'' You need to read through the install
guide in detail. It will explain everything you need to know
about setting up partitions, dual boots, and other installation
goodies.

<P>
The installation procedure will be completely different for
each distribution.

<P>

<H1><A NAME="SECTION005140000000000000000">
D.4 L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> Support</A>
</H1>

<P>
This section explains where to get free and commercial help with L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL>.

<P>

<H2><A NAME="SECTION005141000000000000000">
Where does a person get L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> support? My purchased software is supported; how does L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> compete?</A>
</H2>

<P>
L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> is supported by the community that uses L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL>. With
commercial systems, users are too stingy to share their knowledge
because they feel that they owe nothing for having spent money
on software.

<P>
L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> users, on the other hand, are very supportive of other
L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> users. People can get far better support from the
Internet community than they would from their commercial
software vendors. Most packages have email lists where the
very developers are available for questions. Most cities
have mailing lists where responses to email questions are
answered within hours. New L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL>
users discover that help abounds and that they never lack
friendly discussions about any computing problem they may
have. Remember that L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> is <I>your</I> operating system.

<P>
Newsgroups provide assistance where L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> issues are
discussed and help is given to new users; there are many
such newsgroups. Using a newsgroup has the benefit of the
widest possible audience.

<P>
The web is also an excellent place for support. Because users
constantly interact and discuss L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> issues, 99% of the
problems a user is likely to have would have already been
documented or covered in mailing list archives, often obviating
the need to ask anyone at all.

<P>
Finally, many professional companies provide assistance at
comparable hourly rates.

<P>

<H1><A NAME="SECTION005150000000000000000">
D.5 L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> Compared to Other Systems</A>
</H1>

<P>
This section discusses the relative merits of different U<SMALL>NIX</SMALL> systems and NT.

<P>

<H2><A NAME="SECTION005151000000000000000">
What is the most popular U<SMALL>NIX</SMALL> in the world?</A>
</H2>

<P>
L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> has several times the installed base of any U<SMALL>NIX</SMALL> system.

<P>

<H2><A NAME="SECTION005152000000000000000">
How many L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> systems are there out there?</A>
</H2>

<P>
This is an answer nobody really knows. Various estimates
have been put forward based on statistical considerations.
As of early 2001 the figure was about 10-20 million. As L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> begins to
dominate the embedded market, that number will soon surpass
the number of all other operating systems combined.

<P>
What is clear is that the number of L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> users is doubling
consistently every year. This is evident from user interest and
industry involvement in L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL>; journal subscriptions, web
hits, media attention, support requirements, software ports, and
other criteria.

<P>
Because it is easy to survey online machines, it is
well-established that over 25% of all web servers run
L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL>.

<P>

<H2><A NAME="SECTION005153000000000000000">
What is the total cost of installing and running L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> compared to a proprietary non-U<SMALL>NIX</SMALL> system?</A>
</H2>

<P>
Although L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> is free, a good
knowledge of U<SMALL>NIX</SMALL> is required to install and configure a
reliable server. This tends to cost you in time or support
charges.

<P>
On the other hand, your Windows or OS/2  server,
for example, has to be licensed.

<P>
Many arguments put forward regarding server costs
fail to take into account the complete lifetime of the
server. This has resulted in contrasting reports that either
claim that L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> costs nothing or claim that it is impossible to
use because of the expense of the expertise required.
Neither of these extreme views is true.

<P>
The total cost of a server includes the following:

<P>

<UL>
<LI>Cost of the OS license.
</LI>
<LI>Cost of dedicated software that provides functions
not inherently supported by the operating system.
</LI>
<LI>Cost of hardware.
</LI>
<LI>Availability of used hardware and the OS's capacity to support it.
</LI>
<LI>Cost of installation.
</LI>
<LI>Cost of support.
</LI>
<LI>Implicit costs of server downtime because of software bugs.
</LI>
<LI>Implicit costs of server downtime because of security breaches.
</LI>
<LI>Cost of maintenance.
</LI>
<LI>Cost of repair.
</LI>
<LI>Cost of essential upgrades.
</LI>
<LI>Negative cost of multiple servers: L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> can run
many services (mail, file, Web) from the same server rather
than requiring dedicated servers, and this can be a tremendous saving.
</LI>
</UL>

<P>
When all these factors are considered, any company should
probably make a truly enormous saving by choosing a L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL>
server over a commercial operating system.

