-- What's different about Linux? Why yet another OS? Just as mainframe manufacturers introduced fancier terminals to compete with PCs, and some software vendors stuck with MS-DOS and did not release Microsoft Windows versions, many vendors are still focusing on the Windows platform. And just as terminals and MS-DOS systems are still used today, Microsoft Windows systems will still be used for some time in the future. -- 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.