Many Linux users are faced with the unpleasant problem when purchasing a new machine of being forced into purchasing an unnecessary copy of Windows that will be erased without ever being started. Linux installs from a bootable CDROM and the boot sequence is set in the BIOS so it is perfectly possible to enter the BIOS the first time the machine loads, change the boot sequence, insert the CD and start the Linux install by agreeing to erase all existing partitions. It makes no difference whether there is an OS already installed or not, Windows is erased without ever being offered the chance to start. The licence fee is not explicitly stated in the price, but it is part of the calculation. Manufacturers are not keen on supplying a new PC with no OS pre-installed and ignorance of Linux often leads to resistance when asked to supply anything except Windows. Some of the excuses offered include 'anti-piracy' rules - arrogantly assuming that if no OS is installed, then a pirated copy of Windows must be the obvious result. The idea that the user may have a perfectly genuine (and legal) copy of an alternative OS is not even considered. This has become known as the Redmond/Microsoft Tax.
Dell are one manufacturer offering pre-installed Linux on a variety of machines, including laptops.
However, new super-fast PC's are not the only machines to run Linux. Linux is increasingly finding it's way into embedded applications, even watches. The open source nature of Linux makes it easy to remove any unneeded modules, drivers and hardware support from the kernel and Linux installations can be squeezed from the average PC install of around 1Gb to special purpose distros more than a thousand times smaller, to the size of a floppy disc or less. This scalability also means that old hardware that simply cannot cope with a modern Windows installation can run Linux as fast as the latest and greatest. By not using the Graphical User Interface (GUI) and removing unwanted programs and modules, Linux can run on a 386 machine that would not have a hope of even installing a recent release of Windows. With enough RAM, a 386 machine can match the performance of a much faster machine by running Linux to serve as an internet gateway machine and firewall for a home user with a dial-up connection. A 486 machine can provide a web server and file server for a small intranet without noticeable loss in performance. For broadband internet access, an old Pentium I machine with a working USB port can provide an internet connection for a small home network. Machines that have been banished to the scrap heap can be recalled and setup to provide a completely free service for the rest of the network, whether the network runs Windows, Linux or any other OS.
Linux also runs Apache - the most commonly used web server on the internet. Arguments rage over just how many web servers run Linux and who wins depends on how you do the calculation. One common mistake is to count the number of licences - Linux has no need for records of how many copies or licences are in use and, as noted above, just because a machine was sold with a Windows licence does not mean it is still running Windows.
At the opposite extreme, Linux can be scaled up to run a cluster of machines as a single unit. Again, old, unwanted machines can be recycled or a collection of newer machines co-opted into a cluster, one of the most well known being a Beowulf Cluster.
This is part of www.codehelp.co.uk Copyright © 1998-2004 Neil Williams
See the file about.html for
copying conditions.
