Welcome to our Linux and UNIX advocacy page with a dash of something different.
       has been running on Linux now for 8 Years and I have been using it for 12 years.
    Nothing is ever in a state of absolute perfection, that which is current is just a reference point between the nothing at the beginning and a goal at the end.
The rugged reliability, speed, and the utmost of modern security capabilities are found in the inherent nature of this remarkable operating system.
That is why we chose to implement Linux on our companys and our home computers.

Below: Screen capture of my main desktop computer running Debian GNU/Linux "Lenny/Sid" created via a net install.
Many of the images on this page are linked to other websites ,like this one , to off site web pages such as >   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galadriel
  ..One of my Avatars is Galadriel... looking into the future.
(Modified frame for wallpaper - from film trilogy "Lord Of the Rings" A Wingnut Film production produced by New Line Productions.)
 I wrote the text in the picture, I live by it.

I choose to not set myself in stone. I see the opportunities that become possible by changing the perspective I have.
Living with flexibility, becomes the power to change the future, by changing the present. I am not now the same person I was, even just a few years ago, because I need to be fulfilling the possibilities of what I could be. What we do in this life, living in the present, echoes through the time that is not yet here... forever.

  Why would I make a seemingly strange correlation between my personal goal of always seeking to improve myself, at all levels of existence and a computer operating system?
They are two distinct aspects of the human experience.
 
Human self improvement is as old as our time is. In spite of the fact that many human cultures are seemingly possessed and owned by what many believe to be draconian systems, political and religious... Yet the essential spirit of the sum total of human life is free from total entrapment... the Human spirit needs to be free in order to grow healthfully and spiritually. 

Because a computer operating system is a product of human thought, it too, has possibilities of either openness or enclosure and limitations.
Being an extension of our minds eye, seeing the possibilities or the limitations we place on its design, It mirrors the thinking processes used to create it.

Of the many computer operating system in existence... one of them (kernel and applications upon it) is also Freedom bound... it is called Linux.   
That is what makes Linux unique... It beckons you to be free in spirit, thought and capabilities.
It is reflective of the minds ability to see into how to get things done with freedom as the actual metaphor of the creation process itself.

Linux then is designed as Freedom within the computing environment.

I think that I can show why one leads to the others benefit bidirectionally.

I am just going to touch on some of these elements of whats good about Linux, nothing comprehensive here... just a teaser, to spark your interest.
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.

Why use Linux?
Reason #1
The Internet.
Now... according to AT&T (Bell Labs)... without (AT&T) Unix... The Internet would not exist. Well, at least not the free internet as it exists today.
There is the very real possibility, that is a mostly true statement... but of course it is not possible to speculate on that which does not exist, such as an Internet not originating on Unix, it did and here it is... 

As you are reading this, it is a safe bet to assume you are using the Internet. Did you know that the majority of the worlds servers use Apache web server software?
It is Open Source, it runs best on its very compatible operating system, Linux.

Linux was born on the Internet... It lives on the Internet. In many respects the internet is reflective, so far, of the idea of freedom, good and... not so good.
That aspect is more reflective of us, the humans, who use and create the internet as it goes in time. The Internet then is reflective of humanities collective presence, for good or not.
In many respects then, it is the mirror of the worlds collective sense of itself. 

(( Special link... This is dated by some years http://www.linux.org/lessons/beginner/l1/lesson1a.html   however it is still very good for the total newbie to Linux, since its writing from 2002 to the present, it is a little like learning about the world in 1900 and then finding that today is really the year 2008... Linux evolves real fast. Having said that it is still very good to read, if you are a newbie you will learn a great deal and it is written from the perspective of a Debian example, just keep in mind it is, in Linux terms, a look at the dawn of time, in the modern world of Linux today ))

If you went off to read that, welcome back to the new world.

Linux is in the family of ( UNIX® like ) operating systems. It is not a clone, it is a regeneration from scratch, yet it is in the family... very complicated family of operating systems  comprising hundreds of branches and versions all with a genetically common tree. 
The family of a true UNIX includes Solaris and the BSD's such as FreeBSD  -  genetically speaking Linux and Unix are related.
 Note that  MAC OS X is also a highly modified variant of FreeBSD, so it too is a UNIX like operating system. However the Apple computer with its variant of Unix is very encumbered with its owners predilection of patents and un-freedom nature regardless of its fun like presence which is frankly very seductive, but a UNIX it is.  