<P>

<H2><A NAME="SECTION005154000000000000000">
What is the total cost of installing and running a L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> system compared to a proprietary U<SMALL>NIX</SMALL> system?</A>
</H2>

<P>
(See previous question.)

<P>
Proprietary U<SMALL>NIX</SMALL> systems are not as user friendly as L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL>. L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> is also
considered far easier to maintain than any commercial U<SMALL>NIX</SMALL> system
because of its widespread use and hence easy access to L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL>
expertise. L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> has a far more dedicated and ``beginner friendly''
documentation project than any commercial U<SMALL>NIX</SMALL>, and many more
user-friendly interfaces and commands.

<P>
The upshot of this is that although your proprietary U<SMALL>NIX</SMALL> system
will perform as reliably as L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL>, it will be more time
consuming to maintain.

<P>
U<SMALL>NIX</SMALL> systems that run on specialized hardware are almost never
worth what you paid for them in terms of a cost/performance
ratio. That is doubly if you are also paying for an
operating system.

<P>

<H2><A NAME="SECTION005155000000000000000">
How does L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> compare to other operating systems in performance?</A>
</H2>

<P>
L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> typically performs 50% to 100% better than other
operating systems on the same hardware. There are no
commercial exceptions to this rule for a basic PC.

<P>
There have been a great many misguided attempts to show that
L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> performs better or worse than other platforms. I have
never read a completely conclusive study. Usually these studies
are done with one or other competing system having better
expertise at its disposal and are, hence, grossly biased. In
some supposedly independent tests, L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> tended to outperform
NT as a web server, file server, and database server by an
appreciable margin.

<P>
In general, the performance improvement of a L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> machine is
quite visible to users and administrators. It is especially
noticeable how fast the file system access is and how it
scales smoothly when multiple services are being used
simultaneously. L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> also performs well when loaded by
many services simultaneously.

<P>
There is also criticism of L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL>'s SMP (multiprocessor)
support, and lack of a journalling file system. These two
issues are discussed in the next question.

<P>
In our experience (from both discussions and development),
L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL>'s critical operations are always pedantically optimized--far
more than would normally be encouraged in a commercial
organization. Hence, if your hardware is not performing the
absolute best it can, it's by a very small margin.

<P>
It's also probably not worthwhile debating these kinds of speed
issues when there are so many other good reasons to prefer
L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL>.

<P>

<H2><A NAME="SECTION005156000000000000000">
What about SMP and a journalling file system? Is L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> enterprise-ready?</A>
</H2>

<P>
L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> is supposed to lack proper SMP support and therefore not
be as scalable as other OSs. This is somewhat true and has
been the case until kernel 2.4 was released in January 2001.

<P>
L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> has a proper journalling file system called ReiserFS.
This means that in the event of a power failure, there is very
little chance that the file system would ever be corrupted, or
that manual intervention would be required to fix the file system.

<P>

<H2><A NAME="SECTION005157000000000000000">
Does L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> only support 2 Gigs of memory and 128 Meg of swap?</A>
</H2>

<P>
L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> supports a full 64 gigabytes of memory,
with 1 gigabyte of unshared memory per process.

<P>
If you really need this much memory, you should be using a
64-bit system, like a DEC Alpha, or Sun UltraSPARC machine.

<P>
On 64-bit systems, L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> supports more memory than most
first-world governments can afford to buy.

<P>
L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> supports as much swap space as you like. For technical
reasons, however, the swap space formerly required division into
separate partitions of 128 megabytes each.

<P>

<H2><A NAME="SECTION005158000000000000000">
Isn't U<SMALL>NIX</SMALL> antiquated? Isn't its security model outdated?</A>
</H2>

<P>
The principles underlying OS development have not changed
since the concept of an OS was invented some 40+ years ago.
It is really academia that develops the theoretical models
for computer science--industry only implements these.

<P>
There are a great many theoretical paradigms of operating system
that vary in complexity and practicality. Of the popular server
operating systems, U<SMALL>NIX</SMALL> certainly has the most versatile,
flexible, and applicable security model and file system structure.

