gNulife Technology
"New life for you and your computer."


Home

Services & Prices

Training

Tips & Tricks

Linux

About gNulife

refurb computers for sale



(John 5:24)


1. What is LINUX?     Any computer has to have a software program, called the "Operating System" (OS), that runs the computer. Most PCs use some version of Microsoft's Windows operating system. MacIntosh PCs use their own "OS X" operating system.
    Back in 1991 a man named Linus Torvald started developing a Unix-like operating system that would be free to all and "open-sourced", meaning anyone who wanted to get a copy of the code and make changes, could do so as long as they kept it free and open for others. Since then, Linux has developed into the most-used OS for web servers and is currently being used on millions of personal computers.

2. Why do I recommend Linux?     After working with a number of different Linux versions (or "distributions", of which there are hundreds now-a-days) over the last eight years, I have three main reasons I think Linux is a better operating system for PCs.

STABILITY - Linux is a more stable operating system. It doesn't crash like the typical OS has been known to do. It doesn't freeze, etc., etc. That's not to say it never does. It just doesn't have near the problems of that typical OS. Even when it does have a problem, there's usually a way to get out of the problem without rebooting. In eight years I can count on two hands (maybe just one) the number of times I've had to reboot in order to get out of some problem. And I'm experimenting all the time. With my Windows systems it has literally been at least over a hundred times in the same period. Linux was designed to be a Unix-like OS and Unix has been around a lot longer than Windows or even DOS. So not only is Unix/Linux designed better, it's had many more years to work out the bugs.

SECURITY - By it's design, Linux is a safer, more secure OS. In the eight years I've been working with Linux I have never gotten a virus on any of my systems. (Or if I have, it's never had any effect on any of them.) And I've NEVER HAD ANY ANTIVIRUS software installed! Proponents of Microsoft often say this is just because Linux isn't a target to the virus makers. If that was true, and it's not, it would only be an admission of why Linux is safer. The truth is, if you don't want to have to deal with viruses and virus protection, use Linux.

SAVINGS - Linux is FREE! Absolutely, totally, free. You can purchase some non-free versions if you like to throw your money away, but it just doesn't make sense for most of us. (Some businesses purchase licensed copies of Redhat, Suse, etc. because they want to be able to call the manufacturers for help if they really feel they need to. Personally I believe it's more for peace of mind and still a waste of money.) Not only is Linux free, but tons of Linux-based applications are free. You don't need MS Office. Download a copy of OpenOffice (if it isn't already installed with your Linux distribution) for free. You don't need Photoshop. You can download Gimp if it isn't already installed. Name any of the typical programs designed for Windows and there's almost always a counterpart on the Linux side for free. And they will often open files seemlessly from the Windows program. So ... you can keep throwing your money at Microsoft and Windows software companies or keep your money and use Linux.

Seven reasons I use Linux

More reasons to use Linux