Linux or Unix Computers in one form or another make up the majority of the worlds most powerful computers.
As of November 2007 85.2% of the top 500 computers were running flavors of Linux. Unix flavors dominate the remainder and Mac OS X ( yes a Unix type) has a fraction... that equals 98.8% to make the total complete running something in the family Unix-like.   85.2% of the top 500 Supercomputers does say something about the reliability and speed of Linux. The fact that 98.8% of them are running a "nix" Unix - Linux - Mac says everything else.     
See http://www.top500.org/stats/list/30/osfam    Select Operating System Family then generate the current list stats.
 
 
Some of the most powerful web browser are designed for Linux and are modified for other operating systems. 
Firefox is a great example of that... made for modern Linux it has a version that runs pretty good in that last operating system designed for the previous century, Windows®
Some screen shots of it in my Linux system below.

( I have started to use a wide screen 22 inch LCD Display so the new aspect ratio is correct at 1.597:1 )
  Firefox Web browser for Debian called "Iceweasel" (no joke on the name)
 The Internet mostly runs on variations of HTML or XHTML - Hyper Text Markup Language - ISO/IEC 15445:2000       
Firefox... A super web browser application is a great example of a crossover Open Source application designed for Linux and "Windows" as well. 
The pictures just above and below are from the very latest build running on the developmental testing version of Debian GNU/ Linux called "Lenny/Sid".

 A web site as I see it on Firefox (Iceweasel) with bookmarks showing.

And a page using the built in pdf viewer extension to Firefox  (Iceweasel in Debian)


Modern, Fast, safer than products from Microsoft... The internet viewed from a Linux computer is Not likely to damage your computers health.



Reason # 2 Powerful Office Applications...
 We fully support the document compliant international standard ISO/IEC 26300:2006 And JENA Technologies are Members of the ODF Alliance
Of course we are members, it is the future.

Why use an obsolete 20th century suite of applications like Microsoft Office...
    ...when the 21st century OpenOffice Now the functional world ISO standard with its .odt xml based platform independence format is here now.
 
 
At this time for those who are interested in the current situation on standards, the best source of accurate information is found here:
http://www.groklaw.net/staticpages/index.php?page=20051216153153504

Look at this crossover application list to replace many of the applications from a Microsoft centric trap to a more open world of productivity.


Reason# 3
Ultra Powerful web creation and graphic arts tools. Like the ones I use to make this web site.
 Some are easy (WYSIWYG) like KompoZer.
 And some are feature rich (complicated) like Quanta  below:
I use both because they do different things very well.


Reason #4
Powerful multi media tools.

I was involved with a very early interactive teaching system that used a 486 computer and 4 VTRs to function at semi level four interactive use.
http://www.wipo.int/pctdb/en/wo.jsp?wo=1996008108

OK, yes that is a patent, I was a part of the creation of a unique total machine solution developed from the late 1980's and it was a stand alone development.
One could argue that maybe it would have survived and thrived with wide spread adaption... but the internet was coming to town and with it a changed world. 

Editing courseware computer for interactive video teaching system (Unilearn 1994).
At one time, it was ahead of its time.
What I learned from it as we were creating it... was how multimedia was going to be a part the future, and I learned how to use it with a branching metaphor which became second nature to me.

The Internet is universal and its success is absolutely due to its mostly Open Source nature, combined with the ultimate practical expression of branching...
and the big idea... Freedom.

Before all of that... I have a background in Microwave electronics / antenna systems from Watkins Johnson Co. for 10 years.
WJ anechoic chamber 1978 control panel for live multi axis polar plotting microwave tests at low power.
I have worked on ( Fabrication of and test ) Spacecraft antenna systems for many years.
    Then Motion Pictures took a few years ( That was fun ), followed by electron physics, electro optic ceramics with high vacuum projects in California and New Mexico. (I think it is safe to call that classified).
    So now, I / We, that would be Jennifer, design and sell extreme performance high end audio electronics, interconnects, speaker systems and AC power filters at Jena Labs / Jena Technologies.
 
