Vista vs Linux - has the penguin got the power?, Sep 08, 2008

Linux versus Windows is the stuff of near endless controversy. Linux lovers trash Windows for being slow, unreliable, insecure and overpriced, whilst Windows bigots accuse Linux of being hard to use and clunky.

Linux makes your computer run quicker, it doesn't crash, it doesn't catch anywhere near as many viruses, and it's free. For a decade, it was available only for people to install themselves. But now, the geek's favourite is coming to the masses.

In small pockets and in small numbers, organisations are rebuilding the foundations of their IT systems. The trend is being led by the public sector, with authorities such as the city of Munich and the Thai government announcing policies in favour of open source software, and in particular, the Linux operating system.

Typing "Linux" into Google gives about 109 million results. Surprisingly, that's five million more than searching for "Microsoft". But are potential users of the alternative operating system to Windows being enticed into making a decision they may later regret?

When schools buy software, there seems to be only one choice: Microsoft. Why don't more of them use Linux? It can do most of the work, it's more secure and it's free. Michael Pollitt investigates

If Matthew Szulik is to be believed, the first thing we will see when we start up our computers in the morning will no longer be Micro- soft's familiar green, red, blue and yellow logo. Instead it will be a battered red fedora.

The software company run by Szulik, Red Hat, launched its desktop version of the Linux operating system in London last week. Linux is the best-known product of the "open source" software movement, which aims to provide a lower-cost alternative to commercial computer programs and operating systems.

And so I embarked on the ocean of Linux. And it was a comfortable cruise. Having created a "root" user (who lurks unseen behind everything, and can zap any or all files) and a "normal" user (who can't), I logged in as a normal user.