<P>

<H2><A NAME="SECTION005159000000000000000">
How does FreeBSD compare to L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL>?</A>
</H2>

<P>
FreeBSD is like a L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> distribution in that it also relies on a large
number of GNU packages. Most of the packages available in L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL>
distributions are also available for FreeBSD.

<P>
FreeBSD is not merely a kernel but also a distribution, a development
model, an operating system standard, and a community infrastructure.
FreeBSD should rather be compared to Debian than L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL>.

<P>
The arguments comparing the FreeBSD kernel to the L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> kernel
center around the differences between how various kernel functions
are implemented. Depending on the area you look at, either L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> or
FreeBSD will have a better implementation. On the whole, FreeBSD is
thought to have a better architecture, although L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> has had the
benefit of having been ported to many platforms, has a great many more
features, and supports far more hardware. It is questionable whether the
performance penalties we are talking about are of real concern in most
practical situations.

<P>
Another important consideration is that the FreeBSD maintainers
go to far more effort securing FreeBSD than does any L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> vendor.
This makes FreeBSD a more trustworthy alternative.

<P>
GPL advocates take issue with FreeBSD because its licensing
allows a commercial organization to use FreeBSD without
disclosing additions to the source code.

<P>
None of these arguments offset the fact that either of these systems is
preferable to a proprietary one.

<P>

<H1><A NAME="SECTION005160000000000000000">
D.6 Migrating to L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL></A>
</H1>

<P>

<H2><A NAME="SECTION005161000000000000000">
What are the principal issues when migrating to L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> from a non-U<SMALL>NIX</SMALL> system?</A>
</H2>

<P>
Most companies tend to underestimate how entrenched they are in Windows skills.
An office tends to operate organically with individuals learning tricks from each other
over long periods of time. For many people, the concept of a computer is synonymous
with the <I><FONT SIZE="-1">Save As</FONT></I> and <I><FONT SIZE="-1">My Documents</FONT></I> buttons. L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> departs
completely from every habit they might have learned about their computer. The average
secretary will take many frustrating weeks gaining confidence with a different platform,
while the system administrator will battle for much longer.

<P>
Whereas Windows does not offer a wide range of options with regards to desktops and
office suites, the
look-and-feel of a L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> machine can be as different between
the desktops of two users as is Windows 98 different from an Apple Macintosh. Companies
will have to make careful decisions about standardizing what people use, and creating
customizations peculiar to their needs.

<P>
Note that Word and Excel documents can be read by various L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> office applications
<I>but complex formatting will not convert cleanly</I>. For instance, document font sizes,
page breaking, and spacing will not be preserved exactly.

<P>
L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> can interoperate seamlessly with Windows shared file systems, so this is one
area where you will have few migration problems.

<P>
GUI applications written specifically for Windows are difficult to port to a
U<SMALL>NIX</SMALL> system. The Wine project now allows pure <B>C</B> Windows applications to
be recompiled under U<SMALL>NIX</SMALL>, and Borland has developed Kylix (a L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> version of
Delphi). There are more examples of L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> versions of Windows languages, however,
any application that interfaces with many proprietary tools and is
written in a proprietary language is extremely difficult to port. The developer who
does the porting will need to be an expert in U<SMALL>NIX</SMALL> development <I>and</I> an
expert in Windows development. Such people are rare and expensive to hire.

<P>

<H2><A NAME="SECTION005162000000000000000">
What are the principal issues when migrating to L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> from another U<SMALL>NIX</SMALL> system?</A>
</H2>

<P>
The following is based on my personal experience during the migration
of three large companies to L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL>.

<P>
Commercial U<SMALL>NIX</SMALL> third party software that has been
ported to L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> will pose very little problem at all.
You can generally rely on performance improvements and
reduced costs. You should have no hesitation to install these
on L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL>.

<P>
Managers will typically request that ``L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL>'' skills be taught to their
employees through a training course. What is often missed, is that their
staff have little basic U<SMALL>NIX</SMALL> experience to begin with. For instance,
it is entirely feasible to run Apache (a web server package) on a SCO, IRIX,
or Sun systems, yet managers will request, for example, that their staff be taught
how to configure a L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> ``web server'' in order to avoid web server licensing
fees.