 Back to computers. Lets just say with out too much elaboration that I have built over 2 thousand micro computers (PC types).
I am good with hardware configuration and installation of Operating Systems... All of them (Windows, UNIX, Linux, OS2, Mac, BeOS... All of them hundreds of times each. Linux wins my heart for installation after all is said and done. Most of those 2 thousand machines were custom installs of MS Windows going back to the days of DOS and Win 3.0
I have Installed Win XP a number of times, what a pain that is... who cares about the Vista so it is a no show with me,  Linux is the winner for ease and sophistication.

I build our own Computers and they have never failed so far.
For myself they must do Internet web editing, video formats and office work. Jennifer thinks of them as Office Sledge hammers and Audio workstations. 
Those who do work on professional films like Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, The Matrix... any modern film with Computer generated animation or SPFX use Linux to get the job done.

Here are some older screen shots (until I have time to do some fresh ones of video playback.
they are a few months old now.

Test of video capability, multiple players multiple sources same time.
Lets start with three different video players of stored video playing different files simultaneously in My Older Debian 4.0 system.
AMD dual core CPU for 32 and 64 bit Debian Linux (Note the only thing holding up 64 bit Linux is a decent 64 bit flash player for internet video... wake up adobe) 
With the older monitor aspect ratio and a dual processor load monitor running.
and the newer LCD screen.


Here is a screen shot from the same computer system running in both the KDE File manager(above) and the GNOME desktop environment below.
.
and video running full screen... This is Linus Torvalds. Revolution OS, a 2001 documentary featuring Linus Torvalds.

Something that I want to mention here concerns the playback of video from DVD's. From the technical side of things, there is no problem playing a DVD of anything from any source. However powerful unenlightened political forces have as yet to legalize the playing of encrypted DVD's on a Linux system for private viewing.
In the real world, what does that mean... Nothing. But It should be noted, that is why no American distribution of Linux will come with the software tools installed to make the playing of an encrypted DVD just happen.
The copying of an encrypted move for resale is of course not legal. It never was. That is not the issue.
And of course the playing of unencrypted videos is very easy in Linux given the right hardware and there is not much question of its legality or feasibility of use.
But if you are going to play Hollywood produced movies that are sold with encryption on the DVD, well lets just say that the technical issues were solved years ago.
You are on your own though to make it happen.
    For these images I am showing, they are TV analog broadcast over the air such as described as free according to the laws of 1937 and the betamax decision from the supreme court (sounds like good laws to me) to a DVD recorder that produces an unencrypted legal DVD just like a video tape would do...
I had to say that, just so you understand... Linux can do anything video and audio. It even makes the movies Hollywood produces... but if you want to use Linux to watch a movie, Its easy, just don't ask me how.


Reason #5
Your freedom and security. In regards to the digital information age, I hope it will not lead us into a second "Dark Ages"

Linux is hands down technologically superior to the alternatives (period), it will survive... but the culture of mutual respect by trial by fire (a meritocracy) is the true center of it's existence and is the reason of its evolution to superiority and greatness, not profit, but performance...( which leads to profit)
    Its forging takes place in the meritocracy of the most skilled programmers and code writers of this age.  And most importantly and not unexpectedly the people standing behind The collective world of open source including Linux mostly have a sense of humanity beating inside of their capitalist hearts, as backwards as that sounds... mostly true more than mostly not. This is a competitive group of individuals, code warriors if you like. In cultures that have "warriors"  it is fairly well understood that that is a term used in the context of ultra focused dedication.
This is a map showing the distribution of specific developers working on Debian Linux.. even at the Northern and Southern portions of the world. (little yellow circles)

What open source does to the development itself: It scales the size of quality development ( remember the part about motivated programmers / coders )
Speculation of how many there are in the world runs loosely around 100,000 individuals. Linux is global. It is almost imposable to corrupt due to its most distributed and Open Source nature.
The security of the system is designed in... more on that later.  

