|
Your PCs were very likely purchased with an operating system (OS) pre-installed. The OS works behind the scenes managing
the components of your computer system - your printer, sound card, monitor (screen), disks drive, etc. It is highly likely
that that operating system was one of Microsoft's products; very likely it was Microsoft Windows 98, Microsoft Windows XP,
or if you have recently purchase a new PC, Microsoft Windows Vista. Of course it's possible that you have a different version
of one of Microsoft's operating systems, or that you are running an OS from Apple or Sun, or even some other vendor. It is
98% certain that you paid for that operating system when you bought the computer, although you may not realize that you did.
FREE Operating Systems ?
Did you know that there is a totally free operating system that you can install on almost any PC system in the world.
That's right, you don't have to pay for it. It's completely free and completely legal. Writing an operating system is
a university level project for a computer science graduate, so there are dozens, even hundreds available. Yes, many of them
are free, and yes, most of them are not suitable for everyday use on a PC.
One, however has caught the attention and imagination of the computing community - the geeks - and it is called Linux. It
is named after the Finnish university student who initially released it into the public domain way back in 1991, Linus Torvalds..
Linux does essentially the same job as any other operating system, free, or otherwise. Of course by now, after over 15
years of development Linux is a mature, and stable operating system It's so stable that some of the worlds largest computer
based businesses such as Google, Amazon.com, and others rely upon Linux for their core operations. Linux is also well supported
by some of the biggest names in the computing industry including Dell, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, and Oracle Corporation, They
even have full time staff devoted to the continued development of Linux.
FREE Office Suite ?
The operating system is only half of what most people pay for, though. It is very likely that you also purchased a suite
of programs called Microsoft Office (along with some kind of version number, example: Microsoft Office 2000). If you bought
(whether wittingly or not) this software, you are likely to have a version of a word processor, a spreadsheet, presentation
software, and other applications, many of which you probably either don't know or care about. Free alternatives to these
programs also exist - and they run on the free Linux operating system, and can even work with most of the files that Microsoft's
products produce. One of the more popular alternative Office Suites is known as Open Office. It includes a word processor,
a spreadsheet application, presentation software, project management software and other useful applications.
FREE Anti-Virus ?
If you use your computer when attached to the Internet - which most people do - you probably use an e-mail program, and a
web browser. Well, free equivalents exists for those too ! What's more, you very likely paid additional money for anti-virus
and anti-spam software that is ALSO AVAILABLE FREE with Linux. (Did we won't mention that Linux generally doesn't suffer from
viruses) Not only that, but independent tests have shown that the free products frequently outperform the expensive counterparts.
YES - FREE !
When you think of all the money you could save by running free software, you'll probably wonder why you have never heard about
Linux before. Historically Linux has been used as a server based OS, powering background computers such as web servers,
e-mail servers, and DNS servers (you know, all those really important things you take for granted). Up until recently its
use as a desktop operating system has not been stressed. That has dramatically changed over the past few years. Now Linux
is being used like any other office PC operating system.
Save twice !
Linux can run on older computer hardware too ! A fully functional version of Linux can run on hardware that other operating
systems will refuse to install on. You can stop the seemingly endless cycle of computer upgrades, and spend your money on
more important things, like your core business.
Freedom to Choose
The next step is up to you. You can contact Medway Linux for a brief, no obligation, free consultation which can help determine
whether it might be worthwhile for you or your business switch to Linux. Of course Medway Linux would like to help you make
that switch, that's our business. The great thing is, at least now you know that you have a choice.
|
