By Ded Ryzing: The other night I stopped in on a uStream broadcast / chat I used to frequent (not so much any more) to see what was shaking. This stream from the boys at PCMech.com normally focuses on PC and Mac hardware/software…although the focus on this evening seemed to be on Twitter…yeah, I didn’t get it either. Anyways, eventually they started discussing Linux. I knew it would likely turn into negative ranting against the OS, and sure enough, it did.

This is ok though. These are also the same folks who claim that Linux needs corporate backing to succeed, claiming that Linux only has a paltry 1% of desktop market share. As I alluded to in a comment to their post, that statement depends a lot on your definition of success.

If your definition of success is taking advantage of the masses to make boat loads of cash…then yes, Linux is not successful. If, however, your definition of success is the building of a powerfull, secure and stable OS, and a strong and loyal following comprised of individuals who CHOOSE to use your OS and enjoy the freedom and flexibility the OS allows them, then I would say that Linux is the most successful OS on the planet.

Warm fuzzies, I know…so let’s look at some numbers. I read recently that estimated PC shipments for 2008, globally, will be around 290 million. At their 1% usage claims, this means 2.9 million will end up running Linux. That’s 2.9 million who CHOOSE to run Linux…success? It gets better though. W3Schools publishes stats from their web server logs about who is visiting their site. I like these stats because the site is vendor neutral and not geared towards any particular platform.

According to W3Schools, Linux is only marginally behind Mac OS in terms of usage globally…not just Mac OS X, but all versions combined. Does this equate to success for Linux or failure for Mac OS?

What people have to keep in mind is that in the vast majority of cases, each and every Linux install is because someone made the decision to use it. It was not the default or standard OS installed when they bought the machine. Why is this important? Well, truth is that the overwhelming majority of computer users use the OS that came pre-installed because they do not know any different. For Linux to gain this level of acceptance with zero marketing, relying on it’s own merit, seems like success to me. Oh, and let’s not forget that this is on the desktop…in the data center things are even more amazing.

Tags: Linux, Choosing Linux

By Ded Ryzing: This article was posted on Securosis. It’s highly recommended that you read and contemplate what it means. I’m guessing that those out there who follow blindly and firmly believe that Government and “big business” have your best interest at heart will not understand this. For the rest of you with a clue…be aware.

…insurance companies are able to save money by gathering health care records electronically, make more accurate analyses of patients (also saving money) and be able to adjust premiums (i.e., make more money) based upon your poor health or various other things. You know, like ‘pre-existing’ conditions… Full Story

Tags: HIPAA

By Ded Ryzing: A very recent post on PCMech.com touched on something that every Internet user needs to take notice of…’Net Neutrality.  While the article, “Metered Bandwidth = Bad Idea” was well written, it only scratches the surface of this important subject.

‘Net Neutrality is the notion that Internet users have the RIGHT to determine what content they view, and the applications they use to view it, on the Internet. Seems pretty logical, but this basic freedom is being threatened by ISPs and  Big Telco companies…the very companies YOU use to access the Internet.

While not directly a ‘Net Neutrality concern, metered bandwidth is a symptom of the bigger concerns at hand.  So what exactly is the problem?  Let’s illustrate it with an example.

Let’s say you are a small or home business owner about to launch a new product.  Traditionally the Internet provided an even playing field on which your products had an equal opportunity to reach the same customers (and potential customers) as the big players in your market.  Now suppose your big competitors could pay ISPs to control the amount of data / traffic being routed to them.  Increasing their bandwidth and slow. Or cut, traffic to you.  This effectively kills the level playing field and equal opportunity.  On the Internet this can mean death for a website.

“Who cares?  I’m not a small business owner.”.  Traffic shaping also has freedom of speech and democratic implications.  Potentially ISPs could be paid to “bury” the Internet voice of social activism, independent voice and democratic thought.  Your very freedom is threatened when economic and political agendas of Government and Big Business is forced on you and they decide what information you can see.

In simple terms, it is no different than your telephone provider telling you who you can call and at what time you can call them, or your power company specifying what devices you can plug into the wall and if you use something different, it will not work properly.  Just think about that.

Why would an ISP do this?  Simple…greed.  ISPs collects money from these traffic shaping contracts, and they also continue to collect from YOU every month to access filtered content. This can not happen. I urge you to contact your local government representative and tell them this is not acceptable. You can also visit http://www.neutrality.ca/ or Save The Internet for more information and to sign their petition. Will Pate has a great article on “3 Easy Ways to Support Net Neutrality in Canada“.  While specific to Canada, these 3 steps can be applied anywhere:

1.Talk about it.  Get the word out any way you can
2.Lobby your politicians.  Remember, they are public servants that are supposed to work for you.
3.Complain to your regulatory authority.  In Canada it is the CRTC or the FCC in the U.S.

“Ah, this is all just conspiracy talk.  It doesn’t happen…my Internet connection is fine.”  Let me tell you, it IS happening and will happen more and more.

On October 31, 2007, Bell Sympatico (Bell Canada), one of the largest ISPs in Canada, admitted to using traffic management systems to specifically target peer-to-peer (P2P) traffic. This, in effect, reduced the speed at which this type of data could transfer or blocks it entirely. A Sympatico manager later added, “…Bell is using Internet Traffic Management to ensure we deliver bandwidth fairly to our customers…”.

This statement admits to traffic shaping and hints at the need for bandwidth metering.  In reality, there is more bandwidth available than you could imagine.  During the dotcom bubble of the late 90’s, thousands of miles of fiber optic cabling was laid for Internet use.  Most of this bandwidth was never used and remains dark to this day.  The fact is your ISP would rather take more from you then spend a little more to increase capacity, by lighting this fiber, to meet demand.

