Why Use Linux?

Often I get the question, "Why should I use Linux?". Obviously this is a very nebulous question that may have as many different reasons as there are Linux users, but let's try and answer it anyway.

If you are using this article to convince someone to switch to Linux, you may need to first explain what Linux is. You can find a newbie friendly article on that subject here.

We can make a good argument for using Linux with eight basic points including coolness, speed, feature richness, ease of use, support, upgrade options, low (no) cost, and freedom.

COOLNESS

Look at the video below and tell me that Linux isn't cooler looking than MS Windows or Apple's OS X.

If your browser can't view the video below you should either switch to Firefox 3.5 (or newer) ( http://www.mozilla.com ) or watch it on You Tube ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4gQc11382g ).


We should also mention just how flexible the appearance of Linux can be. The following are some screenshots of just how much a Linux user can easily modify the appearance of their computer. A Linux user can switch desktops and themes very quickly. The following are screenshots of various Linux users' desktops.

( http://thelinuxbox.org/news/data/upimages/alexr1.jpg )
A customized GNOME desktop from AlexR1.


Linux Mint's default GNOME desktop.


A customized XFCE desktop from me.


A customized KDE desktop from dralgebra.

Another item I classify under coolness is a comparison of logos between Linux, MS Windows, and Apple's OS X.



Granted, it might be a matter of taste, but Tux (the penguin used as the Linux mascot) is much cooler than Apple's apple or Microsoft's wierd flying window.

SPEED

(Cue William Tell Overature) A fiery horse with the speed of light, a cloud of dust, and a hearty 'Hi-yo Silver!'...... in other words, Linux is Fast! Linux is generally faster for a given set of hardware specifications. This is due to greater optimization of the source code, including far less code bloat.

OK, that last paragraph sounded good, but what does that really mean?

Afterall, people want to be able to quantify things instead of making broad statements. Instead of recreating the work of others, let's look at some benchmarks already ran by Taranfx.com that compare Microsoft's most recent incantaion of Windows, MS Windows 7, vs. the most popular version of Linux on the market currently, Ubuntu 9.10.







Excluding gaming, Linux either wins or is just barely edged out on the large (1 GB) file copy benchmark. That said, if you like surfing the web and working on various items of a slightly more productive nature, than Linux wins; but if you're a hard core gamer than Linux really can't compete with MS Windows for the latest and greatest hardcore 3D shooters that require hardware acceleration. That said, there are some good games for Linux that we'll talk about in the next section.

Linux also reduces the need to upgrade or replace hardware when upgrading to newer versions. This is because its code is very efficient and compact, thus allowing it to work effectively on older computers that are not suitable for the newest versions of Microsoft Windows. There are even distributions specifically intended for older hardware. A good example of a version of Linux for use on older hardware is Lubuntu. The hardware requirements for Lubuntu are similiar to Windows 98. An old Pentium II CPU with 64 MB of RAM is enough.

FEATURE RICH

Linux is a fully-featured OS for desktops. Let's look at some screenshots to emphasize the following qualities:

• internet
• productivity,
• multimedia,
• graphics,
• and even games.

internet


In the image above you see a web browser, a file browser that can connect to my server, a web application running in its own window on the desktop, and an email client (respectively Firefox, Nautilus, Prism, and Evolution). These are but a few of the high quality web enabled applications available for Linux. Many of them come pre-installed, and others are just a couple of easy mouse-clicks away to install. Besides what you see above, I also regularly use aMule (a p2p client), Dropbox (file-sharing between desktops made easy), and Epiphany (yet another web browser). Many linux users also tweet, chat, instant message, use voip services, do video conferencing, transfer torrent files, and anything else you would expect someone to do with a web enabled device.

productivity


Documents, spreadsheets, and presentations are probably sufficient to cover the productivity needs for 90% of users and OpenOffice.org (OOo) accomplishes all that. But Linux does not stop there, as you can manipulate databases, do calendering, make use of dictionaries, and even edit PDFs on a Linux box. For even greater convenience, OOo is capable of working with many proprietary formats such as Microsoft's .DOC, .PPT, and .XLS to name a few. I know that I've managed to write and format entire books from my laptop while using Linux.

multimedia


Linux can now provide a complete multimedia solution that offers creation and editing capabilities for both audio and video. In the screenshot you can see a song I've been layering tracks for called parenteral routes, a video about HIPAA, I have Fenster's version of the Free Software Song paused, and it looks like I'm getting ready to record the whole mess as a video. The applications being used in this screenshot include Audacity, Totem, Rhythmbox, and gtk-recordmydesktop.

Linux has a plethora of multimedia applications allowing you to not just watch and listen to videos and music, but to even create music and videos ranging from quick voice captures and screencasts all the way up to feature length animated films.

graphics


Linux is great for viewing, editing, organizing, and creating graphics. I personally tend to use GIMP, Inkscape, and F-Spot to accomplish those tasks, but there are a plethora of options for achieving this.

gaming


Of course everyone has wasted time in Windows playing solitaire, well never fear because Linux can do the same! The above screenshot includes some of the games I play when I need to waste some time. Let's look at some more impressive games you could play on linux if you were motivated to do so.



Simple 3D games like foobilliard and Neverball are surprisingly addictive.



For some more intense 3D games TORCS, Flight Gear, and Alien Arena might be more your style.