An example of the Open Source model we can all understand... I like language... lets use English: 

English is a pretty good example of what happens with an open source model. (Open source is not a free for all developmentally, this is just to express the idea of growth by common cause.)

Is English owned? No.
Is English developed in a closed and secret environment with proprietary tools? No.
Is English controlled by powers from on high that dictate a license to use it, or is it demanding of fees to use? No.
Is English perfected? It is in perpetual development... by its users.
Do the people who use English self improve the existence of English by constantly improving the manor of its use? Yes.
Why? English is used for communication between people in multiple modes of use, such as verbal, written and it can be transmitted electronically, Optically and by other means.
Can you make money speaking English? Yes.
Do you have to make money to speak English? No.
Is it a secret to know what the words are and what they mean? No.
Is it a secret to develop new words for English? No
Is English breakable... I mean to say, Is it dependable and reliable for its intended purpose? Yes.
Why? It is Open Source in order for it to be usefully developed by those who would like to use it... It is free to use as you wish to use it.
Why? Because it makes universal communication possible. 

The world is moving to Linux because it is the future of survival in a hostile world...

 “Red Hat 5 will link Linux with Microsoft and allow FCS forces to link with other brigade combat teams,” the Army official said. “This will be an interim solution because over the long haul, eventually all of the Army’s networks will be Linux-based.”  
That is the U.S. Army. Why? Because they want to survive with 21st century software for a 21st century world. 

Don't you?

My other Avatar (one of,  implies another one)  which is equally focused on that which is just but with a more direct tone of aggressive preservation in the presence of hostile forces is Aragorn II 

 Ancient feelings or genetic memorys don't fade so easily... My traceable past is Celtic.  
    Providing balance to the best wishes of what humanity should be is the reality that you need to be ready and prepared to see the world as it is... and not just how you wish it were. Oh yes... I do understand real swords and what that means... metallurgy, art, craft plus skill, determination and hope. One of the most singularly focused universally recognized tools in the existence of human-kind. Symbolic in the extreme. Made to the ultra limits of our knowledge and ability to forge steel. From end to end, from concept to use... Absolute resolution.  Literally.
Now if I was driven to battle with that metaphor in mind... I would demand the best sword I could get and I would know how to use it to beyond the best of my skills. (An almost mystical state of mind takes over in such situations. Something deep and dangerous, something essential to any true warrior will make its presence known if it exists at all)
Absolutely I am walking off of that battlefield victorious with all of my limbs still attached which has everything to do with determination and skill. If I use my sword the right way with aggression and knowledge and if it is tough enough it will likely not break. Which is both an act of faith of it and myself and the certainty I must have in the sword smiths skills of forge, fire and hammer. The trust I have in his use of exact grades and types of metals to make edged steel that is tough and hard at the same time is the faith I have in myself to wield this sword with "the power".

And the caution... even a great sword in the hands of fear, ignorance or stupidity will lead to failure, breakage, most certainly death and maybe the loss of the battle and the fall of the realm, to the doom of all.

I will not just let that happen.

Nor will these folks...
    ...one of the strongest "swords"
This is the National Security Agency and their SE Linux.
This link is not "hot" because you should be aware that if you go there, and you are certainly welcome to... they are going to also assume that you are just as comfortable with them... looking at you.
http://www.nsa.gov/selinux/ 
Freedom is a responsibility, to be maintained by those who would hold it out to all those who understand that Freedom for all, is threatened by those who would not want you or anyone else to be Free.
There is a proper time for secrets and the world is a very complex dynamic, where wisdom is sometimes required to supersede love everybody platitudes.

Freedom is how you live. Live Free or Die.

This page is dedicated to the tens of thousands of programmers and technologists who for decades have fought for the idea of intellectual freedom as expressed in the reality of what all Linux projects, the GNU projects, the BSD projects, The Debian Project, Mozilla, Firefox and Apache projects are all about.
It is dedicated to the Internet and to the millions of Linux and Unix users around the world. who just want it to be a better safer world, that doesn't crash..