However, not all hope is not lost.  On May 16, 2008 the Globe and Mail reported that Bell Canada must prove ‘Net shaping is needed. “Federal regulators have ordered Bell Canada to provide tangible evidence that its broadband networks are congested to justify the company’s Internet “traffic-shaping” policies. “ 

While this article may be heavily Canadian leaning, I can assure you that this is happening all over the world.  I know there are similar stories to be told from everywhere.

Tags: net neutrality, traffic shaping, Bell Canada, Bell Sympatico, Will Pate, Globe and Mail

By Ded Ryzing: The other day I got into a somewhat heated discussion about why Linux is a viable alternative desktop OS. Despite my best efforts, I was unable to move the other side past the rhetoric and myths that seem to surround Linux. It is because of this discussion that I am writing this…as a way to give accurate information. Let’s start by looking at some of the most common myths.

Myth 1: “Linux is hard to install” - This could not be further from the truth. Many Linux distributions are as easy, if not easier. to install as Windows. Ubuntu, Linux Mint and PCLinuxOS are but three of the most popular. The install is nothing more than a few mouse clicks and basic options like timezone, language and name. All these are explained well and you need to provide the same information when installing ANY operating system.

Myth 2: “Linux does not recognize my hardware” - Like all Operating Systems, Linux requires “drivers” in order to use a piece of hardware like a sound card or modem, etc. Also like other OSs, if your system is cutting edge with the latest and greatest, there may be challenges at first. This issue is not limited to Linux either. A year after it’s release, Windows Vista is still suffering from poor driver support. The fact is, if your system is 6 months old, hardware support is usually a non-issue.

Myth 3: “Linux is too complicated to use” - In what way? It has a graphical interface with a mouse and windows. It has an auto-updater to keep things current. It has software add/remove capabilities that allow you to install programs with a couple mouse clicks. It even has many apps found in Windows and Mac OS X like Firefox, Thunderbird, Pidgin, Audacity, etc. It’s as easy as Windows…just different. Let’s put it this way, if all you ever knew was Linux and you decided to try Windows for the first time, I’m sure you would find Windows complicated and hard to use too.

Myth 4: “There are no applications available” - One of the points thrown at me during my discussion went something like, “Walk into a computer store and try to find a single Linux app on the shelf…you won’t find any”. Until now I’m not sure what that had to do with anything. There are many thousands of applications available, for free, and are readily available for download. Many Linux distros even come with a point and click interface to download and install these apps without effort. To say there are no applications available is not only a myth but a flat out lie. However, if you still insist on getting in your car, driving across town, burning that expensive fuel, searching through cluttered shelves, standing in line, paying, then driving home again (burning more expensive fuel) just so you can have a disc in a fancy box…be my guest.

Some reasons to use Linux: There are many more “myths” hanging over Linux, but those were some of the more common ones. Let’s now look at a few reasons why one should consider Linux.

Reason 1: Security - Viruses are less of a threat on Linux. The very way a Linux system is designed makes it very difficult for a virus to function as it does in Windows. This also applies to spyware, malware, etc. The fact that almost no viruses are written for Linux also adds a nicer sense of warmth. Wouldn’t be nice to read the almost endless stream of security holes in Windows and know it does not apply to you?

Reason 2: Updatability - Linux is in a constant state of development and improvement by professional and semi-professional developers who donate their time and skills to the various projects. In addition, the majority of the system and available applications are Open source, so if you wish and you had the ability, you could add any feature you needed. Linux also has the ability to expand the life of many systems as it’s reduced overhead and need for system resources means that it will run great on older machines.

Reason 3: Support - Yes, support. As hard as it is to accept, you can easily get support when you do run into difficulties. In addition to the plethora of online forms, both independant and those provided by the distro supplier, there are also more and more 3rd party service providers that offer service contracts for Linux systems. Good to have in a corporate/business environment. There is also support offered by more and more traditional Technology names such as Dell, IBM, Novell, Sun and others. And finally, for support a little closer to home, most major cities have Linux User Groups that can and do offer help and advice. Help and Support IS available and does not usually mean spending hours on hold to speak to someone in a call center on the other side of the planet.

Reason 4: Self-improvement - Personally, this is one of the most important reasons why I switched. Linux gave me the chance to learn new skills, gain deeper insights into how computers work and provided an excellent platform to develop on. Some people may be satisfied with going through life with blinders on and living the “status-quo”. For those that enjoy the how/what/why of life, Linux is an excellent choice.

Reason 5: Cost - Most people would put this at the top of the list. For me, cost is one of the least important reasons to switch to Linux. However, the cost advantage of Linux is huge. In a nutshell, you get the complete OS, thousands upon thousands of applications AND support for the grand total price of….$0! We’re not talking a watered down, feature deprived OS either…we’re talking a full-blown, complete, enterprise ready OS…for free. “But my time is worth something and the extra effort needed with Linux cost me money.”, alright…and how much does it cost you when Windows bluescreens in the middle of editing a large report that hasn’t been saved? Or how about when a virus or spyware prevents you from even using your system…probably costs you a lot.

So you see, you are going to hear a lot about why you should not use Linux, and they are going to give you many reasons why you shouldn’t…just very few good reasons.

If you are interested in trying Linux, I would recommend Ubuntu, Linux Mint or PCLinuxOS. Download their LiveCDs. Booting to a LiveCD allows you to try and use a complete Linux environment without making any changes to your hard drive. Once done, just reboot and go back into windows as normal.

Tags: Linux, Windows, switch to linux, Ubuntu, Linux Mint, PCLinuxOS, Microsoft