Performous provides an open source game that reminds you of Guitar Hero mixed with karaoke. Be prepared to amaze you friends with your lack of musical talent.

Actually, the most interesting part to consider is that all the games mentioned thus far aren't just fun, but also free. Free usually makes something more fun for me. But, if you need to spend money, there are proprietary games for sale for Linux also. If you want to know more about Linux and gaming, you can find a list of a few hundred Linux games on Wikipedia ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Linux_games ).

EZ

Ease of use is a rather subjective term, so let's look at some examples and see how you feel about it.

example 1: clean install
After a clean install of MS Windows 7 you're ready to install your anti-virus software (we explained above why this is unnecessary in Linux). After a clean install of Ubuntu Linux, you're ready to surf the web, listen to music, watch videos, organize photos, and burn CDs and DVDs. Personally, I give this one to Linux.

example 2: multimedia file formats
Let's say someone sends you an FLV file of something cool like the HIPAA Song video and you haven't used anything to watch FLV videos since you did your clean install in the previous example. Windows is likely to tell you that it doesn't know what application to use to play it. You'll have to do a quick Google search to find that you need another video player like FLVPlayer or VLC to watch it. Then you'll have to find the appropriate website to download the player and install it before you can watch the video. That same scenario in Ubuntu Linux, a video player will launch when you double click the file, it will tell you that you do not have the necessary codec installed. It will then ask you if you want to install the necessary plugin. You click on yes, and it asks for your password, then it does the rest and the video plays. This has been my experience with most video formats when comparing the two. I would also give this round to Linux.

example 3: finding and installing new software
For this next example, let's just say that you, or someone else that uses your computer needs to practice typing so you want to install a program to help learn, practice, and track progress. In Windows I would probably do a Google search for 'free typing software' and hunt around a bit to find anything that looks good, and I would have the worry over whether it is secretly malware or not. In Ubuntu, from my Applications menu, I would launch the Ubuntu Software Center put in the word 'typing' and find good options like KTouch, Tux Typing, and Klavaro at the top of the list. I would simply double-click the software program I'm interested in, I would be provided with more information about the program, and I could simply click 'Install' and I would be ready to run my new typing software. Another round that I would give to Linux.



While I openly admit that I strongly prefer using Linux over other operating systems, I do think I've made a good argument for Linux's ease of use.

SUPPORTIVENESS

Yes, support. Thanks to the great Linux community, you can easily get support when you do run into difficulties. In addition to the plethora of on-line forums, both independent and those provided by distributions (like Ubuntu, Fedora, and openSUSE), there is also support offered by many traditional technology names such as Dell, IBM, Novell, HP and others as they have businesses that sell and promote Linux. And finally, for support a little closer to home, most major cities have Linux User Groups (LUGs) that can and do offer help and advice. If you want to find a LUG near you, I recommend checking here ( ) as Linux Online lists LUGs located from Albania to Zimbabwe. Help and support IS available and does not usually mean spending hours on hold to speak to someone in a call center on the other side of the planet.

UPDATABILITY

Windows has a nice easy to use update manager that keeps your core operating system up to date with minimal fuss, but... most of your software is not part of the core operating system so you need to track when updates and security patches for your programs become available. If we use Ubuntu as the standard, your package manager is capable of tracking ALL of your software for updates and security patches.

Not only does the package manager handle updates in a more sane fashion, but it can also automagically handle upgrades when a new release comes out. This removes the pain of costly, complicated upgrades and brings us to our next point.

FREE AS IN BEER

I'm not sure exactly whom coined the phrase 'Free as in beer' (Richard Stallman was the first person I heard use it), but it always struck me as an odd sounding phrase since I don't recall ever being given free beer. What this does mean is that most Linux distributions are available for free. Either you or one of your geek buddies can just download a Linux distribution and transfer it to an appropriate medium (such as a CD), and you're set to install it without ever requiring any sort of financial exchange.

Sometimes, I'll here the argument that Windows didn't cost them anything either. I would like to correct that statement and say that technically it did, as the retailer that sold you your PC/laptop/netbook had to pay a licensing fee, and that cost was reflected in the cost of your purchase. So, unless you're pirating Windows most Linux distributions are cheaper and will save the end user money.

FREE AS IN FREEDOM

For many geeks, hippies, and software developers the freedom in which Linux is distributed is more important than the zero cost. The core of the operating system, the Linux kernel, is released under the General Public License (GPL). The GPL grants the end users the right to use, view, modify, and redistribute the software to anyone as long as they also make their changes available to anyone they distribute their modified software to. The GPL is not the only open source license used in most Linux distributions, but most of them achieve the same end goals as the GPL.

This freedom is a huge part of Linux's rapid development as many programmers from around the world have decided to make their own modifications, and then the rest of the Linux community gains form those changes as they get merged.

CONCLUSION - WHY DOESN'T EVERYBODY USE LINUX?

Many people don't know about Linux, or they rely on an application that is only available for Windows or OS X, or they're simply content with the operating system that came preinstalled on their computer. Me personally, all I do on my computer is surf the web, write documents, presentations, spreadsheets, make original artwork, do some hobby web design, make screencasts, record original music, do a little database work, listen to music, watch videos, play a handful of games, sync music with my mp3 player, and generally find ways to keep myself entertained. So far Linux has proven good at all that.

If I need to make any corrections, or you just want to discuss the article, post a comment below.