I just installed LibreOffice on my main operating system, Linux Mint 9 LXDE.
Mint 9 LXDE came with Abiword pre-installed, so I used it for awhile. I wanted to stay away from OpenOffice because of what was happening with it. And I had been waiting for LibreOffice to go official, which it did several months ago. I was just slow to get around to installing it.
But today I installed it, using the command line since that is the easiest way. LibreOffice works great. It opens quickly, it opens all the file formats that I have, while Abiword had trouble with .docx files, and it is easy to use. Of course, all of that makes sense, since LibreOffice was developed by some of the same people who did OpenOffice.
For people who use another operating system, and who never, or rarely, use the command line, it is not hard. It is easy to find the commands needed to do just about anything that needs to be done. I found a great tutorial at the Linux Mint community just by searching how to install LibreOffice in Linux Mint. Mint user Alexio had posted the exact commands needed for the install, and it worked fine. And that was even with my system being LXDE, which is much younger than Gnome or KDE, for which the tutorial was primarily written.
People in Linux communities are usually very helpful. Virtually anything that needs to be done on a computer using Linux has been done by someone, and they have posted instructions on how to do it.
But for anyone in Southern Colorado who wants to try Linux (I use and recommend Mint) but does not want to search for commands and programs, go on over to http://blackmarketcomputers.com and send me an email or give me a call. I can show you how to use Linux, and I can get you set up. Once you learn it, Linux really is the best way to go.
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Friday, November 12, 2010
Colleges focusing on only one operating system
I'm a business major in college. I figured out that with what I want to to do for a living, a business degree will be better than a computer science degree.
The problem with being a business major in the United States is that the colleges here only recognize the existence of one operating system (okay, they do use Macs for certain programs, but not in the college of business). So for my degree program I am required to take a class that teaches how to use the components of a Windows computer system, unless I can test out of it this morning.
I have problems with that, both as a class and as a mindset. First as a class.
I know that most of the world is using Windows. And I know that most companies that business majors go to work for use that operating system. But I don't. I use Linux. That is all I will ever use again. I have installed over a dozen Linux operating systems, and I have used several others without installing them. I have tried out three or four (it is hard to keep track exactly) different types of Linux systems, from Ubuntu to Fedora to Salix. I am going to be building my own Linux operating system this winter (if you are interested, watch for an announcement here). And my business will not only run exclusively on Linux (even my web site is hosted on a Linux server) but is all about helping people make the move to Linux.
So I do not need to know the other operating system for work. I will not be using it. Which brings me to the whole mindset behind colleges teaching only that operating system. Already not everyone uses it. I do not even use their office suite. I am using Openoffice until Libreoffice is ready for prime time. It is free, it will do all the same things, and it works. So I do not need the expensive office suite that so much of the world seems tied to. But I have to take a class on it (actually another, because it was also required at the community college) unless I can test out of it.
And I have to know the components of the expensive operating system to test out of the class. I should do okay on the operating system, they are testing me on the version that I used for about two and a half years before I switched to Linux.
But whether I pass the test to skip the class or not, I still disagree with the school teaching only that operating system. And making the class about it mandatory for business majors. It is another piece of the domination of the computer world. And I do not think that they should be allowed to require that I take a class on a system I am never going to use again.
Update: So I passed the test to get out of the class. But I still think it is a horrible requirement, and a further detriment to our culture and country that Microsoft maintains such control and influence in our colleges and Universities.
The problem with being a business major in the United States is that the colleges here only recognize the existence of one operating system (okay, they do use Macs for certain programs, but not in the college of business). So for my degree program I am required to take a class that teaches how to use the components of a Windows computer system, unless I can test out of it this morning.
I have problems with that, both as a class and as a mindset. First as a class.
