Reinaldo Bravo

Why I use the GNU Linux Operating System

Computer I use:

5 year old laptop, running windows xp. 512MB RAM 120GB hard drive

What I need my computer for:

• Word processor & slide-show presentation software (MS word and powerpoint)
• Email client with calendar facilities
• Ability to listen to music, watch dvd’s and burn onto cd/dvd
• Software to manage and edit photos/pictures
• Capacity to create a PDF from a word document
• Program for business and UML diagrams (low priority)
  
• Program for project management (low priority)
• Software for video editing (low priority)
• Security software - either antivirus, spyware, firewall
• Instant messaging/voip software

Reasons why I use Linux and not Windows XP:

1. Cost
2. Access to software
3. Faster to run on an old computer - this means that my laptop’s fan isn’t always on high and doesn’t heat up as much.
4. Ability to run new operating system without having to upgrade any hardware

If I were to update my operating system using windows there would be many costs involved. First off I would need to purchase a license for Vista or Windows 7. Microsoft Office is a must as works is so primitive it must’ve been invented in 1993! Well, MS Office would cost me anywhere between $200-$400. Antivirus is another must do, a decent solution could cost $100 (unless I use a free one). Well that’s just the basics, all the image and video editing software, project management software and PDF stuff costs more bucks.

And then what? Well, last time I checked Vista needed at least 1GB RAM to run the basic version. This means buying additional RAM for my laptop. I was lucky to be given a laptop last year for my birthday. It had 3GB RAM, exciting righ? WOW, super fast right? Yeah right! It ran at about the same speed as my 5 year old laptop on XP. I don’t know why this was, did my new laptop come too bloated with crapware pre-installed. Was it the OS that abused my hardware way too harshly. I still don’t know.

What I do know is that when I installed linux as a dual boot on that laptop, it ran a lot better.

What can you do on Linux? Is it only for internet users or can you do normal activities on it?

You can do basically everything on Linux. What do you need? Many people mention that playing games is a set back as most manufacturers don’t factor in Linux for their market. This might change. Everything else works well.

What do I use Linux for and what programs do I use?

I use linux as my everday system. I hardly ever need to boot my computer with XP.

• I’ve got a program to manage my email, calendar and contact lists. I’ve got a program that updates my microblogging accounts (eg twitter, identi.ca)
• I have an office application suite. Word processor, slide presentations, spreadsheets, databases, project mngt software, drawing programs, PDF
• Watch DVD, listen to MP3. Ability to use my DVD burner
• Photo editing and video editing thanks to google picasa and pitivi
• Free antivirus and firewall
• Multiple programs that handle instant messaging and VOIP
• Even access to cloud computing on a small scale (user level). This means I can upload folders and files to the internet for online backup or sharing purposes with other people. Think of it as web based email account but for files, not emails.

Am I happy? You bet!

Is my 5 year old laptop worth keeping? Ofcourse!

The other beauty is that I can get the latest operating system every 6 months and it never needs me to upgrade my current computer. If you guys are too scared to try something new then I don’t recommend trying linux. If you think MAC and Windows are the only systems worth using then don’t try linux. If you wont use any system that your workplace doesn’t use then by all means DON’T TRY LINUX.

…but if you’re curious to see if your old computer can actually run faster, with less fan noise then think about it. You don’t even need to delete your windows instalation to try linux. You can have both systems coexisting in the same box and you decide each time you start up which one you want to run. This is called dual-booting and I use it.

Here is an article I wrote explaining how to dual-boot: http://rbravo.net/2009/06/12/open-source/dual-boot-windows-vista-and-kubuntu-linux/

There are more relevant and updated ways of doing this however, you’ll have to find them on the net.

Goodluck