by Judy Kirby

Created on: May 26, 2007

You have to respect what the open source community has done with Linux. The Linux trademark owned by Linus Torvalds, has gained a lot of ground in terms of being a legitimate competitor for Microsoft. Many business are using Linux or "flavors" of Linux to run their database engines and business applications.

After having said that, I have to learn to use the Linux O.S. (Operating System) for my new position at a different company. For many years I had only used Windows on computers. In just one weekend I was able to learn quite a few basic shell commands. For Windows/DOS users that's equivalent to the command line in DOS. Yet, when I started delving into more complex operations, I had a bit of difficulty deciding which utilities and programs I should use. There are quite a few groups and companies on the Internet that offer their programs and it is overwhelming to a beginner to figure out which one will do the job for the least amount of money.

The argument that this brings up demonstrates how Microsoft has dominated the market. Because if someone is willing to shell out quite a bit for the Windows O.S. or use it because it is already installed when you purchase a new computer, you are willing to shell out a few more dollars for some decent applications or tools for that computer. On the flip side, if you want to download a free O.S. and you believe in the open source movement you are less likely to fork out a lot of money for the applications. Unless you are a big business that can afford to purchase an Enterprise Edition of Linux.

The average consumer will find that the will have to do a lot more research to find the applications and utilities they are looking for if they use Linux. This includes having to read the documentation for installing these items. Some installations are not as simple as double left-clicking on an executable (.exe). Where most installations for the Windows O.S. are just that simple.

However, there is absolutely nothing wrong with being more particular and investigative when it comes to what you install on your computer. If you decide to go with Linux, you may find your standards for what is deemed as quality to have gone up. When many consumers have these sorts of standards and expectations this will force many vendors and developers to change their perspectives as far as what they are willing to release for public consumption.

Also, consider that Linux operating systems aren't targeted nearly as often as the Windows ones are by viruses.

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