<P>
It is important to gauge whether your staff have a real understanding of
the TCP/IP networks and U<SMALL>NIX</SMALL> systems that you are depending on, rather
then merely using a trial-and-error approach to configuring your machines.
Fundamentally, L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> is just a U<SMALL>NIX</SMALL> system, and a very user-friendly
one at that, so any difficulties with L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> ought not to be greater than
those with your proprietary U<SMALL>NIX</SMALL> system.

<P>
Should their basic U<SMALL>NIX</SMALL> knowledge be incomplete, a book like this one
will provide a good reference.

<P>
Many companies also develop in-house applications specific to their
corporation's services. Being an in-house application, the primary concern
of the developers was to ``get it working'', and that might have been
accomplished only by a very small margin. Suddenly running the code on a
different platform will unleash havoc, especially if it was badly written.
In this case, it will be essential to hire an experienced developer who
is familiar with the GNU compiler tools.

<P>
Well written U<SMALL>NIX</SMALL> applications (even GUI applications) will, however,
port very easily to L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> and of course to other U<SMALL>NIX</SMALL> systems.

<P>

<H2><A NAME="SECTION005163000000000000000">
How should a supervisor proceed after making the decision to migrate to L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL>?</A>
</H2>

<P>
Before installing any L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> machines, you should identify what each person in your
organization does with their computer. This undertaking is difficult but very instructive.
If you have any custom applications, you need to identify what they do and create a detailed
specification of their capabilities.

<P>
The next step is to encourage practices that lean toward interoperability. You
may not be able to migrate to L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> immediately, but you can save
yourself enormous effort by taking steps in anticipation of that possibility.
For instance, make a policy that all documents must be saved in a portable format
that is not bound to a particular wordprocessor package.

<P>
Wean people off tools and network services
that do not have U<SMALL>NIX</SMALL> equivalents. SMTP and POP/IMAP
servers are an Internet standard and can be replaced with L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> servers.
SMB file servers can be replaced by L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> Samba servers. There are web mail
and web groupware services that run on L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> servers that can be used from
Internet Explorer. There are some word processors that have both U<SMALL>NIX</SMALL>
and Windows versions whose operation is identical on both OSs.

<P>
Force your developers to test their Web pages on Netscape/Mozilla as well
as Internet Explorer. Do not develop using tools that are tied very
closely to the operating system and are therefore unlikely to ever
have U<SMALL>NIX</SMALL> versions; there are Free cross platform development tools
that are more effective than popular commercial IDEs: Use these languages
instead. If you are developing using a compiler language, your developers
should ensure that code compiles cleanly with independent brands of compiler.
This will not only improve code quality but will make the code more portable.

<P>
Be aware that people will make any excuse to avoid having to learn something new.
Make the necessary books available to them. Identify common problems and create
procedures for solving them. Learn about the capabilities of L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> by watching
Internet publications: A manager who is not prepared to do this much should not
expect their staff to do better.

<P>

<H1><A NAME="SECTION005170000000000000000">
D.7 Technical</A>
</H1>

<P>
This section covers various specific and technical questions.

<P>

<H2><A NAME="SECTION005171000000000000000">
Are L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> CDs readable from Windows?</A>
</H2>

<P>
Yes. You can browse the installation documentation on the CD (if it has any)
using Internet Explorer. L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> software tends
to prefer Windows floppy disk formats, and ISO9660 CD formats, even though
almost everything else uses a different format.

<P>

<H2><A NAME="SECTION005172000000000000000">
Can I run L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> and Windows on the same machine?</A>
</H2>

<P>
Yes, L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> will occupy two or more partitions, while Windows
will sit in one of the primary partitions. At boot time, a boot
prompt will ask you to select which operating system you
would like to boot into.

<P>

<H2><A NAME="SECTION005173000000000000000">
How much space do I need to install L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL>?</A>
</H2>

<P>
A useful distribution of packages that includes the <B>X</B>
Window System (U<SMALL>NIX</SMALL>'s graphical environment) will occupy less
than 1 gigabyte. A network server that does not have to run X
can get away with about 100-300 megabytes. L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> can run on as
little as a single stiffy disk--that's 1.4 megabytes--and still
perform various network services.