And to four very different "Heroes" Linus Torvalds, Eric S. Raymond, Richard M. Stallman, Bruce Perens. I mention them all, not so much for who they are, as much as for what they represent to the realization of ideas and freedom made real to the world as a whole. These four people are very different from each other in so many ways it is hard to numerate them, yet all hold some basic commonality that ties them together in a way that has made the world a better place. A free people do not need to be the same clones of each other, and in fact a mono culture with humans and computers is exceptionally dangerous.
 
What is it they did and still do, along with the thousands of people directly involved with the development of Linux... It is the idea of open source (Freedom Software)... Do You think I am talking about "Free Beer"?
Open source is not a thing, it is an idea... It is not a new Idea it is a very old idea brought forward to the present because it works.

The political reality, anything with the power to change the world, is political:

The best "product" the United States ever made is "The Bill of Rights".  That is something good to fight for. It too is not a thing, it is an idea, with real power. Too bad we don't export it. Too bad that some powerful people in this country would like the idea of the Bill of Rights go away or get mutated by changing the definitions of the meanings of the words in order to kill its power to generate freedom for an entire population of citizens.

"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary 
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
 -- Benjamin Franklin, Historical Review of Pennsylvania, 1759.

"It is only a highly educated population that can hope to manage a Technological Democracy" Dwight D. Eisenhower
That great president was not talking about some new population on the democracy bandwagon... 
He was talking about Americans allowing themselves to become weak about their own education, concerning a very complex world,
were technology is the way of life... and the way to destruction as well.

Not specifically Schools falling down as they have, but Americans loosing the wisdom and knowledge to know how to watch their own politicians.
Or knowing how to select those who are qualified to lead America with a "Constitution" and "Bill of Rights"... 
From those who merely seek power and are willing to sell out the country, to those who would be delighted in destroying it.
Destruction can come from within and it was that to which President Eisenhower was so carefully warning about. 

Perhaps it is a little late in the game of world democracy, to note that when "democracy" is introduced before educating a population in its workings, you actually make their situation far worse.

 The paradigm of Linux in all of its manifestations is the paradigm of Freedom not as in beer, free... but in the context of Freedom from tyrants of all sizes and forms.

There is a serious war going on. - power over information - taking place right now. You are the Prize... Who gets to control you and the ability to control what you can do in the Digital Information Age, The future. That is what it is all about.

DRM, Trusted Computing, Windows Genuine Advantage, etc. These system controls have the potential to lock you out of any self governance with your own computer... their purpose, the reason they exist is to give total control of your computer, potentially, to others whose reason to implement these systems, could be, to give them your digital existence. These are handles of control over your computer... not your control but their "trusting you to be owned by them". Like any powerful security tool it can be argued that the benefits out way the risks. We will see in the future if the "promise of a better safer environment is what it brings or... the total corporate state were most citizens are monitored for buying habits, just to ensure a more satisfying user experience.
With Linux you may have some choice whether to implement the better side of this or not. With Microsoft's offerings, you have no choice, you are already owned, even as you read this. The odds of your "Windows" computer being in the control of criminal elements is already high.  As long as you use "Windows" Your system, your data, all that you have ever done on a computer... Potentially belongs to others spying on you, you are a renter of what should be your identity. And you have little power to stop it.
Every breath you take, every move you make... someone is planning on watching you... Are you happy with that?  I'm not. 

Linux is Open Source, meaning you can see what is inside of it. And no one controls it except you.... but only if you care enough about your freedom to learn. It is one of the ways to control your own place in the world of the future.

On that point and it is important to the ecology of the greater world of Linux and ultimately your freedom, in this technological democracy, that the fast uptake of Linux is creating dramatic changes.  Accelerating now with the fast uptake of Linux globally, is bringing in a lot of potential stake holders into the play for power, over you.

 And many very powerful companys do not have the cultural metaphor of helping people at heart. This includes some companys who are predatory by nature... These are perilous times for the world... And those who created Linux are now at risk from its very success, in loosing the reason it was created in the first place.

One of the most onerous plans being made now by one of the most predatory of corporations is the hostile consumption of Yahoo in order to capture its BSD based developers
The BSD type of open source license is a super target for exploitation in order to try and use it to destroy the far more sophisticated GPL of the Linux world.

