...
Linux, the computer platform that
powers the most powerful large computer systems in existence will run
very well on many types of computers.
This is not by accident, it is by design.
Considering the large number of types of computers in that realm of
large scale computing and the fact that Unix and Open Source code
(including Linux type operating systems) are the backbone of these
systems, including the internet itself, It should not seem to be
unreasonable that many of the people who run these large scale systems
would desire a compatible system for their personal use at home :) One
that is familiar to them and has the same "right stuff" to be desired
by knowledgeable computer people, to use on their Personal Computers or
Laptops. Why would that not make sense, seems obvious to me.
With one to four or more processors and relatively
large amounts of core memory ( RAM ) some of these small x86 type
computers can be pretty powerful considering their size nowadays.
That actually is the story of Linux.
It is no secret that Google runs on Linux, as does
many of the larger systems that gets the job of living in a
computerized world, fully functional. However, for most ordinary
people who use computers in many aspects of their lives at work or at
home the existence of Linux, a most capable of platforms, remains a
mystery. One could even imagine that this information is perhaps
withheld from view deliberately. Or those who are curious about
Linux are told to avoid Linux literally due to the mistaken belief that
Linux is too specialized or too complex for the average user.
That is not exactly factual.... but is
somewhat understandable... it is true that Linux is not nor does it try
to be for everyone...
However, two things to keep in mind before coming to a conclusion that Linux is not for you....
* Linux as a relation to Unix was a dream to
those who create it, to run on the X86 architecture. To them,
the Personal Computer (the PC) was just another architecture to
have Linux run on.
* And the Apple (Mac) is also a Unix and it too is a Personal Computer.
So whats the difference that would make Linux
unusable as a Desktop computer most people could use. The answer
itself is complex in that there are tens of thousands of programs and
applications in Linux and hundreds of distributions of Linux (brands)
which translates to a staggering amount of choice for a user to pick
from... The realization is that for many it is not a fact of to little
to chose from but rather too much to choose from. This is one
thing that sometimes intimidates new users... instead of a Rambler with
an automatic transmission and a top speed of sixty with a hood welded
shut from its user and prone to getting flats, but you know it and feel
comfortable with the devil you know... Linux could be seen as an
F1 Race Car or an 18 wheeler or a flying saucer... were do you want to
go kind of Platform which is really unlimited except by the imagination
and skill of its users. Linux was created by computer people who
really do know computers and what makes them work. Marketing to
the world at large is only now beginning to get any traction.
So if that is true, Linux is big, complex and altogether made for and by computer people... Why should "normal" people use it?
The answer for an average new user of a Linux based
computer is simple. Find the most capable and complete
Distribution (brand) of Linux and learn it like anyone new to anything.
One other thing to realize... and it is a factor to
consider... The users of Linux who have come to it from a
background of using the other X86 operating system associated with the
term PC and find that they like Linux for its power, reliability,
security and fun to use ways... may well become enthusiastic
users. They may come to the realization that the world was far
larger and better than were they came from. Some get angry at
what held them back... their friends will not understand, perhaps even
thinking that some strange madness took over... Well its not
that. It is empowerment. And that is Freedom.
In the spirit of showing the truth of just what a PC
running Linux is... and isn't. This page gives some insight to
the curious.
We use Linux and this is what a desktop Linux can
look like, minus this specific wallpaper and annotations of course.
. 
Above: Screen capture of my current main
desktop computer running Debian GNU/Linux "Squeeze/Sid" created via an
Internet installation technology.
The wide screen is correct for this monitor.
... aspect ratio 1.597:1 In pixel resolution as a ratio =
1440X900.
The image used for the background is from http://digitalblasphemy.com
o Many of the
pictures and screen captures on this page are linked to sites relative
to the picture in some way. The picture above as an example goes to .. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Debian
Additional text links are common. To return to this page from
external links, use the back button on your browser. All of the links
are clean and safe. Many of the links go to YouTube.com, a web super
site with copious video content. Some form of high speed Internet
connection is essential and required to see these video shorts. The
value of YouTube for historical and information education is very high
if it is used with smart queries, in many other ways YouTube is just
fun and it can be richly informational about the world in which we live.
