DIY Guide - GNU/Linux and Free Open Source Software. Updated: 6th May 2007

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Contents * What Can GNU/Linux Do? * Background/History * Where Do I Start? Distros, Desktop choices etc * Trying it out & using a 'live CD' * Installing new programs online * Pros & Cons * Free/Open Source software under Windows or Mac * Other links

GNU/Linux - An Introduction

What is GNU/Linux and the free software which comes with it?

GNU/Linux is a free operating system and set of programs, replacing M$ Windows or Mac OsX, and the commonly used commercial software used on them such as M$ Office or M$ Internet Explorer etc. It is all free to download, and yes your computer will run GNU/Linux whatever it is. This software is not just commercial software which is being given away, like freeware, but remains free through a specific copyright system geared towards co-operative development - aka copyleft - and in this respect is an important example of technology and information in the public domain which is resistant to being sold-off and commodified.

What Can It Do?

Most of the things a Windows computer will do: in desktop form it's a GUI graphical display with all the commonly needed desktop apps eg web browser, word processor, CD burner, media player, email, image editors, games etc. That said however, it is a relative newcomer to the role of a direct competitor for Windows on desktop computers, as its strength over two decades has been in large scale networking, and running networked file or email servers in institutions or large offices - and in fact over 70% of the Internet is run on the free/open source 'file server' program called 'Apache', mostly running on Linux, or UNIX. In other words a big part of the transformation for GNU/Linux over recent years has been to take it from being the preserve of experts, to something more user friendly, mouse-driven and idiot proof.

Many of the major free/open source programs are also available for Windows or Mac, and in fact are considered as good if not better than M$ products - eg Firefox and Open Office, which replace M$ Internet Explorer and M$ Office respectively. If it's not possible to abandon Windows or Mac OSX at the moment, it is still worth using these alternatives instead - particularly Firefox and Open Office - see links below.

While GNU/Linux, and the range of software available for it is growing to become something which is allowing people to abandon M$ and other big commercial software in droves, it has to be said that it is up against the sheer monopoly and ubiquity of Windows, and M$, and many other parts of the computer industry are hostile to it. So therefore if you want to switch to GNU/Linux you need to check that your hardware has 'drivers' to work with it, and that the 'equivalent' free/open source program can use the commercial file types you are using. And while some free/open source programs are better, when it comes to areas like audio or multimedia, in reality many of the programs aren't as well developed as the commercial products (all this is changing as Linux hardware support and free/open source software improves).

Background

You might be wondering - how come it's free? It's in fact part of a project which began over twenty years ago by a hacker and programmer called Richard Stallman, who initiated the 'Free Software Movement', with the intention of creating a range of programs which were compatible with UNIX, and eventually replace the operating system itself - but these programs had to be free to use, and modify. This project was a reaction to the trend during the time (and since) towards 'proprietary' software, forcing users to pay a licence for software, which hadn't always been the case during the early days of the computer industry. Stallman envisaged that if software is free to use, and modify, then the community of programmers using it will make improvements - which will benefit all for the common good.

To legally structure this model of 'co-operative' programming, a new copyright agreement called the GNU General Public License (GPL) was initiated, meaning that anybody could contribute to GNU software, but the resulting work had to also remain free, and commonly owned - eg - no party could take this software and gain ownership of it. Another word for this type of copyright status is copyleft, and it has gone on to have many other uses in the fight to create information and techology in the public domain which is resistant to the onslaught of privatisation and commodification (Wikipedia is another great example). A lot of GNU/Linux has been the work of individual programmers working for free, while other chunks have been funded by institutions and corporations.

Another term which this software is known by is 'Open Source' - so called because under the GPL, the original code for a program - before it's compiled and turned into machine code which the computer can use - must be openly available, so it can be modified or improved. Commercial software companies like M$ never release the 'source code', to protect their technology, and to prevent it being modified by a third party. This is anathema to Free Software/Open Source people, who say this approach holds back development. Having said that it can and does happen that companies 'open source' commercial software, opening it up to community participation - examples include SunOffice which became OpenOffice and Netscape which became Mozilla.

