[ Thanks to Colin Walls for this
link. ]
“One of the reasons some of us use computers is that they are
supposed to save us time. Reality can often be different: we end up
spending immeasurable amounts of time crashing and rebooting, for
no obvious reason. Some of these time-wasting frustrations are not
down to our hardware, but are a result of the operating system
being used.”
“Apart from a few exceptions, we haven’t had much choice.
Microsoft has had a huge influence on how PCs have developed, and
holds increasing influence over the internet. But now, the times
they are a’changing. The alternative is Linux, an operating system
whose kernel was created in 1991 by student Linus Torvalds. Linux
has grown and matured to such an extent that it now occupies third
place behind Windows NT and Novell’s Netware in the server soft
ware league. And it is the most popular single operating system for
web servers, with a third of that market. Consider the computer
graphics in the film Titanic…”
“One of the advantages of GNU/Linux is that it is available
free, as long as you install and maintain it yourself. Last year,
the Mexican government embarked on an ambitious project to equip
140,000 schools with computers. The licence costs of Microsoft
Windows were so high, even with volume discounts, that the Mexicans
opted for Linux, saving an estimated $124m. Over a large
installed base, the cost advantage of Linux becomes
compelling.“