We use Debian Linux with kde4.2.2
Below: GNOME 2.24.xx Same computer literally, just a different GUI.
.
..
o There is
a certain focus on this page to helping some of the people that I have
built computers for, to use specific features of net installations of
Debian. (the best way to build a Linux desktop in my opinion) This is
to help them to maintain their machine to always be current and secure.
These hints are also a big clue to those who are interested in using
Linux... The bells of freedom ring loudly in the world of
Linux, along with the responsibility that comes with using almost
unlimited computing great power.
powerful Debian
Might not be the
best looking web page but what is says, says enough about Debian
GNU/Linux.
Note: Just the kernel of
Linux, used in all of the distributions of Linux, is the single largest
software project in the history of computing. - Yes, that is the truth.
This video explains how that is happening. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2SED6sewRw
This change of
the future of computing is manifested in the plethora of Linux and Unix
variations which is not too unlike the Amazon basin if you want to
think of life forms.
Linux
distributions are vast
http://distrowatch.com/ Unix
variations are the trunk of the tree that includes Linux
http://www.levenez.com/unix/
o Now... more
than 30 million Linux desktop platform users in the world ( more info
number on that down the page a bit ) are in command of a computer
system that is completely and absolutely independent of any one formal
proprietary company. Unix was powerful many years before many popular
computer software company's even existed, managing a great deal of the
worlds computing needs on mainframe computers. Linux today is running
on 92% of the top 500 supercomputers... is also one of the most
reliable desktop computing platforms available. It is both commercial
and non commercial, Linux is here to stay. Linux will be here long
after other operating systems have become forgotten
history... And you can have the power of Linux, a supremely
reliable computing platform literally at your command now. It evolves
as it has in the past, with incredible speed into what it needs to be
for the future. If Linux is the top of the supercomputer and high
performance computing food chain, perhaps it can fill the bill for you
as well. And do keep in mind it is, as it was, the desire to make
a desktop computing environment that is generating this phenomenon, not
its position as a server platform or even its absolute dominance in
super computers.
o Something to
ponder about Linux, since it is "Free". Well it is not, free
beer. Freedom does not mean free beer. Just a typical Linux
distribution has the effort of thousands and more thousands of people
who have spent many years evolving Linux into the world class computing
platform it really is. So whats it worth? This freedom, this
power is worth more than 10 Billion Dollars for a typical distribution.
citations here...
http://www.linuxfoundation.org/publications/estimatinglinux.php
Something to consider when you just want it for nothing because someone
said it was free... Linux represents the best in software because it is
made with pride as the driver of motivation, not just pay (75% of
developers are paid by their respective company's to code for Linux...
surprised?) And only by merit does anything actually make it into
a distribution and only then by surviving a trial by fire from the most
critical of users... other hungry to prove themselves coders. What free
means in Linux, is Freedom. And the value of that, is priceless..
Its the people who are free, not the system. I was reading in "the
Linux journal" a fresh audit of what it is worth prediction of value
like the red hat one just above... Debian Linux = something like 13
Billion dollars to develop if it was done in a conventional way.
Why the effort? What is supreme reliability, flexibility, self
determination and freedom worth... perhaps the effort to learn? Think
about it.
o This page, the
one you are on now, is my advocacy and what a desktop Linux is
"show"... it gives a taste of what a desktop Linux computer platform
looks like. It has a little personality tossed in for motivations of
why we use Linux and why we think Linux is great. - Linux
is not for everyone. It does not try or need to be... However since the
world is so full of mis-information about the Linux platform, truth is
not served. Here you will find some truthful insight from a user
who can and does actually build, use and think of Linux as the
powerhouse of computing platforms. I am stating that you do have
a choice, I have built thousands of computers, this is the
result. Allow me the opportunity to offer a view of the
possibilities you can have to be in control of your computing needs.