<P>

<H2><A NAME="SECTION005174000000000000000">
What are the hardware requirements?</A>
</H2>

<P>
L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> runs on many different hardware platforms, as
explained above. Typical users should purchase an entry-level
PC with at least 16 megabytes of RAM if they are going
to run the X Window System (U<SMALL>NIX</SMALL>'s graphical environment)
smoothly.

<P>
A good L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> machine is a PII 300 (or AMD, K6, Cyrix, etc.)
with 64 megabytes of RAM and a 2-megabyte graphics card
(i.e., capable of run 1024x768 screen resolution in 15/16 bit
color). One gigabyte of free disk space is necessary.

<P>
If you are using scrap hardware, an adequate machine for the <B>X</B>
Window System should not have less than an Intel 486 100 MHz processor
and 8 megabytes of RAM. Network servers can run on a 386
with 4 megabytes of RAM and a 200-megabyte hard drive.
Note that scrap hardware can be <I>very</I> time consuming to
configure.

<P>
Note that recently some distributions are coming out with
Pentium-only compilations. This means that your old 386 will
no longer work. You will then have to compile your own
kernel for the processor you are using and possibly
recompile packages.

<P>

<H2><A NAME="SECTION005175000000000000000">
What hardware is supported? Will my sound/graphics/network card work?</A>
</H2>

<P>
About 90% of all hardware available for the PC is
supported under L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL>. In general, well-established brand
names will always work, but will tend to cost more.
New graphics/network cards are always being released onto the
market. If you buy one of these, you might have to wait many
months before support becomes available (if ever).

<P>
To check on hardware support, see the
<EM>Hardware-HOWTO</EM> <I>&lt;<TT><A NAME="tex2html120"
  HREF="http://users.bart.nl/~patrickr/hardware-howto/Hardware-HOWTO.html">http://users.bart.nl/~patrickr/hardware-howto/Hardware-HOWTO.html</A></TT>&gt;</I>

<P>
This may not be up-to-date, so it's best to go to the various
references listed in this document and get the latest information.

<P>

<H2><A NAME="SECTION005176000000000000000">
Can I view my Windows, OS/2, and MS-DOS files under L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL>?</A>
</H2>

<P>
L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> has read and write support for all these file systems.
Hence, your other partitions will be readable from L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL>. In
addition, L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> supports a wide range of other file
systems like those of OS/2, Amiga, and other U<SMALL>NIX</SMALL> systems.

<P>

<H2><A NAME="SECTION005177000000000000000">
Can I run DOS programs under L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL>?</A>
</H2>

<P>
L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> contains a highly advanced DOS emulator. It will run
almost any 16-bit or 32-bit DOS application. It runs a great
number of 32-bit DOS games as well.

<P>
The DOS emulator package for L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> is called <TT>
<FONT COLOR="#0000ff">dosemu</FONT></TT>. It
typically runs applications much faster than does normal DOS
because of L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL>'s faster file system access and system calls.

<P>
It can run in an <B>X</B> window just like a DOS window under Windows.

<P>

<H2><A NAME="SECTION005178000000000000000">
Can I recompile Windows programs under L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL>?</A>
</H2>

<P>
Yes. WineLib is a part of the Wine package (see below) and
allows Windows <B>C</B> applications to be recompiled to work under
L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL>. Apparently this works extremely well, with virtually
no changes to the source code being necessary.

<P>

<H2><A NAME="SECTION005179000000000000000">
Can I run Windows programs under L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL>?</A>
</H2>

<P>
Yes and no.

<P>
There are commercial emulators that will run a virtual 386
machine under L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL>. This enables mostly flawless running of
Windows under L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> if you really have to and at a large
performance penalty. You still have to buy Windows though.
There are also some Free versions of these.

<P>
There is also a project called Wine (WINdows Emulator) which
aims to provide a free alternative to Windows by allowing
L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> to run Windows 16 or 32 bit binaries with little to no
performance penalty. It has been in development for many
years now, and has reached the point where many simple
programs work quite flawlessly under L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL>.

<P>
Get a grip on what this means: you can run Minesweep under
L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> and it will come up on your <B>X</B> Window screen next to
your other L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> applications and look exactly like what it
does under Windows--and you don't have to buy Windows. You
will be able to cut and paste between Windows and L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> application.

