This post was published 3 years 5 months 13 days ago and as such probably does not reflect my current opinions, knowledge or ability.With a lot of schools starting back around now and universities about to begin, we’ve been spending this week looking at software for students. First of all I suggested some useful freeware and open source applications for all students. Then I discussed why computing students should make the most of open source software. Today I want to follow on from that by considering how running Linux can benefit computing students.
Why run Linux in particular?
1. Get experience with a different operating system.
Whilst you can set up Linux to look almost exactly like Windows or Mac, when you get down to the details it is a fundamentally different operating system. Whether or not you prefer using Linux, it’s important to realise that there are alternative ways of doing things. Besides, some experience with Linux or a Unix based OS is vital because…
2. It’s used in many areas of computing.
Although you may see relatively few desktops running Linux, you’ll find considerably more servers which do. Linux is used behind the scenes all over the place: embedded devices, ultra-portable laptops, multiplayer game servers, cloud computing and high performace computing to name but a few. If you want to work in any of these areas, some previous experience with Linux can only help you.
3. You can tweak your system to exactly the way you want it.
Linux is open source, so nothing about your operating system is hidden from you. From the way you want your desktop to appear, to whether you want Blowfish support built into your kernel or compiled as a loadable module, Linux is all about choice.
4. It’s easy to stay up to date and secure.
Linux comes in a multitude of flavours, or distributions, each one with different features, and in many cases a different package manager. Package management is a new concept to a lot of Windows users. Basically, imagine how easy it would be if thousands of pieces of software could be installed, tracked and updated through one central location. No more trawling the web to find a decent CD Burner. No trying to find out which of your applications have newer versions available, and whether you need other software in order to install them. Well, Linux package managers handle all that for you. With a few clicks (or commands if you prefer), you can manage the software you want installed, keeping you up to date and secure.
5. It can be a challenge.
These days, user-friendly distributions like Ubuntu make it easy for even a novice to get a desktop installation up and running smoothly. However, try to get an unusual piece of hardware working, or use a less stable distribution or piece of software, and you’ll probably face a few “challenges”. Now, someone who just want to do some word processing might refer to these as “problems” or “reasons to go back to Windows”, however, I personally find them one of the most exciting features of the operating system. Every time I have a problem, it takes some work and liberal use of everyone’s best friend Google to get over it, but each time I learn a little more about the software I’m using.
6. It runs on a range of hardware.
If you have an older PC lying around, or a laptop that isn’t quite as Vista capable as the shiney sticker on the box made out, Linux can let you get far more out of the hardware. Linux isn’t limited to desktops either, you can try it out on a range of devices from smart phones to games consoles.
7. You don’t even have to install to your harddrive.
If you’re not quite ready to take the step of installing Linux to your harddisk, there are still ways you can try it out. LiveCDs offer you a bootable environment on a CD or DVD so you can try out the OS without making any changes to your computer. You can download LiveCD images of various distributions from their homepages or via bittorrent, or if using the internet is an issue for you, you can order a free Ubuntu CD. Linux magazines also often come with dvds with images of the latest distro releases on them.
If you prefer, you can also install Linux to a USB flash drive or external harddrive to give you a portable version, without re-partitioning your internal harddrive.
8. You don’t have to lose Windows.
If Windows is necessary for some of your work, or you just can’t bear to part with it, you don’t have to give up on installing Linux. It’s easy to set up an environment, either with virtualisation or a native dual-boot install, where you can use either operating system on the same computer.
Over to you…
Do you run Linux? What benefits does it have?
@T47
I have had sound and flash (in a browser) working within a few clicks, and my browser (Firefox) works at least as fast as under Windows. You have to understand that in most cases, companies produce drivers or software for Windows only, which then has to be written by the community under Linux. It’s not as simple as just saying “make it work”.
I agree that adding new features might be part of the problem – Linux often seems required to be able to copy Windows as closely as possible, and still add unique features for itself. But saying that the developers have no plans is completely unfair and unfounded. It might be true in a few situations, however just looking at the mailing lists, websites and developer conferences of most distribution and application will demonstrate that the developers have a clear idea of where they want the product to go. I do agree that focussing on the problems most important to users such as wifi and printer support, and taking time to produce a solid, stable release should take precendence over eye candy and the user interface.
At the end of the day, using Linux is your choice. It’s not perfect, and it also isn’t Windows. Whilst documenation may be lacking, the community support is fantastic. The applications may not all be polished, but you can download them for free within a couple of clicks. I like choice and freedom, I like where linux is going far more than bloated, constrictive Vista, and if you don’t, noone is forcing you to use it.
Finally, you may have noticed that this article was aimed at computing students, not end users. To follow on from your metaphor, perhaps a driver shouldn’t know how to repair their vehicle, but you’d sure as hell hope a car mechanic would.
@Upchuckie_cheezits
I used it twice. I never claimed to be a great writer, but I don’t really see what is wrong with the word and I intend to keep using it.
EDIT: Okay, just referred to Wikipedia on the matter:
Whilst is synonymous with while in standard British English and Australian English; in American English, it can be considered pretentious or archaic.