I know that most of the world is using Windows. And I know that most companies that business majors go to work for use that operating system. But I don't. I use Linux. That is all I will ever use again. I have installed over a dozen Linux operating systems, and I have used several others without installing them. I have tried out three or four (it is hard to keep track exactly) different types of Linux systems, from Ubuntu to Fedora to Salix. I am going to be building my own Linux operating system this winter (if you are interested, watch for an announcement here). And my business will not only run exclusively on Linux (even my web site is hosted on a Linux server) but is all about helping people make the move to Linux.
So I do not need to know the other operating system for work. I will not be using it. Which brings me to the whole mindset behind colleges teaching only that operating system. Already not everyone uses it. I do not even use their office suite. I am using Openoffice until Libreoffice is ready for prime time. It is free, it will do all the same things, and it works. So I do not need the expensive office suite that so much of the world seems tied to. But I have to take a class on it (actually another, because it was also required at the community college) unless I can test out of it.
And I have to know the components of the expensive operating system to test out of the class. I should do okay on the operating system, they are testing me on the version that I used for about two and a half years before I switched to Linux.
But whether I pass the test to skip the class or not, I still disagree with the school teaching only that operating system. And making the class about it mandatory for business majors. It is another piece of the domination of the computer world. And I do not think that they should be allowed to require that I take a class on a system I am never going to use again.
Update: So I passed the test to get out of the class. But I still think it is a horrible requirement, and a further detriment to our culture and country that Microsoft maintains such control and influence in our colleges and Universities.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Security
Linux is a very secure operating system. I have been using Linux for just over a year and I have not had a virus or spyware infection. Nor have any of the people I know who use Linux.
Estimates of the number of viruses that have ever been written for Linux vary, but the number that I have seen most is around five hundred. About five hundred viruses in the nineteen years since Linux was started. Some operating systems are tested by five hundred viruses a day.
Also, of those five hundred, I have read that over ninety percent of them were created in a laboratory environment specifically to test the security of Linux.
Even if viruses were out there for Linux (and I will not claim that there are none, but I do not know anyone who has gotten one), they would have a lot of trouble infecting a Linux computer. There are several reasons for this.
One of the biggest obstacles for a virus on a Linux computer is the fact that most of the time the user is not signed is as the administrator. The default for Linux is to sign in as a user, not as administrator (called root user in Linux). One popular operating system automatically signs a person in as administrator unless they take the time (and know that they need to) to set up separate user accounts. A virus cannot do very much if it is not allowed into the operating system. And Linux users have to give it specific permission.
Another obstacle for Linux viruses would be the difference in the way Linux operating systems handle software, or packages. Debian, and the operating systems based on it, including Ubuntu as well as all the operating systems with which I deal, uses .deb packages. Now, if you do not know much about Linux, that may not mean much to you, but it is important. Because software cannot work on a Debian or Ubuntu based computer unless it is in the right format.
And .deb is not the only format. Red Hat operating systems, including Red Hat, Fedora, CentOS, and others, use .rpm packages. They work differently and they work only on the systems designed for them. Slackware Linux uses something else, and other Linux versions use something else.
The point of all that information is that even if a virus is written for Linux, it may be written for only one kind of Linux packaging system. A virus packed into a .deb will not do anything on a system designed to use a .rpm. And a .rpm virus won't affect a system that uses .deb. They could not get in because the operating system would not have the software to install them.
So to affect as many Linux users as possible, a person writing a virus for Linux would have to write several different versions and put it into several different packages. And then a Linux user would not only have to open it, but then enter their password to let it in.
There are other reasons a virus is unlikely for a Linux system, too. But this post is long enough already. I may write more about it later. Or someone may put something in the comments that helps. Just keep an eye out.
Estimates of the number of viruses that have ever been written for Linux vary, but the number that I have seen most is around five hundred. About five hundred viruses in the nineteen years since Linux was started. Some operating systems are tested by five hundred viruses a day.
Also, of those five hundred, I have read that over ninety percent of them were created in a laboratory environment specifically to test the security of Linux.
Even if viruses were out there for Linux (and I will not claim that there are none, but I do not know anyone who has gotten one), they would have a lot of trouble infecting a Linux computer. There are several reasons for this.
