-- What's different about Linux?  Why yet another OS?

Linux is the next generation of operating systems.  Just as PCs have
replaced mainframes and terminals, Linux is in the process of
replacing Microsoft Windows, Mac OS and other proprietary operating
systems.


-- Isn't Win98 and WinNT the impending standard for everyone?

Microsoft products are very popular in business today, just as IBM's
mainframe products were a near-monopoly for business computing in the
1960s and 1970s.

Learning Linux today is an opportunity to participate in the new
market wave, just as learning about the new "micros" in the 1970s
helped you succeed in the PC hardware and software boom.


-- Why does open-source software matter to non-programmers?

Open-source software has three key advantages: quality,
configurability, and interoperability.

1. Open-source software is checked and tested by many programmers for
bugs and security flaws.

2. Open-source software has more configuration options than
proprietary software.  It is easier to customize.

3. Open-source software implements Internet standard protocols better
than proprietary software, and also interoperates with non-standard
proprietary software.


-- What's it good for?
-- What's it not good for?

In general, the newer a kind of application is, the better the Open
Source products are.  For example, leading web browsers and servers
are available under Open Source licenses, while the most popular
spreadsheets are not.


-- How good is hardware support?  How beefy a machine is required?
   
Please tell us about your computing needs and available hardware.  A
machine that might be a good web and mail server might not be a good
choice for a graphic workstation.

Some devices, such as Winmodems, are not supported under Linux.


-- Where do I get drivers?
-- How do I install it?

That's what this install fest is for.  Linux comes with drivers for
most popular PC hardware, and we will help you with the install
process.


-- Will it run my existing applications?  How do I read Word97 docs?
   Where's Quicken?

People didn't come up to Steve Jobs with stacks of punch cards, now,
did they?  Go away, you silly person.


-- If it's "free", how do I get support?  Isn't is a problem that Linux
   lacks a corporate backer?

Linux support is available from many consultants in the Bay Area and
from national vendors.

If you want the type of support that is available from proprietary
software companies, we will try to find you a consultant to sing to
you on the phone for half an hour, then give you a wrong answer.


-- How can it be any good if it's free of charge?

It's not free of charge.  A typical Linux distribution on CD costs
about $50, and you will also want to buy a good Linux book, which
costs about $30.  In the case of Linux, "free" simply means that the
license agreement does not restrict your right to use and copy the
software.


-- How can it be any good if there aren't as many applications?  Why 
   aren't they on the shelves at Fry's?

Your local video store has many VHS video tapes, and few if any
software packages.  Does this mean that your VCR is better than your
PC?  Go away, you silly person.


-- How can it be any good if it's seldom mentioned in PC magazines?

You are reading the wrong magazine.  Please take a subscription card
for Linux Journal or Boardwatch.


-- How can it be any good if it doesn't do multi-threading?
   (It _does_ do multithreading.  This is a common bit of 
   Microsoft-originated FUD.)

[ We might not want to display this question. ]


-- How can it be any good if it's based on antique, user-hostile Unix?
   (Isn't Unix obsolete?)

Linux was designed to be Unix-compatible, but it also supports
advanced features present in other operating systems.  Linux was
written from the ground up beginning in 1991, making it the newest of
the popular PC operating systems.  Linux contains no Unix code.


-- Do I have to get rid of Windoze to run it?  How much space does it take?

You can set up a single PC to boot multiple operating systems,
including Linux, Windows 95, Windows NT, and OS/2.

[ Perhaps we should include sizes of example installations.  Here's
one of mine: 

Filesystem         1024-blocks  Used Available Capacity Mounted on
/dev/sda1             126896   56118    64222     47%   /
/dev/sda2            1585859  852622   651281     57%   /usr
/dev/sda3             253792   94944   145735     39%   /var
/dev/sda6            2206888  422539  1670266     20%   /home

]

-- Where do I get Linux?  Where at the show?

Borders, Central Computer...

-- Where do I get books on Linux?  Which are recommended?

Sobell, Mark.  A Practical Guide to Linux.