So, sorry America.
heh. http://awkly.org/2008/09/03/masochistic-usage-of-operating-systems/
Yep, I’m just waiting for a release which will spew angry bees from my disk drive and fire needles at my eyes every time there is a problem. That will be even more challenging
@Hazel,
“Well, it works for me!” is quite the lame-ass response when someone says they’ve had trouble doing X in Linux. But, it is typical of the dread freetardism, so you get a pass on this one.
I can see that getting pretty annoying for someone who actually cares why their hardware doesn’t function properly under Linux, someone who is asking for advice or is trying to get it working. However, it’s not fair to say that simple things like sound or Flash don’t work when for most people I know, they function fine.
I also agree that most people out there running Linux (unless someone else set it up for them) will have some sort of issue with compatibility at some point, and that getting the system working isn’t as simple as sticking an install CD in and following the instructions.
The point of this article was never to say that everyone should run Linux, I don’t think even Ubuntu is ready for the majority of people to install and set up themselves unless they are willing to work to get the system running. If you’re not happy with this, it probably isn’t yet the OS for you.
PS. I’ll try not to do it again.
I love your spin on “challenges.” When people have work to get done and something doesn’t work they don’t want challenges; they want their system to be an appliance. While I agree that working Linux can be fun and the satisfaction of resolving a problem is a great reward, sometimes things need to be accomplished and in those situations the OS must do its job of being an OS and not be a part of the problem. The vast majority of incoming freshman have no business trying to use Linux, even the noob friendly Ubuntu version and the ones that do should make sure they have an OSX or Windows machine around when it comes time to write a paper.
As I indicated in my previous comment, I don’t believe that Linux is the right OS for everyone as it currently stands. Most people I know who run Linux as their primary OS have a stable system, and would be happy to rely on it. But they’ve invested time in getting everything running the way they like it, and I accept that a lot of people won’t be able or willing to do that. I have non-technical friends and relatives who run Ubuntu without any problems, but again they wouldn’t want to have to set it up in the first place, just as they also wouldn’t want to install Windows themselves.
As for flash: Try to use youtube AND Audacious at the same time. Like listen to some mp3, then pause it, open youtube in Firefox and try to watch something. I think that flashplugin in linux can’t work with pulseaudio properly. When it’s flash (and only flash) using sound then its ok, but when more applications are opened then problems occur. It’s quite annoying to have to close audioplayer every time when I visit website with flash.
Someone pointed it out quite nicely – sometimes you actually have to get the work done. You have to do something and you shouldn’t have to fight your operating system while doing it. Computing students should probably know how to set up a server in linux and unix. Using linux as a desktop isn’t the best way of learning how to do it. It’s much better to have some spare computer to “play” with. Then when you have something importand to do you can use your primary computer with some working operating system on it. This “solution” will probably be far less frustrating.
<>
Explain to me how can that be a feature. I use linux for 3 years now, but I never considered “difficulty to install hardware” a feature. Nobody sane does.
@T47 – You’re right, it probably would be better if every computing student could buy an older PC and set up Linux (or some other Unix like OS) on it. However, since students are well known for their shortage of cash, I think that probably isn’t an option for a lot of people. An installation of Linux to a spare harddrive partition can be used pretty much the same way and seems a far more realistic option.
@Doispe – That section wasn’t entirely serious. The point was, that it isn’t hard to find a way to learn about Linux if you just fiddle around with the system a little. At the same time, some of us genuinely do enjoy problem solving.
I used Ubuntu HH since it came out, now I’m back to Windows. I have problems with both OS’s, but in the end I just needed something that worked for me with the least amount of fuss. I didn’t like having to kill Pulseaudio just to listen to music after watching a YouTube video, I got tired of editing fstab only to find that the mounts I wanted didn’t work if I accidentally had a USB key in, and I finally gave up when all the icons and folders on my desktop disappeared for no reason each time I booted (I just didn’t have time to find out why). There were other issues too, with performance (FF felt wonky and crashed a lot) and while I miss some amazing Linux features, and still hate Windows, I just need something more stable.
Why should students waste a time with a freetard operating system that usually causes more problems than it’s worth? Especially since with Sun Solaris (which is downloadable from Sun for free) there is a much better alternative out there. It’s much more stable than Linux (mission-critical ready), it’s way more scalable than Linux, it’s written by sane professionals that know what they do and that don’t give a sh*t on any semireligious wars regaring closed source, unlike Linux it’s very well documented, runs not only on SPARC but also on x86/x64 hardware, offers a lot of nifty things like ZFS, D-Trace and such, and (especially interesting for a Computing Student that wants to get some competency he can use later) there are proper and well recognized certification systems for admins which usually are a big advantage if you want to get the foot in the door in the professional IT. And with proper Solaris knowledge you can not only work on systems ranging from small webservers running Solaris on an intel or AMD processor up to room-filling high end SPARC64 machines which provide banks, insurance companies and lots of other fortune-500-companies with their mission critical IT infrastructure, your knowledge also helps you around in case someone forces you to touch a Linux system. And even for the religious freetards that live to an open-source-only way there also is a completely open-source version available (OpenSolaris).
From a technical point of view Linux is still a mess and it’s community just sux, like it or not. Linux is pretty good if you want to make some semi-political statement or of you don’t have a life, but it’s a PITA if your aim is a more professional one seeing an OS (or a computer) as what it really is: a tool to get the job done.
Davidoff
I would want to use Linux as secondary OS. This is let me learn another OS at the same time stay secure while on the road.