Positive Linux PR

[Leo Mauler]

Aha!  An opportunity to test the bullet points before
ITEC!  :)

--- crash3m <crash3m at gmail.com> wrote:

> Regarding point 2, this unfortunatly is not 
> always the case.  One point that cannot be 
> ignored is that a system is only as secure 
> as the administrator makes it.  

True enough, but consider that Linux, for almost every
single distribution, has the user create an account
without administrator privileges for daily use.  The
executables are protected behind the Root account and
aren't writable by the User account.  The fact is that
Linux is more secure, "out of the box", than many
proprietary operating systems (and quite possibly all
of the non-*nix proprietary operating systems).  It
can be *more* secure than its fresh install security,
but it is pretty darn secure after a basic
installation.

I didn't mention the near lack of viruses and the
total lack of spyware, because I'm not sure how to
talk about those things without accidentally bashing a
certain North American proprietary operating system. 
Would these two sentences meet with everyone's
approval?

"Linux has only 14 known viruses and a near complete
lack of spyware.  No Linux developer has seen any need
to develop an anti-spyware utility for Linux."

> When I first started messing with linux, I was 
> using telnet instead of ssh for 'remote
> administration' (from a whopping 2 feet away.)  
> I've never seen any package manager complain
> about telnetd being an insecure means of
> communication so a newbie may not be aware 
> of ssh.

I would point out that a newbie may not be aware of
"remote administration".  ITEC is a perfect
opportunity to educate people on the existence of ssh
and SSH Tunneling for VNC.

> Another issue I have with OS'es is the number 
> of services that are enabled by default.  While 
> a firewall will restrict access, it makes more 
> sense to me to have unneeded services turned off
> as well as firewalled by default.

That would be nice as well, but the main point is
still that Linux is more secure than many of the other
operating systems, some of which also leave services
turned on by default.

> Regarding point 3, I think this may need to 
> be worded as "Linux can be Flexible and 
> User-Friendly."  Distro's such as Gentoo or 
> Archlinux are not so 'newbie friendly.'  
> Though if a new user were inclined to pour
> through Gentoo's documentation it is quite
> extensive.

I think it is splitting hairs to argue that Linux
might not be user friendly because there are
distributions which aren't user friendly.  There are
versions of proprietary operating systems which are
developed for server use and aren't user friendly, yet
no one claims that those proprietary operating systems
"can be" user-friendly, they say that they *are*
user-friendly.

Linux is flexible, and most distributions are (now)
user friendly.  If you go with one of the more
well-known distributions, and the fee-for-CDs
distributions know which side their bread is buttered
on, you will not be disappointed as a user completely
new to Linux.

Ubuntu is user-friendly and we are handing out CDs for
Ubuntu (and possibly for Mandriva One, another
user-friendly distribution).  Chances are the first
distribution they try out, is the Ubuntu CD they
picked up along with this brochure.

> Regarding point 4, So does every other operating
> system for the most part.  

Yes, but one common myth about Linux is that it
doesn't have applications.  I thought I would nip that
one in the bud.

> One less than impressive thing about linux is
> its ability to play games.  Microsoft dominates 
> this arena.  Yes I am aware of crossover, cedega
> etc... but it tends to be a pain compared to 
> windows (next accept next next ok next accept, 
> start game)

Game playing isn't usually the focus of the ITEC
audience, so I thought emphasizing productivity
applications would be a good way of pointing out that
Linux is a valid choice for a desktop operating
system.

As for playing games under Windows, <removes gloves>,
one advantage that Cedega and Crossover have over
Windows is that game compatibility will remain the
same regardless of which version of Linux you happen
to be using.  Testing groups are already reporting
that many popular games *will not run* in Vista, and
Microsoft itself is dropping support for DirectX 7, 8,
and 9 in the new DirectX 10.  While DirectX 10 may be
a grand new environment for gaming, Microsoft is
effectively dropping support for many older games (and
all Windows98 games) in Vista.  Microsoft has
announced that there will be a DirectX 7/8/9
*emulation* in Windows, a software layer guaranteed to
run a lot slower than Cedega and certainly a lot
slower than Windows XP runs games.  Once a game runs
in Cedega, it runs in Cedega, be it 2006 or 2010 or
2038.

Naturally, none of the preceding paragraph will be in
the brochure.

> On 10/12/06, Leo Mauler <webgiant at yahoo.com> wrote:

> > I picked out five reasons to choose Linux and
> > wrote short descriptions of each.  Let me know 
> > what you think:
> >
> > ====================
> > 1. Linux is Free and Open
> >
> > Most Linux distributions are free to obtain 
> > and free to modify.  The source code for the 
> > Linux operating system and most Linux 
> > applications is available for review and 
> > modification.  With everyone looking at the
> > source code, bugs and security problems are 
> > found and fixed much faster than with 
> > proprietary, closed-source operating systems 
> > and applications.
> >
> > 2. Linux is Reliable and Secure
> >
> > Linux is a very stable operating system.  
> > Uptimes of more than two years have been 
> > reported in Linux servers.  This is because 
> > the system is designed to be upgraded and 
> > modified "on the fly" -- the only reason
> > to turn off a Linux system is to add or 
> > remove hardware, or boot from a different 
> > kernel.  Modern Linux software packaging 
> > systems allow the user to upgrade the entire 
> > system without a reboot.
> > 
> > Linux has been designed from the ground up 
> > with security in mind.  For example, a Linux 
> > user uses a regular user account instead of 
> > the root (Administrator) account for everyday 
> > needs.  A robust firewall is included in Linux
> > distributions and is enabled by default.
> >
> > 3. Linux is Flexible and User-Friendly
> >
> > Linux can be configured to suit different 
> > types of computers and needs (desktop, laptop, 
> > or server; accessibility needs) very easily 
> > and without modifying the source code.  
> > Modern GUI configuration utilities allow end 
> > users to configure their system without
> > editing text files by hand.
> >
> > 4. Linux has Applications
> >
> > Linux has a wide range of applications for 
> > most needs: Openoffice.org (office suite), 
> > Thunderbird and Evolution (E-mail), Firefox 
> > and Mozilla (web browsers), and Xine (video 
> > and audio playback).  Users can also send 
> > instant messages, view flash animations,
> > read Adobe Acrobat PDF files, and play a 
> > variety of games.
> >
> > 5. Linux works on Most Hardware
> >
> > Linux works on older hardware, allowing 
> > users to keep PC hardware working long after 
> > they become obsolete for modern versions of 
> > proprietary operating systems.  Linux also 
> > works on Macintosh and 64-bit hardware.
> > ====================

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