[CoLoCo] Boulder Daily Camera newspaper on Linux

Mon Sep 10 21:34:44 BST 2007

Cool. The Boulder LUG added a comment. Neal, give us a plug.

On 9/10/07, Neal McBurnett <neal at bcn.boulder.co.us> wrote:
>
> Wow.  The front page of Boulder's Daily Camera newspaper had a 2-inch
> Tux on it today, linking to a full-page image of penguins on the front
> of the business section, and a full-page article on page 10.  The text
> is here:
>
>
> http://dailycamera.com/news/2007/sep/10/cover-story-linux-toeing-the-march-of-the/
>
> and included below.
>
> Several mistakes, but not bad at all....
>
> There was also a "Linux: Pro and Con" sidebar that I don't see online.
>
> This would be a good time for some helpful comments in their online
> page or some letters to the editor.  Someone from the Boulder LUG
> already put up a URL for them.
>
> Neal McBurnett                 http://mcburnett.org/neal/
>
> ----
>
> March of the penguin: Linux emerges as option for Windows
>
> By Arwyn Rice, For the Camera
> Monday, September 10, 2007
>
> Shopping for a home computer involves more than just choosing
> hardware â buyers must also pick what kind of operating system they
> want to run that new machine.
>
> And for most people, that's long meant choosing between Microsoft's
> Windows, which runs on PCs, or OS, the system that operates Apple's
> Macintosh.
>
> For the last two decades, there have been few challenges to the battle
> between Windows machines â which overwhelmingly dominate the consumer
> market â and pricier Macs. Unix, standing separately as an operating
> system for servers as well as university and large corporate computer
> systems, was simply far too expensive and far too difficult for the
> average computer user.
>
> Enter Linux, an operating system created by Finnish university student
> Linus Torvalds as a hobby.
>
> Once only a toy for geeks, Linux now is vying for a place in the
> consumer operating system market. While Linux long has been used by
> hardcore computer enthusiasts to improve their machines' performance
> and to protect from viruses, a new user-friendly generation of the
> operating system is ready to offer its services to the average user.
>
> A short history
>
> of Linux
>
> In 1991 Torvalds created Linux, a free, open-source operating system
> based on the powerful Unix system. Thousands of computer programmers
> joined the Linux camp, altering, improving and adding to the Linux
> code in their spare time.
>
> In a famous 1996 experiment, the Los Alamos National Laboratory
> created a supercomputer by wiring 68 personal computers together while
> running Linux. The do-it-yourself computer ran 19 billion calculations
> per second. Three months later, the system still did not need to be
> rebooted, a testament to the stability of Linux.
>
> However, Linux still was not quite ready for the consumer market.
> Early Linux users had to find a server, download Linux, put it on
> floppy disks and install the program. Even practiced technicians had
> some difficulty with the installation process, earning Linux a
> reputation for being difficult.
>
> Yet the system continued to grow in popularity and there were an
> increasing number of applications available for Linux-based systems.
>
> "It was due to a bunch of nerds that have the ability to dig into the
> system." said Chris Schenk, director of computer operations at the
> University of Colorado's department of computer sciences.
>
> When the turn of the century arrived, there were competing Linux
> distributions. Red Hat, SUSE and Caldera offered commercial versions
> of Linux that could be purchased in a store and easily installed by
> novice computer users, while Debian offered similar downloads for
> free.
>
> By 2004, more than 5 percent of home computers used Linux operating
> systems. New Linux "live" distributions were offered. SUSE, Knoppix,
> Ubuntu and others offered further ease of installation and technical
> support.
>
> Meanwhile, free support software entered the market, including Star
> Office and Open Office productivity suites, image editing programs
> such as The GIMP and a multitude of games, many featuring the Linux
> penguin mascot "Tux."
>
> Linux was finally ready for the consumer market.
>
> Ready for prime time?
>
> "Linux has come a long way in the last few years, especially the
> Ubuntu distribution" CU's Schenk said. "It has all the standard stuff
> any regular person would need."
>
> Most people are looking for multimedia, which can be a difficult to
> configure in Linux, and there are difficulties in getting Linux to
> work with wireless systems, Schenk noted.
>
> Computers shipped with Linux do not have this difficulty, as they come
> pre-configured, eliminating the most difficult step in Linux usage.
>
> Larry Call, a 70-year-old computer user from Boulder, switched from
> Windows to Linux two years ago when he purchased a new Dell laptop
> computer and couldn't get Windows to work with his wireless network.
> The computer technician he hired to fix the problem suggested Linux.
>
> "I read about it for the first time several years ago," Call said. "I
> told him to install it."
>
> The technician installed the system and Call has had no problems with
> his computer since.
>
> "I just thought it was easier," Call said. "Everything, the whole
> thing is easier."
>
> In December 2004, WalMart announced the Balance, a laptop computer
> marketed with the Linux distribution Linspire. It was the first time
> computers were shipped pre-loaded with Linux, and cost only $498, a
> low price that could be offered because the cost does not include a
> Windows license.
>
> The Balance eventually was discontinued, but, in 2006 Hewlett-Packard,
> Dell and Lenovo became the first major computer manufacturers to offer
> Linux pre-loaded on their machines.
>
> HP has the most extensive variety of computers pre-loaded with Linux
> and offers a choice of Linux distributions including Novell SUSE, Red
> Hat and Debian.
>
> Dell offers three models pre-loaded with Ubuntu 7.04 â two desktops
> and a laptop. Dell plans to offer additional options later this year.
>
> Lenovo (formerly IBM) offers another distribution of Linux on SUSE
> Enterprise Desktop 10 on the Thinkpad T60p.
>
> System76 also offers a variety of laptops and desktops pre-loaded with
> Linux.
>
> Linux in the real world
>
> Counting how many computers run Linux is difficult. Market shares are
> calculated by sales of new computers with a pre-loaded operating
> system. Sales of computers pre-loaded with Linux doubled between
> September 2006 and August 2007, creating an apparent market share of 1
> percent.
>
> However, most Linux users purchase standard Windows computers, build
> their own computers or purchase computers without any operating
> system. Users then erase Windows and install Linux from online
> downloads or from shared CDs. It is nearly impossible to count the
> number of home based computers that use the system.
>
> According to IDC information technology research company, thanks to
> the emerging Linux market, the market share of new and used PCs
> shipped with Linux is expected reach 7 percent in 2008. That would put
> it nearly even with Mac, which posted a 7.6 percent market share in
> May 2007.
>
>
> Comments
>
> Posted by tcrjunk on September 10, 2007 at 9:35 a.m. ([40]Suggest
> removal)
>
> Or you can try linux out without ever leaving windows. Just install
> colinux.
>
> Posted by LightningRose on September 10, 2007 at 11:52 a.m.
> ([41]Suggest removal)
>
> Anyone interested in learning more about Linux is invited to contact
> the Boulder Linux Users Group.
>
> [42]http://lug.boulder.co.us/
> Post your comment
> (Requires free [43]registration.)
>
>
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