While it is commonly known as Linux, Richard Stallman personally emailed SchNEWS in April 2007 to correct us on what he considers its proper title: GNU/Linux (to see his reasoning click here). This is because GNU was going a decade before the Finnish wiz-kid Linus Torvalds offered his UNIX-like operating system kernel - called Linux - under the GPL in 1992, which became one of the big pieces in the jigsaw for a complete operating system, on top of which has since developed a full graphical interface and applications. Stallman and others are quite rightly pissed off that Torvalds gets a lot of the credit for something which was started long before he arrived on the scene, and that in fact the whole GNU project is much wider than just the operating system kernel and encompasses the total range of software. Also there's a philosophy behind GNU about freedom of information and community spirit, and Torvalds, like many other uber-geeks, isn't that political. Then there are those in the 'open source' camp who support the GNU model for pragmatic reasons, but not its idealism (for more see here). It's probably the case that the word 'Linux' just fits the bill and sounds right, so people just lazilly call it that. These debates all reflect the political tension within GNU/Linux, where some like Stallman are holding tightly to ethical principles, while others involved are quite apolitical, and just want something that's practical, or they just want to make money from it. For more about the

Where Do I Start?

Which 'Distro'?
Because anyone can legally make and release their own 'distro' of GNU/Linux, many do: ranging from hacker communities to slick corporate versions (for more see http://distrowatch.com). Some have a strong commitment to the ethos of 'free software', others are blatantly out to make what money they can from it. SchNEWS recommends Ubuntu or Kubuntu - a 'distro' initially aimed at bringing free software to Africa, but has become very popular worldwide. It is based on the underpinnings of 'Debian' - a highly respected GNU/Linux distro.

Which Desktop: KDE or Gnome?
There are two major 'desktop' displays for Linux, both with slightly different layout and look'n'feel, but with the same underpinnings: KDE and Gnome. It is a matter of personal preference - while KDE looks a bit like Windows, and Gnome is a bit more like Mac, both basically share the same functionings. It is possible to have both installed at the same time and swap from one to the other. Some 'applications' are based on one interface or the other, and this may influence which one you decide to use. Ubuntu is Gnome and Kubuntu is the KDE version of Ubuntu.

If you have an older system with less memory and slower processor, there are other, less graphics-heavy and system-hungry versions - this is due to the modular design of the operating system. Keeping in the Ubuntu fold, they have now released Xubuntu, which uses the Xfce graphical interface more suited to slower machines, but yet it runs all the same programs as Ubuntu.

Trying It Out For The First Time
Live CD: If you want to see GNU/Linux in action, but don't want to delete Windows quite yet, it comes in the form of freely downloadable 'live CD's' - which when booted from brings up a working desktop and it's major applications from scratch (and doesn't affect whatever operating system you currently have - pull the disk out and it will re-boot as per usual). Note - it will be slower because it's coming off a CD. To download the 'image' of a 'live CD' for Ubuntu (with Gnome) click here www.ubuntu.com or Kubuntu (with KDE) click here www.kubuntu.org

Installing It Onto A PC: If you've got a spare computer you could install GNU/Linux onto it as a trial to get used to it - but top tip make sure the computer isn't too slow or low spec because a graphical interface like KDE may be sluggish (pref. at least 800mHz cpu, 256meg ram) - or else try Xubuntu but you won't be getting all the bells and whistles. Or else it is possible to make a single computer 'dual boot' - that is both Windows and GNU/Linux are installed, and you have a choice at start-up. To do this, have Windows already installed first, and boot it from a 'live' GNU/Linux CD, and follow the installation process where it will search for blank space to install onto, and it will automatically create a 'boot' menu at start-up. The safest way to do this is to put a wiped (eg all partitions deleted) hard drive into the computer, and as you install Ubuntu (and most distros), it will detect the blank hard disk and the other 'operating system' (eg Win), ask to install itself on the blank disk. 

[Caution - If you are setting up a dual boot PC - take precautions to make sure nothing gets accidently wiped!! Better to make sure that the spare hard drive has definitely got no partitions (put the disk into the computer, boot into Windows and use 'Disk Management' in Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Computer Management to wipe its partitions) - so that way when you've booted into GNU/Linux off the CD, and it's about to install, you can point it to the empty disk space, and if it starts threatening to wipe any existing partitions... don't let it! Don't muck around with hard disks if you've got valuable stuff on them and don't really know what you're doing.] 