With the productive power and maximum security found in the Linux
platform. Linux is king of the Internet road. Providing safety,
security and returns fun to the use of computers and the
Internet. What it requires from you is the will to learn and the
faith in your own capability to do so.
Below: The last Debian distribution just
before it was declared stable, which is Debian speak for done.
pic - Debian GNU/ Linux platform 9-4-08.
modified a portion of a frame image of
the film trilogy "Lord Of the Rings" A Wingnut Film production produced
by New Line Productions
Above: Debian GNU/Linux "Lenny"
Final pre release of Debian 5 with a wallpaper I made from a screen
capture of the film "Lord of the Rings" then it was modified for
contrast and sharpness.
As a side note "Lenny" is now just
released as a distribution as Debian 5 as of Feb 14 2009 it is no
longer in testing mode, it is done, here is a review...
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/02/16/debian_lenny_review/.
.. Relative to the release of Lenny, I
have already migrated to the next testing version called
"squeeze" as seen at the top of the page. I ride the future wave.
(( Remaining
pictures of "Lenny" relating to the upgrade process shown below is just
like the what is future potential is now, so they remain on this page
until I have time to screen capture new ones. ))
Screen capture?... To make the images of
my computer I use an application called "Ksnapshot" to capture the
entire functioning desktop and saved it to display here after it was
integrated with the web creation tools used to make this site.
The "wallpaper" was done with
knowledgeable ease using the "GIMP" ( GNU Image Manipulation
Program ) more on that application later.
With Debian Linux currently, I have a
choice of over 25 thousand Debian prepared packages that I can pick
from to make this computer be what I would like it to be.
Additionally there are many great
applications that are downloaded from the internet that integrate well
into Linux. One example is Google Earth.
This is what a modern Linux platform is,
this is what it can look like... as just one of an immense set of
possibilities that depend on what its owner wants it to be or look like.
Actually, my desktop is somewhat spartan, compared to what some people create... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=684OLRsTrrs
Linux is a full on computer platform,
not just an "Operating System". Yes the Linux Kernel is what
Linux is, but that is not the entire picture of the reality of what
Linux is...
Getting Linux for your needs:
You can purchase full distributions like
Red Hat, Mandriva, Slackware, Debian and potentially hundreds of other
Linux Platform systems from vendors on the Internet and some stores as
well, to use as Linux with applications and all built in stock... and
99.99% of the time, those applications are just there, built in. The
cost of the distribution is the cost of all of it. Quite often
considerably less than $100.00 if purchased in a pretty box with real
manuals and such. It is not uncommon to purchase a Linux
distribution for less than $100 dollars and find it comes with 6 or 7
DVD's worth of applications... Linux is a platform, complete and just
waiting for your hungry mind to fill its purpose.
If you want service, support and help.
Then the support of the Linux software producers make some money... and
why not... did you know that some cost appraisals done recently of what
it cost to create Linux, collectively, if it were done on a purely
commercial basis comes in around 10 Billion Dollars. Service is
how Company's like Red Hat or any of the many Linux company's make a
buck, If you did not understand how a Linux software company made a
proper capitalist profit, then that should make it plane and
simple. Capitalism 101.
OR... If you take the time to learn
Linux... You can build the Linux system into a computer that you made,
build it yourself, or have built for you.
That is what we do for our own
computers. We configure, build and install Linux into the computers
that we rely on.
And they don't fail because of software
issues, they grow old as time marches on and if they become really old,
are retired or perhaps given to someone who needs a computer.
It is true that we have sold some not so
old computers to people who are looking for computers that are ruggedly
ready to perform for years to come.
This computer,
the one used to create this web site is the product of a Debian
GNU/Linux network install, build, and is always up to date... It is a
system that grows with its advancing evolution.
There was no DVD disk to build it... It
was and is a computer that was built from the Internet, it is upgrading
all of the time. All of the applications and programs, 1,707+ of them
get better every day.