Open Source won, but that does not mean that it is in a safe harbor.


The words mean the words... Freedom. Some have argued that the Bill of Rights is a "living document". That sounds very pretty, one might even express the idea that it declares its openness... It is the dream of those who hold the highest places of office, who would enslave you, to have you accept that nonsense.    
  
This Idea is not sacrificial... Like the Bill of Rights  *is*  the heart of Americas... reason to exist.
IF no true Inalienable Rights exist (Inalienable \In*al"ien*a*ble\, a. [Pref. in- not + alienable: cf. F. inali['e]nable.] Incapable of being alienated, surrendered, or transferred to another; not alienable; as, in inalienable birthright. [1913 Webster] ), Then no America. Nothing left...  Would you let that happen?
Above the Law is the Bill of Rights, The glue of its machinery is the Constitution... The goal, is the function of the Bill of Rights... it is called Freedom,  Just ask any Founding Father.

Think long and hard about that the next time some {temporary (Elected for a term ONLY) ephemeral} politician fool talks about the Bill of Rights being suspended...
 Or that the Constitution ( The Constitution of the United States ) is just some *** **** piece of paper ... defined for me,  the perfect example of absolute power corrupting absolutely. Look at that closely, Is that thing what you want for a "leader" Are you willing to accept that. That IS what will happen if the words do not mean the words....
That person in office will be replaced, very soon... That is why the Bill of Rights is written in stone inflexible, The meaning of the words are simple for a reason... They mean what they say for a reason.

Freedom...  requires diligence, vigilance, and the willingness to struggle for it... Freedom from tyrants of all sizes and forms is a perpetual struggle.
 I believe it is why the world is never at peace.
End of lesson and I am not sorry if I made you think about your world view.

So the Engine of Freedom is, for Americans, the Bill of Rights (Indefeasible) and the Constitution of the United States (carefully modulated)
And the words are defined sharply to mean what they say.

For Linux and much of Open Source... Its bill of rights is the GPL... Read this and now you will understand why Linux is both free and impossible to destroy.
And the words are defined sharply to mean what they say.

Language is the root of all.
And like a legendary sword, some parts of it must, by necessity, be inflexible, hard and unbreakable in order to hold the edge that cuts forever, yet also like a legendary sword, other parts that make up the body must be flexible and yield in order to be tough and never break... For each component of character is that which upon the whole depends.
  

A ring of great power
A possible path to computing freedom surviving in the reality of a hostile world, 
It is not the easiest thing to accomplish but with care and understanding, it is very much a possibility to make real.

We use versions of Debian GNU/Linux because it has attributes suitable for high reliability, high security, high flexibility and it is fun to use and learn.
Additionally, and this is important to me, it trys to set a standard of ethics in its core design. That is to say integrity bordering on obsession is important to the maintainers.
Yes that does mean that many people get very frustrated at the time it takes to deliver "approved" software... however that still translates to 20,000 + programs, applications and such that work very well together. The installation and integration tool that is the hallmark of Debian is called apt-get. I use the user interface variation called synaptic which makes it very easy to run.

Many people in the greater world of Linux (something like 30 million users) sometimes think the "Debian" community is high handed and arrogant... Its not true, as a goal, but can be the apparent product of strict discipline and the seeking of perfection... if it is sometimes thought of as the best of the best by many, well there it is, the why it is so good.

Yes the price of that "testing and trial by fire" to the max does in fact slow down the general releasing of a completed version, but then again, by the time that stage is arrived... it isn't likely to break or fail to perform.

Fact is, Debian is so good I run the hybrid of testing and unstable as a production computer in the real world and that keeps me pretty current to the cutting edge. Many knowledgeable Debian users do that because by the time a Debian version is complete... it is done and development is finished ( it is as stone )

All of the names of a Debian system come from the film "Toy Story".
 Meet Buzz...
look at the chin. That is the Logo of Debian.

    The three stages of a Debian:

• "SID" (Sid was the kid who broke all the toys.) unstable and if your run this expecting it to just run... nobody is going to shed a tear of sympathy.

 Right, I think I will just strap myself to an experimental rocket with duct tape.. don't mind me, I be just fin................. oops, lets try again.  

