The Case for Linux

By Peter Varhol

I’m pretty no nonsense with my computer work.  If it’s not broken, I don’t try to fix it.  If something does get broken, I put aside my work long enough to understand the problem and fix it.  If it’s possible to make the system better in the process, I’ll invest some extra time to do so.  But the computer remains fundamentally a tool to get my job done, and getting my job done is my first priority.

  So why would I say that you should consider Linux for your operating system?  It’s open source,  freely available, and has the reputation of being a tech-head’s toy.  If you have a job to do, you probably don’t want to be battling an unfamiliar and quirky operating system on top of it.

  One reason to consider Linux is to take a look at the state of the principal desktop operating system, Microsoft Windows.  While it is the devil we all know, it becomes more of a devil as time goes on.  Few people like using Windows Vista, which many find slow, bloated, and clumsy,  even on fast machines.  It was poor enough so that Microsoft is rushing its replacement to market later this year in time for holiday sales.

  Windows is also a malware magnet.  We have to spend money on anti-malware software subscriptions, and our computers still have a reasonable chance of being overwhelmed by “zero-day” attacks or even other attacks that the software doesn’t offer adequate protection against.   Much of this comes from the historical structure of Windows and how we use it, and Microsoft seems unable to enforce a change to either.

  In contrast, little malware exists for Linux.  There are a couple of reasons for this.  First, because Linux is less popular than Windows, fewer malware writers are interested in writing viruses for Linux.  Second, Linux users generally don’t give themselves administrator privileges, so it becomes more difficult for malware to enter through a user account and give itself elevated privileges to do real damage.  Last, the worldwide Linux development community responds incredibly quickly to vulnerabilities, and any known attack should have a patch within a few days.

  Of course, this means that you (or your commercial Linux vendor) have to spend more time monitoring the patch situation, but that’s not a lot different than what you have to do with Windows anyway.  If you have Windows updates automatically downloaded and installed, this will be a little more work for you, but it will prevent your holding your breath to see if your Windows updates actually install (as mine no longer do).

  How about applications?   That’s a good question.  There is no doubt that you will find substantially fewer Linux applications than for Windows.  This includes your design applications, although several of the leading packages also offer Linux versions.

  However, while your choices are more limited, they are likely no worse than the application sections available on other secondary operating systems, such as the Mac.  Further,  you will have an excellent selection of free and low-cost software.  For example, I use Sun Microsystems’  OpenOffice as my office productivity suite, and while I still like Microsoft Office 2007 a little better, OpenOffice is perfectly fine, has a significantly smaller disk footprint than Office, and can import and exchange files with its Microsoft counterpart.  And best of all,  OpenOffice can be freely downloaded.

  There is no question that Linux use will require adjustment,  but the usability and graphical desktop features put into distributions such as Ubuntu Linux make it acceptably usable.   You do have to have a better understanding how your computer works, in part because Linux doesn’t abstract its advanced features quite as well as Windows does, but that may be a good thing.   Knowing something about our tools means that we can use it properly.

  Perhaps the best reason to consider Linux is that it encourages proper use.

Peter Varhol has been involved with software development and systems management for many years. Send comments about this column to [email protected].