The other aspect of interest about the
computers I have made for our use is that they are always a combination
of the GNOME and KDE desktop environments which put together my way
make for a very potent desktop computing
platform. Home pages for KDE
GNOME
additionally I use a few non specific to
Debian applications which I just happen to like. Main example is
KompoZer a WYSIWYG html web creation application... Note to those
in testing land, I am using an version in Debian 6 "Squeeze",
KompoZer 0.8a4 this is what I have installed in this computer to
go forward.
pics -
So here are a
couple of screen shots of what that evolving process looks like from
the previous version I used.
about to install about to install and upgrade...
done...
done
It lives on better than just a few minutes ago...
So that is what happens to make the computer up to date with todays technology today.
That is a
factual representation of the upgrade procedure for this computer...
Now that Debian 5 "Lenny" is finalized as a release,
formalized and written to stone so to speak... It is in general terms,
done. It did not just appear out of nothingness. It evolved over some
years with overlap from the previous version.
Linux is metaphorically speaking, a ring of great power...
ANY powerful
enabling technology or knowledge tends to corrupt those who are
empowered to build upon their new powers by the exclusion of others,
that is the heart of greed.... great power means great
responsibility to the humanity that gave you such knowledge in the
first place. No one ring of absolute power... then no darkness of
spirit can corrupt and take over this gift... That is why no one owns
Linux.
Its just the practical realization
that the darker side of powerful collectives would, as in the past, try
to lock down and control the "printing press" as its existence
threatens their power to control the thoughts of the people they would
assume to control... wrong then and now. No way... that age belongs to
the past and Linux will help to keep it there.
Here then is one of the most powerful
tools in the technological world were you write your own place in it.
just as you can write the pages of your own thoughts and actions...
.
..
Stock background
Whats on this desktop... its just what you want it to be... whatever that is... you decide.
Notice it is new version... Debian
6 - testing, In something like 2 years from now it will be done... And
people like me will go to the next future system as it evolves in real
time.
(Now it is time
to say that Debian evolves continuously, the numbers are markers for
were the "current" version is sealed... and the next number becomes
"testing version")
It is a living thing in a
way, And perhaps the most revolutionary concept is that every
minute of every day sees some change of progress made from all of its
fabric of existence. It is both a act of faith that it all works with
unbelievable stability yet it is always in some state of change. The
stability is empirically obvious, the transformation is subtle but
continuous.
Let me explain.
As more and more people use Linux the
pace of its development accelerates. The future will be as it
always was... a place different than the past. Linux lives
in the future. It is going to be were those who use it make it be.
learn about
it Is it hard to learn Linux? NO it is not, not
anymore. Long time ago it was, but not anymore... many people can
with just a little help can actually build and use any of the really
modern Linux distributions.
If you would like to have some
understanding of the history of Unix and its clone Linux as a time line
then try this link, found here.
If you are impatient and have broadband
and want to see something on youtube that is shorthand Unix/Linux
history,
try this...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FjX7r5icV8
Next... Why use Linux?
More soon.... In the meantime Enjoy this..
( wide screen 22 inch LCD Display, the aspect ratio is correct at 1.597:1 )
New capture above of
a very nice Enya video on You tube web site, I am using Firefox Web
browser 3.5
The Internet mostly runs on
variations of HTML or XHTML - Hyper Text Markup Language - ISO/IEC
15445:2000
...
..
We migrated to the full use of the Debian GNU/Linux
platform for our computers, many
years ago..
Web site
made with ( Version 0.8a4 KompoZer )
KompoZer
editor for Debian GNU/
Linux 6 "squeeze" -"Sid" /Gnome 2.24.3~2
We
support
the document compliant international standard ISO/IEC 26300:2006 Members
of the ODF Alliance
Help
preserve the
freedom of language through text as recoverable computer documents
forever.
.
Website
initialized
on Hevanet V - XXVIII - MCMXCVIII
Copyright 2009 Jennifer Crock and Michael Crock, JENA Technologies LLC
©
Hvernig
segir mašur ...
Page by Michael... į ķslensku? 
In
Portland Oregon.
Updated July 3 -
09 