• "Lenny"... The name of the current "Testing" and running and growing environment. Lenny will eventually be done to perfection. Future released as Stable ( like as in Stone )

It is by will alone I set my mind in motion (at this point it makes Windows look really weak and flimsy... In my opinion) but then again... I am a rocket scientist :) 

•  "Etch"  The now perfected and "Stable" stone dead version for the timid (Intelligent) or... those who need basically perfected, a word that means... a very reliable operating system with applications.

The thing is so perfected it seems to be... old. Or was it just a delight to never see it fail. From my point of view, running the "Stable" version of Debian, is like watching grass grow.
Stable... Oh yes, that it is.

 I will give some hints on how you can create your own powerful Linux computer.
A net install of Debian Linux to create a desktop Linux computer.


Gently now...
Now lets walk the road of hope with a ring of great power.
It is important to see in your mind, that such power is also a great responsibility.

Using it responsibly is the dream of the community that created it. It is also why in the world of Linux there is No One Ring of total control because the corrupting power of absolute control is all corrupting to all but a tiny fraction of humanity, that is, incorruptible... 

How many perfect people do you know?
 
    I certainly don't mean the religiously zealous were every one is broken but themselves, and seem to be focused on converting the world to their one way only belief where all humanity must yield there many beliefs to the few beliefs of chosen zealots.
Nor those who are just pretty, or strong, or intelligent...

    I mean incorruptible... How many?

    It is human to be corruptible... that is why no one person or company or organization has total absolute control... It is the only way, that yields balance.
 
But given the fact that we are still here, humanity is balanced with a bias towards growth, there is enough enlightenment of humanity that makes the world a better place for life to exist than the forces that would diminish it. It is not for me to pass judgment upon the collective total of humanity.

As for me, I hold myself up to very high standards.  It is my test, in this life, to let go the desire for control of others, realizing the real power is the total control of ones self from the inside, living the truth of ones self... which I believe can be formed into what I see as the future of my own being.

I created my goals, which cannot be perfection, as no such state exists... So I content myself with just trying to always be and live more every day, more of what I think and believe that goal of the impossible to be. I will never get there... but that is not the point. It is in the walking that road, the journey itself. 

There must be security for all, or no one is secure.
That means in a world of nations, corporations, and populations... there must be a balance of power.
And the realization that trust is an essential element of what a balanced world depends on.

 

  

OK Lets take a look at the Graphical User Interface (GUI)

I use both KDE and GNOME Desktop Environments, your choice really comes down to comfort and capability to do what you want, all of these are very capable.

visit these pages to see what I mean by desktop environments..... I don't think that a modern computer for use as a desktop system should be a command line machine, however a server administrator might see the world differently.

GNOME and screen shots of latest version release
Enlightenment and screen shots of the latest version release
KDE and screen shots of latest version release.

There are others for Linux and Unix but I think that these are reflective of good choices.
All are powerful.

A net install of Debian will initially result in a GNOME GUI and then I build up to run both KDE and GNOME.
This Link is for downloading the "testing" version Debian for i386 that is designed for the "net install", this is the future version of Debian "stable"
This particular version is like looking at the edge of a cliff, but not so close as to fall off.
http://cdimage.debian.org/cdimage/daily-builds/daily/arch-latest/i386/iso-cd/


The Stable version... From here there is no cliff in sight. It is "Stable" It is also a little old as that is how it became stable, If you are willing to use the old safe way then, here it is.
http://www.debian.org/distrib/netinst

The other version is were the cliff of instability and the cutting edge of Debian development takes place.
The links for this are for developers and the brave... I have not included it here as it is not for the novice, you will fall off the cliff of a running system.
There is no net install iso for this version... If you can built it then you do not need my help.

