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122 lines
5.6 KiB
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<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 3.2//EN">
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<title>Linux is Better Here LG #45</title>
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<H4>
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"Linux Gazette...<I>making Linux just a little more fun!</I>"
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</H4>
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<P> <HR> <P>
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<center>
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<H1><font color="maroon">Linux is Better Here</font></H1>
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<H4>By <a href="mailto:tgt@usa.net">Trenton G. Twining</a></H4>
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<P> <HR> <P>
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In the past months Linux has gained momentum in corporate acceptance.
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Recent announcements by IBM, Netscape, Oracle, Sun and others have
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triggered a new degree of recognition for Linux. However, many major
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corporations may have been using Linux without fanfare, as we are in
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the offices of a Regional Bell Operating Company (RBOC).
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<p>
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Our project involves producing application program interfaces used by
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UNIX applications company wide. The developers were all initially
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supplied with PC_compatible workstations with MS Windows 95 or NT. On
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each machine was installed one of two commercial communications
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packages. Developers could request an X server (optional with one of
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the communication packages).
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<p>
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Before I became involved in the project, at least two developers had
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installed Linux in lieu of NT. As a Linux advocate, I was
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delighted at the acceptance of Linux in a corporate setting. I had
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met with only rare success in convincing other shops to use Linux
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on the desktop. At this RBOC, I found a willingness to allow innovation
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on the developers desktop. I wasted little time installing Linux on my
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desktop machine.
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<p>
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It was more convenient for me to retain NT in order to support users
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of some Windows-based applications. <b>Hint:</b> Be sure you know
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what you are doing before attempting to make NT part of a multiple
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operating system scheme. It is not particularly difficult to
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accomplish, but it is not at all intuitive.
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<p>
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One of the greatest benefits we enjoy as Linux users is X11. The
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various X servers in use on Linux were uniformly more stable, more
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complete and offered better performance than the NT-based X11
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servers. While I found one of the Windows-based X servers acceptable
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on NT, it did not perform as well as either of those I tried on Linux
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(on the same machine).
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<p>
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The built-in support for NFS was another big plus. When we received
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distribution media for software, I could mount the CD on my drive and
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all the UNIX/Linux-based computers in the project could install
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without a need to keep track of who had the CD last. This was
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particularly helpful for installing software on our HP server. This
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machine is in another building and I do not have ready access to it. Thus,
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mounting a CD as an NFS volume was an important capability.
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<p>
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The Linux users installed Netscape Communicator, giving us a
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familiar and easily configured communications suite. (We had already
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been licensed and using it on MS Windows.)
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<p>
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The biggest benefit for me, as a UNIX system administrator and Perl
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programmer, is the ability to write and test programs locally. Some of
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my programs have the potential for bad side-effects. If tested on our
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HP server, my team members could be (and I'm afraid have been) adversely
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affected. With Linux on my desktop, I have a dual opportunity. First,
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I can write and test programs on my desktop machine. If I
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accidentally make the root directory permissions ``drwxr--r--'' (which I
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once did when invoking a poorly written Makefile), only I am unable to
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use my machine, rather than 20 users being locked out. Second, I
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am motivated to make my programs more adaptive by making sure they
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will run in the BSD-like Linux environment as well as the SVR4 worlds
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of HP-UX and Solaris.
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<p>
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Our team presently has Linux installed on four PCs with two others as
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likely prospects. We also have it installed on three Sun Ultra 5
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desktop machines. Linux performance (particularly X11) is
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breathtaking on the Ultra 5. Several people on our project and
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neighboring projects have installed Linux on their home PCs after
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seeing it the workplace. For these people, learning UNIX has
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accelerated markedly.
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<p>
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The accelerated UNIX acclimatization is a plus for the company. Any
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company involved in migration from legacy systems to a UNIX platform
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will have a significant cost in retraining. We saw people learning UNIX
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at an accelerated pace after becoming Linux enthusiasts. This certainly
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appeared to be a productivity boost and training cost reduction.
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<p>
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If your company could benefit from having UNIX workstations on
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employee's desks, look at the low cost of entry into Linux. All it takes
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is a PC (you've probably already got that) and a Linux distribution (not
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very expensive). Make life better where you are--get Linux.
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<p>
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<P> <hr> <P>
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<center><H5>Copyright © 1999, Trenton G. Twining <BR>
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Published in Issue 45 of <i>Linux Gazette</i>, September 1999</H5></center>
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