One of the biggest obstacles for a virus on a Linux computer is the fact that most of the time the user is not signed is as the administrator. The default for Linux is to sign in as a user, not as administrator (called root user in Linux). One popular operating system automatically signs a person in as administrator unless they take the time (and know that they need to) to set up separate user accounts. A virus cannot do very much if it is not allowed into the operating system. And Linux users have to give it specific permission.
Another obstacle for Linux viruses would be the difference in the way Linux operating systems handle software, or packages. Debian, and the operating systems based on it, including Ubuntu as well as all the operating systems with which I deal, uses .deb packages. Now, if you do not know much about Linux, that may not mean much to you, but it is important. Because software cannot work on a Debian or Ubuntu based computer unless it is in the right format.
And .deb is not the only format. Red Hat operating systems, including Red Hat, Fedora, CentOS, and others, use .rpm packages. They work differently and they work only on the systems designed for them. Slackware Linux uses something else, and other Linux versions use something else.
The point of all that information is that even if a virus is written for Linux, it may be written for only one kind of Linux packaging system. A virus packed into a .deb will not do anything on a system designed to use a .rpm. And a .rpm virus won't affect a system that uses .deb. They could not get in because the operating system would not have the software to install them.
So to affect as many Linux users as possible, a person writing a virus for Linux would have to write several different versions and put it into several different packages. And then a Linux user would not only have to open it, but then enter their password to let it in.
There are other reasons a virus is unlikely for a Linux system, too. But this post is long enough already. I may write more about it later. Or someone may put something in the comments that helps. Just keep an eye out.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
You may already be using Linux
Smart phones are everywhere now. Not everyone has a smart phone, but a lot of people do. And one of the most popular, and up and coming, systems for a smart phone is Android. While Android is not the top of the market yet (that I know of, but I might be wrong) it is rising quickly. A lot of people like their Android phones and a lot more people want an Android.
One of the reasons, in my opinion, that Android is so great is that it is Linux. Android is a Linux operating system developed by Google for cell phones. So if you, or someone you know, has an Android phone, and there are many to choose from, that is Linux. You may already be using it in your cell phone.
The Palm phones are Linux, too. As are the phones that are going to hit the market soon with webOS. Palm and webOS are Linux phone operating systems developed by Palm Pilot, and now being put out by HP.
I haven't used any of those because I am not ready for a smart phone. But when I am, I will be getting a phone that uses Android. It is not just because it is Linux, but it helps. Since it is Linux, I know that there is an entire community behind it, and that there will always be people helping to make it work.
Of course, a phone is not a home computer or a laptop. Android works for phones, not for full computers. So let's start getting Linux onto more computers, too. There are Linux distributions that will make your computer (desktop of laptop) run as well as your phone does on Android or webOS. Help spread the word about open-source computing (I'll give a better definition of that in a future post) and Linux operating systems. They work as well on computers as they do on phones.
One of the reasons, in my opinion, that Android is so great is that it is Linux. Android is a Linux operating system developed by Google for cell phones. So if you, or someone you know, has an Android phone, and there are many to choose from, that is Linux. You may already be using it in your cell phone.
The Palm phones are Linux, too. As are the phones that are going to hit the market soon with webOS. Palm and webOS are Linux phone operating systems developed by Palm Pilot, and now being put out by HP.
I haven't used any of those because I am not ready for a smart phone. But when I am, I will be getting a phone that uses Android. It is not just because it is Linux, but it helps. Since it is Linux, I know that there is an entire community behind it, and that there will always be people helping to make it work.
Of course, a phone is not a home computer or a laptop. Android works for phones, not for full computers. So let's start getting Linux onto more computers, too. There are Linux distributions that will make your computer (desktop of laptop) run as well as your phone does on Android or webOS. Help spread the word about open-source computing (I'll give a better definition of that in a future post) and Linux operating systems. They work as well on computers as they do on phones.
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