<P>
However, many applications (especially large and complex ones)
do not display correctly under L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> or crash during
operation. This has been steadily improving to the point
where Microsoft Office 2000 is said to be actually usable.

<P>
Many Windows games do, however, work quite well under L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL>,
including those with accelerated 3D graphics.

<P>
See the <EM>Wine Headquarters</EM> <I>&lt;<TT><A NAME="tex2html121"
  HREF="http://www.winehq.com/faq.html">http://www.winehq.com/faq.html</A></TT>&gt;</I>
for more information.

<P>

<H2><A NAME="SECTION0051710000000000000000">
I have heard that L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> does not suffer from virus attacks. Is it true that there is no threat of viruses with U<SMALL>NIX</SMALL> systems?</A>
</H2>

<P>
A virus is a program that replicates itself by modifying the
system on which it runs. It may do other damage. Viruses are
small programs that exploit social engineering, logistics, and the
inherent flexibility of a computer system to do undesirable
things.

<P>
Because a U<SMALL>NIX</SMALL> system does not allow this kind of flexibility in
the first place, there is categorically no such thing as a virus
for it. For example, U<SMALL>NIX</SMALL> inherently restricts access to files
outside the user's privilege space, so a virus would have
nothing to infect.

<P>
However, although L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> cannot itself execute a virus, it may
be able to pass on a virus meant for a Windows machine should a
L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> machine act as a mail or file server. To avoid this problem,
numerous virus detection programs for L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> are now becoming
available. It's what is meant by virus-software-for-L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL>.

<P>
On the other hand, conditions sometimes allow an intelligent
hacker to target a machine and eventually gain access. The
hacker may also mechanically try to attack a large number of
machines by using custom programs. The hacker may go
one step further to cause those machines that are compromised
to begin executing those same programs. At some point, this
crosses the definition of what is called a "worm." A worm is a
thwarting of security that exploits the same security hole
recursively through a network. See the question on security
below.

<P>
At some point in the future, a large number of users may be using the
same proprietary desktop application that has some security
vulnerability in it. If this were to support a virus, it would only be
able to damage the user's restricted space, but then it would be the
application that is insecure, not L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> per se.

<P>
Remember also that with L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL>, a sufficient understanding
of the system makes it possible to easily detect and repair the corruption,
without have to do anything drastic, like reinstalling or buying
expensive virus detection software.

<P>

<H2><A NAME="SECTION0051711000000000000000">
Is L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> as secure as other servers?</A>
</H2>

<P>
L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> is as secure as or more secure than typical U<SMALL>NIX</SMALL> systems.

<P>
Various issues make it more and less secure.

<P>
Because GNU software is open source, any hacker can easily
research the internal workings of critical system services.

<P>
On one hand, they may find a flaw in these internals that
can be indirectly exploited to compromise the security of a
server. In this way, L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> is <I>less</I> secure because
security holes can be discovered by arbitrary individuals. 

<P>
On the other hand, individuals may find a flaw in these internals that
they can report to the authors of that package, who will
quickly (sometimes within hours) correct the insecurity and
release a new version on the Internet. This makes L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> more
secure because security holes are discovered and reported by
a wide network of programers.

<P>
It is therefore questionable whether free software is more
secure or not. I personally prefer to have access to the
source code so that I know what my software is doing.

<P>
Another issue is that L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> servers are often installed by lazy
people who do not take the time to follow the simplest of
security guidelines, even though these guidelines are widely
available and easy to follow. Such systems are sitting ducks
and are often attacked. (See the previous question.)

<P>
A further issue is that when a security hole is discovered,
system administrators fail to heed the warnings announced to
the L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> community. By not upgrading that service, they
leave open a window to opportunistic hackers.

<P>
You can make a L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> system completely airtight by
following a few simple guidelines, like being careful about what
system services you expose, not allowing passwords to be
compromised, and installing utilities that close possible
vulnerabilities.

<P>
Because of the community nature of L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> users, there is
openness and honesty with regard to security issues. It is not
found, for instance, that security holes are covered up by
maintainers for commercial reasons. In this way, you can trust
L<SMALL>INUX</SMALL> far more than commercial institutions that think they
have a lot to lose by disclosing flaws in their software.


<P>
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