Why a "net install" of Debian Linux:

• Only one small cd-r is required to start the process of building the computer system and the process of building is state of the art.
• It is always fresh... That is to say, that as you build it from the net, it is current technology.
• It is always upgradeable for that which you are running. Example; This system is two months old. It started with Firefox web browser (Iceweasel) 2.0.0.3... Just in the matter of course with upgrades from the net it is now running Firefox (Iceweasel) 2.0.0.11 ... It grows pretty much on its own. All of the 1600+ programs I use with this computer are doing the same thing... getting better every day.  The Computer is ALWAYS Current. 
• My Dollar Cost to do this = $0... Well, the 3 inch CD-R to build the ISO image cost me about $1.35, I use the high priced good stuff :)
• Even though the security upgrades for "testing" Debian are not as instant as "Stable" versions by about a few weeks the system itself is more current design which puts it in front of "attacks" It is an equal trade in my opinion.
• I have 20,933 programs to chose from that represent the best of computing technologies on planet Earth and all it costs me is the knowledge to do it. And a reliable high speed internet connection......

Did you get the last part, it is a requirement. To build a Net Install of Debian Linux it is a given that you have High Speed Internet access.
Sorry, That is the price of admission.

We live near Portland, Oregon. I am connected via DSL to the Internet by Hevanet Communications (ISP), a private uber reliable no drop you off the Internet provider that charges a fair price for a premium connection...  It is worth every dollar. 
Just the best we have ever had.
 
HARDWARE:
Linux likes hardware.
Early communications hardware... well, maybe a little too early. No firmware either... in fact basically, nothing to go wrong.
Outside of pure age alone, a telephone of the type and vintage pictured, was so reliable... Handset telephone failures were not a factor in the expansion of a global network of telephones.
The goal of a good Linux system would be that ideal. It is not entirely possible, however we can get close.
 

Here is a Hardware Compatibility List for some help to see if you have the stuff that works well with any Linux.
http://www.linuxquestions.org/hcl/index.php

http://www.linux-drivers.org/

It is not worth your time to try and build your bridge or home in quicksand... Make sure to use quality compatible hardware.
This is what my current running system is made of. for an idea of what I can say works here and now.
It is not required for you to replicate it. it is just a working reference.
This list is missing the specific model numbers until I have it made checks for accuracy (just off the top of my memory for the minute)

• Abit MOBO for AMD 64 bit dual core processor = AN9 X32
• AMD 64 bit dual core CPU
• Nvidia based evga video card 512mb video ram
• Two Seagate SATA hdd 500 and 300 gigs each.
• two gigs of ultra low latency DDR ram - Corsair
• Plextor DVD writer
• Zalman cooling solution (copper air pipe with copper fins with big slow fan)  with speed regulators to keep it silent on both the CPU and the Video card.
• Zalman Power supply 600 Watt, Air pipe radiators for quietness... I want my computers to be silent.
• Sound blaster Live/gold audio card - Naturally if feeds like a preamp to an external Teac AG-H300 AM/FM stereo receiver (its just a computer) with some of our Speakers Jennifer designed some years ago for Thomas Colman Audio (actually it sounds pretty good for a computer) 
• Intel Pro 100 Ethernet card to talk to the...
• Zoom ADSL X5 Broadband modem (external) This is important, It is a hardware based device (No software drivers required for Linux to use this)
• Logitech Mx500 wired mouse
• Microsoft® "natural" wired keyboard model 4000 V1.0 (OK, I admit to actually using a Microsoft product, they make OK keyboards. A company of that size has to do something right)
• Its all in a Cooler master centurion case.

OK Lets talk about the next important external thing...
the Printer
HP, HP, HP... Oh did I mention Hewlett Packard. http://h71028.www7.hp.com/enterprise/cache/309906-0-0-0-121.html

We use currently these two printers:

Great simple and it just works.... Hewlett Packard color inkjet 9800 - Flawless, plug and play as it were.
Happy easy Linux use just plug it in, with a modern Debian Linux.

and for the brave only.... a  Hewlett Packard Color Laserjet 2605dn...
http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/us/en/sm/WF06b/18972-18972-3328060-15077-236268-1140727-1140731-1140736.html
 Special note: It is necessary to compile the specific driver as I did in order to get this printer to work, but it is worth it as it is a great printer...
http://sourceforge.net/forum/forum.php?forum_id=782910  



Many other companys printers will work
More soon....

http://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/2007-linuxquestions.org-members-choice-awards-79/