Linux, open-source software, whatnot.

Today’s post is, for some of you, either not going to be read, or read with eyes that glaze over heavily. I’m gonna try and keep it nice and simple, but that can be hard, cause I don’t fully understand all of what follows.

Okiedokie, chances are, if you’re reading this, you’re sitting at a computer that’s running one of two different operating systems: Windows or Mac OS. If we look at market share, those two alone make up roughly 95% of the market. Both of these operating systems are developed by a company seeking to make a profit (which isn’t bad, but is relevant to the conversation), though the company that makes each (Microsoft and Apple), have radically different design philosophies.

Now, the reason I mention these two together is that these are both what are called “closed-source”, or proprietary source, programs/operating systems. That means that the individual lines of computer code used to make it tick are not available to be seen or changed by users of the program. It’s important to note at this point that Apple is much more forthcoming with releasing parts of their operating system’s code than Windows, but nevertheless, the end-user does not have access to the entirety of the program.

So you’ve read that, and you’re like, so what? Who cares if I can’t see the source code of Windows XP Pro, it’s not like I could make any beneficial changes to it. Suffice to say, the “so what” will be answered below.

There is another world of computing that most people don’t get much exposure to. It’s called the open-source movement, and it revolves around a central idea: that when I write programming code, the community is better off if I allow that code to be seen by all and used by all. Open-source simply means that the source code that wrote a given program is available to anyone who wants to see it, and they can use it in their own programs, with a few restrictions around commercial use.

One of the flagship products of this movement is an Operating System called Linux. It’s become something of a buzz word, so there are many varieties of Linux now, but at its core, it was/is an operating system that is completely open-source. That is to say, the code that makes Linux tick is fully available to anyone to view, to use, modify, or redistribute as they see fit. Some versions of Linux hold fast and firm to this open-source philosophy, only allowing programs which are completely open-source to be packaged with them.

So again, who cares? I mean, we went from a operating system that is closed-source (Windows) to one that is open-source (Linux), and in either situation I don’t know enough about the code to make any positive changes.

Well, here’s why you care, well, why I care:

Linux is free! – This is a strong first point. Generally, most applications and whatnot for Linux are completely free. So how do companies make their money? They either don’t (most of Linux development is done by individuals), or they offer the software for free and charge money for the support of it.

I’m fascinated with this part of Linux, the free part that is. Currently, a OEM license of XP Pro is $150 per computer. Considering how the price of hardware is always lower, XP Pro becomes a larger and larger portion of the cost of a computer. Not only that, but nearly every single worthwhile piece of software I want for Windows costs money, generally alot. MS Office, various photo editting programs, anti-virus, games, on and on. All of this is frely available in Linux.

Linux is secure - Well, it has the potential to be secure. You see, since the code is open for anyone to see, if someone manages to find a gaping security problem in a program, they can refer it to a person who can fix it immediately, depending on the severity. Or, if I have enough knowledge, I can fix it myself. When there is a major problem in Windows or a Windows application, there is often a large delay before a security patch is made, leaving many people vulnerable.

The point is, if I want Linux to be secure, it’s well within my options to make it that way.

Linux is open - As mentioned over and over above, the code that makes Linux work is out there for everyone to see. If I need Linux to do something different for me, I don’t have to request that a corporation make the change for me, I can just… do it. And it’s done.

So now you’re thinking… well Eric, if Linux is so great, why doesn’t everyone have Linux on their computer? Well, two main reasons as I see it.

1. It’s terribly user-unfriendly. That means, if you don’t know anything about computers, or just know about Windows, you’re gonna be in for a rude awakening. Some types of Linux aim to be friendly to users, but there’s still alot of work to be done for it to match the usability of Windows or Max OS X.

2. The market-share dilemma. For Linux to really catch on, certain programs need to be ported (or moved to Linux) to Linux for it to catch on. The companies that develop this software haven’t done so because not enough people use Linux. So we’re stuck with a lovely little catch-22.

Whew. Hope you made it all the way down here. Now, as for the point of all this… I’m working on installing Linux on my personal computer (Supercomputer[tm]) right now, a couple hours a night. Right now, I’ve got Debian Linux installed, and am diving headlong into the learning curve, working on getting my wireless Internet to work on it. It’s alot of work, but its good work.

FL: finger