Microsoft to Sell Linux

[michiken]

Now the evil empire has done it all.

They will be selling Linux at Wal-Mart (http://news.com.com/Wal-Mart+eyes+Microsoft+for+Web+build-out/2100-1017_3-6152247.html?tag=nefd.top)

Glad I am using a Free Version of Arch Linux (http://www.archlinux.org/)

[JustRalph]

Now the evil empire has done it all.

They will be selling Linux at Wal-Mart (http://news.com.com/Wal-Mart+eyes+Microsoft+for+Web+build-out/2100-1017_3-6152247.html?tag=nefd.top)

Glad I am using a Free Version of Arch Linux (http://www.archlinux.org/)

selling it at walmart? I didn't get that from the article. I thought they were talking about using it in their corporate ops?

[tupper]

It seems that JustRalph is correct -- Wal-Mart is merely converting some of their servers from Red Hat Linux to Novell/Micro$oft Linux. (As I recall, a while back, Wal-Mart did sell Emachines PCs running Lindows Linux).

I wonder if Pinnacle is taking bets on when M$oft will begin sabotaging these server installations.

From the article, it appears that the M$oft FUD (Fear, Uncertainty and Dread) tactics have worked on the head of IT at Wal-Mart. Actually, there is nothijng to fear -- the shady M$oft inuendos are groundless, otherwise, M$oft would have gone after Linux users long ago. Remember, they tried to perpetrate this scare more overtly through SCO a couple of years ago.


I cannot resist the opportunity to promote Linux. :)

Linux is easy to install and use. My 81-year-old mother installed and happily uses Mepis Linux. The hardest part is choosing a distro (version).

There are loads of free, robust applications. The look can be configured in almost any way imaginable, and the latest graphics are cutting-edge.

Linux is innately secure:
- most versions are very stable;
- most of the work is done on a "user" level, so crackers have a harder time breaking into the "root" level of a Linux computer;
- it was designed from the ground up to network and to deal with possible outside threats;
- it runs clean, without any complex registry to get infected or bogg things down;
- the open source nature of Linux makes it harder to hide spyware in applications;
- no need for virus protection software -- it difficult for crackers to create viruses and trojan horses that cover the plethora of different Linux versions and that cover the wide variety of Linux applications.

Anyone interested in trying Linux can run a Linux live CD, without installing anything.

If anybody has any questions, please don't hesitate to PM me.
-Dale

[Bala]

Never shopped at Wal-Mart. However, there were a number of stories about
Linspire (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linspire) Linux and cheap boxes sold at the worlds largest retailer.

http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,1744052,00.asp

[skate]

i believe MS bought a division of linux, a few weeks back.


oh yeh, at first site, that looks like an interesting deal for that laptop, thanks.

[tupper]

Novell (thus, M$oft) getting friction from Linux/Open-Source community:
http://www.reuters.com/article/technology-media-telco-SP/idUSN0219839720070202

[DJofSD]

Happy co indicence for me this thread was started. I'm shopping for a UNIX/LINUX to install on an older, soon to be displaced HP system (WIN XP is OK but no way will it run Vista).

What's good? What's not so good? I have no specific plans for the machine. Right now I'm just looking for a distribution that will be simple to install and will have good support.

BTW, years ago, FUD was used to describe the perceived tactics IBM used when they would release their statements of intent for future developments and offerings except it was Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt.

[michiken]

DJ,

I highly reccomend http://www.archlinux.org/ (http://)

- Packages are easy to install and not rpm based. Open a command prompt and type sudo pacman -Syu and your updated.

- Arch is a rolling release meaning that you never have to upgrade to the next higher level. It does all upgrades automatically.

- The base install has no gui which keeps it small. Once the base is installed, you can add firewalls/gnome or kde desktops/ etc.

- The only drawback is that you have to configure your rc.conf (runtime configuration) by hand using a command line text editor i,e.

Read thru all the arch instructions (wiki) pages.....

[Pace Cap'n]

I couldn't get that link to work but this one does...

www.archlinux.org/ (http://www.archlinux.org/)

[tupper]

DJ,

By the way, recently, there was a related thread, "What To Do...":
http://www.paceadvantage.com/forum/showthread.php?t=33826 -- (Don't be put-off by my unnecessarily lengthy, step-by-step instructions in on the live CDs -- the steps are mostly intuitive.)

Live CD/DVDs are an easy way to try a Linux distro without installing it. Just keep in mind that the OS usually runs significantly slower off of the live CD/DVD than it would if it were running from a hard drive. Some live CD/DVDs allow an easy install of the OS, after the CD/DVD has booted into a desktop.

If this is your only machine, you might consider setting it up to "dual-boot" both Windows and Linux/Unix, instead of leaving Windows cold-turkey.

http://distrowatch.com/ is a good site to peruse the many Linux/Unix distros. There are trade-offs with every distro.

Arch Linux is excellent, and it is designed to be configured by the user from the ground up, which keeps it lean. However, the standard Arch install might be a little daunting for a newbie. Underground Desktop is an Arch-derived live CD that includes a graphical installer that should take care of most of the nitty-gritty in getting one up-and-running in Arch: http://underground.geekcode.info/portal/posts/

There are hundreds of other distros. An important consideration in choosing a distro is the memory and speed capacity of your machine -- some large distros are resource hogs and others are nimble and light weight.

In Linux and Unix, the GUI software is separate from the core of the OS, and there are many choices of GUI desktop programs and smaller, GUI window-manager programs: http://xwinman.org/

The default desktop/window-manager is a major factor involved in the size and resource demands of a distro. In a majority of distros, one can easily change from the default to a leaner or to a more robust desktop/window-manager. Of course, one can dispense with a GUI altogether and simply work from the Linux/Unix command line.

For a person new to Linux/Unix, I would recommend one of the more popular distros that defaults to the KDE, Gnome or XFCE desktop and that has an easy install: Mepis, Ubuntu, openSUSE, Fedora, PCLinuxOS, Mandriva, PC-BSD, Freespire, etc.

I run Vector, which I believe now defaults to XFCE desktop (I use the light-weight IceWM window manager).