Installing New Programmes
If you do go ahead and install GNU/Linux on a PC, you'll see that it's pre-loaded a range of essential desktop programs - all the ones you will typically need like Open Office, Firefox, CD burner, media player, etc (which is easier than setting up a Windows PC where you have to load all the apps on separately). But it doesn't end there - thousands of programmes are now available to you for free, as are updates and new versions of what's installed. If you don't have broadband, you use the 'package manager' system tool to install new programmes off the install CD, or if you have broadband, the 'package manager' will make a connection to a range of online 'program repositories', which opens the door to all the rest. You also use this system to download security updates, new versions of apps, etc - but note that unlike in Windows where you install software typically off an 'install.exe' file, in GNU/Linux things are different, and it's easiest to let the 'package manager' install progs off the web (or CD-ROM), rather than manually install them. If you know what you're doing you can download the 'source code' for a programme, and 'compile' it for your system, but this is not something which you have to learn.

Pros
* It is free and you don't have to worry about paying money or using pirate software
* There are thousands of programs to try out for free
* GNU/Linux is part of creating a world free from capitalist vultures
* Computers on it are more secure - they are far less likely to get 'hacked' and never get virus's,
* If you are building a 'file server' computer, this is where GNU/Linux excels and as stated, a little known fact is that 70% of the internet runs on computers using the open source 'file server' programme Apache, mostly under Linux or UNIX.
* You can participate in the creation of free software by running the programs, and sending in suggestions and bug reports - this feedback helps the programmers, and problems can often be corrected for the next 'release'.
* GNU/Linux PC's can be easily networked with other Windows or Mac PCs.
* Older computers can be kept useable by versions of GNU/Linux especially designed for slower machines.

Cons
* Some of the 'open source' replacements for the big commercial graphics and multimedia programmes are still in development - though the whole process relies on people using them and reporting bugs or suggestions
* Despite the best effort to write 'drivers' for computer hardware so it's 'plug'n'play', using GNU/Linux limits your choice of hardware somewhat. To work around this the best advice is to use video cards, sound cards, printers, scanners and other hardware you know is supported - check online - but this situation is slowly improving. Some hardware companies are now providing their own GNU/Linux drivers (which ironically aren't 'open source'), but because companies won't publish the necessary technical data on their hardware, the GNU community often can't easilly write drivers. Also, many of the small teams working on free software are short-staffed and under-resourced.
* The same problem applies to certain 'proprietary' file formats - it is difficult for free/open source programmers to write software to use some commercial file formats where they haven't got all the relevant technical data, or there's a patent preventing them from legally doing so. Blame the cartel of corporations running the computer industry freezing out competitors. Again - these are obstacles which are slowly being overcome.

Free/Open Source software under Windows or Mac

Here's a list of the most common commercial software used in Windows with examples of main 'free open source' alternatives (though there are many more). If you have a GNU/Linux distro installed, use its 'package manager' to download these automatically, but if you're on Win or Mac, see the links below to download installable versions. For more info and news on open source software see www.sourceforge.org

	Commercial	Free Open Source	Download Version for Win/Mac
Operating System:	Windows/Mac	Ubuntu
Web Browser:	MS Internet Explorer	Firefox	www.mozilla.com/firefox
Office:	MS Office	Open Office	www.openoffice.org
Email:	MS Outlook	Thunderbird	www.mozilla.com/thunderbird
Image Editor:	Photoshop	The Gimp	www.gimp.org
Website builder:	Dreamweaver/Frontpage	NVU	www.nvu.com
Page Layout:	Quark/Indesign	Scribus	www.scribus.net
Media Player:	Windows Media Player, Winamp, i-Tunes	MediaPlayer Classic or VideoLAN	MP Classic (win only) www.videolan.org
CD Burner:	Nero	K3B	InfraRecorder

Other links

Handy One-Stop Ubuntu Help - http://ubuntuguide.org
Help and info about Ubuntu - http://ubuntuforums.org
Help and info about Kubuntu - http://kubuntuforums.com
Richard Stallman - www.stallman.org
What is 'Copyleft' - http://www.gnu.org/copyleft
What is the 'GNU General Public License' - http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html

Like Free Open Source Software, SchNEWS is 'copyleft' - so feel free to use this text for your own non-profit use, and even change it. If you have suggestions or improvements email SchNEWS at schnews@brighton.co.uk