They Don't Do Windows

In the world of personal computer politics, last week was strange, indeed.

• Comdex, the PC industry's premier trade show, was held in Las Vegas, and a company that didn't even show up, Apple, nearly won some of the top awards.
• With headlines dominated by the Microsoft/Department of Justice trial, PC Magazine named its Person Of The Year -- Linus Torvalds, developer of the Windows alternative Linux.
• Byte.com named Corel Office Suite for Linux as its Software of the Year and gave its Best of Show award to the entire Linux Business Expo at Comdex.
• And my column, "How Not to Install Linux," received more e-mail than all my other columns combined.

I think it's going to be a tough year for Microsoft.

People want alternatives to Windows, in all its forms. That's why Linux and Apple continue to grow in popularity. I believe that's also why so many people responded to last week's column about my ill-conceived and ill-fated attempt to install the Linux operating system.

Linux, you'll recall, is an operating system that will take the place of Windows or whatever you've got on your computer as the user-friendly interface between you and the computer's functions. The operating system is "open-source" -- i.e., the code that makes up its guts is available to the public, not kept a secret like Microsoft's.

Could This Be A Movement?

Linux' impact on the computer industry grows every day. Byte.com, the online successor to Byte Magazine, recognized that impact with its Comdex Best of Show award, pointing out that the Linux area on the show floor was "larger than the first Windows Pavilion years ago." Byte's Best Software award went to Corel, which is not only making an excellent business suite of tools available for Linux, but is also marketing its own version of the Linux operating system. You might be more familiar with Corel for its program Word Perfect, one of the original -- and best -- word processing programs for the PC.

PC Magazine named Linus Torvalds its Person of the Year, recognizing him for developing Linux, versions of which are now distributed by Caldera, Corel, IBM, Informix, Red Hat, and Sun, among others.

Even more interesting was the fact that the Apple G4 was nearly named as the System of the Year, narrowly edged out by a Toshiba computer. PC Magazine said, "take a great design, make it easy to upgrade and maintain, and add one of the fastest PC processors available and you end up with a great system?Apple has retained a design that was originally used for its Power Mac G3, with a pull-down motherboard offering easy access to expansion slots and drives without tools. The combination yields a winning system for graphic designers, Internet content creators, and anyone who wants a high-performance PC." On top of this, Apple's iMac and iBook very nearly took top awards from PC Computing magazine -- and Apple Computer had no official presence at Comdex, although Macs of various flavors were seen everywhere.

You Are Not Alone

If the industry seems to be embracing alternatives to Windows, so are the people -- if our own mailbag is any indication. Several readers said they'd experienced disasters similar to mine when they tried to replace Windows with Linux. That included Michael J. O'Neill of Minnesota: "Everything you did in your article, such as installing while in a hurry and without backup, I have done before. I learned my lesson the hard way, also. However, what really made me laugh is that now that now that I am a 'Computer Professional' or the Steve Morman of my office I have people coming to me at least once a week who have done the same 'stupid' mistakes and now are coming to me to bail them out. Is it ever going to change? I hope not. If it does I'm out of demand and out of a job..."

As part of my penance I made myself type, 25 times, "I are a computer professional. DOH!" I do hope to install Linux before the end of the year, so I'll probably do another article soon. I just hope the next attempt won't be as costly in either time or equipment. As the Steve Morman of your office, do you have an affinity for pilmeini and vodka?

Jim Greenwell of Minnesota told of his experiences with OS/2, an earlier IBM operating system:

"I keep remembering my travails with OS/2 a decade ago, when I lost most of my work several times. I've been wary of partition managers ever since. I also got to watch Microsoft and IBM, who had been 'cooperating' on OS/2 development, scream at each other in my boss' office.

Linux, Maybe -- But Which One?

Greenwell closed with a question: "Why Caldera?"

Indeed, although I documented my attempt to install a Caldera version of Linux, Utah-based Caldera Systems is just one many companies that package Linux for sale. The main differences between packages are in product support, installation utilities and included additional software, since the basic Linux operating system is free. I picked Caldera's version of Linux because it got some good reviews, particularly for ease of installation. My problems were my own, not Caldera's.

"I've literally tried and worked with all but two flavors of Linux that are available," wrote Jeffrey S. Kline of Columbia Heights, Minn. "Caldera Linux is not one of the better due to the time of install it takes, and it's own peeves about some hardware. Better flavors are RedHat Linux, and Suse Linux. Debian is popular, but you have to be both a real geeky guy to install it, and it also has a horribly long install time."

Larry Vaughn of Florida suggested I check out the version of Linux from Corel. But since I can upgrade my Caldera version after buying the original -- and a new Corel version costs $59 or $89 -- I think I'll stay with free.

You may not have that convenience of upgrading if you pick the RedHat version of Linux, advised Larry L. Stimely of Texas. "Installation of RedHat 6.1 is a hell of a lot easier than previous versions, but I strongly recommend a fresh install over an upgrade because there are so many potential problems with 'X applications' (graphical user interfaces supported by Linux.)?I tried an upgrade with my RedHat box at work and managed to screw up X so badly that my only alternative was a completely fresh install, after which my problems with X and Netscape crashing disappeared.

"Pass this on to your readers. If they plan to defect from Microsoft, it'll make their lives a whole lot easier."

Is Switching Worth It?

Jonathan Coleman of Oregon had problems with his Linux installation because some hardware companies won't provide supporting software for Linux. But Alvin Riesbeck of Illinois doesn't have installation problems since he's developed his own set of rules:

"Rule #2: The only one who should ever install an operating system is the original equipment manufacturer. If it does not work then it's the (manufacturer's) problem.
"Rule #3: Buy a new system if you plan to do big upgrades such as replacing your hard drive, sound card, video cards, etc., because the new equipment will be incompatible with you old components and/or mother board, operating system, etc. You will need to install other new equipment, which raises the replacement cost. By buying new will save lots of time and headaches?"

I guess that's the problem I have with Windows and Intel architecture. It should be easy for the average guy, or gal, to make changes to a computer. If they can't, it really doesn't qualify as a consumer product, at least in my mind.

Elizabeth Hart's comment was straight, simple and to-the-point. "Get a Mac!"

I Love the Mac. If I could afford a G4 right now I'd get one. However, since I'm on a budget, the Mac will have to wait (maybe next year).

The phrase "Get a Mac!" seems to be popular among Mac faithful -- yours isn't the first I've received. It's a derivative of the epithet "get a horse!" which was yelled at the unfortunate owners of broken-down automobiles. You might want to consider another phrase rather than one which implies the Mac is little better than the horse and buggy.

Linux Users Stick Together

People who use Linux on their computers were quick to offer help -- in some instances actually offering to install Linux on my machine. Members of the Linux community stay in touch with one another through a network of user groups and Web sites and are active in support of an operating system they love.

Jason Burke of Illinois is typical of the "Linux underground." He's acting vice president of the Linux Users of Central Illinois, a user's group with its own Web site. He's also founded his own group to encourage Linux use, LinuxMentors, which trains high school students in the use of Linux and Unix.

"Before you attempt that install again," Burke e-mailed, "contact the local Linux users group and get someone over there to help you out. I'm sure that at least 25 percent of them would be more than willing to get you up and running. You can find a listing of user groups in your area at www.linux.com under the "LUGS" (Linux User Groups) section."

A big thank you to the Linux community for its help.

Sidebar: How The Open-Source Movement Will Change The Way We Buy Software

First published Nov. 23, 1999