Like most PC owners, I long ago accepted my lot as Bill Gates's captive. But several months ago, I became intrigued with a possible alternative to Microsoft (MSFT
). Several companies were packaging the Linux operating system with games, MP3 players, and other consumer software, and marketing it as an easy-to-use operating system for the home computer. I had always thought of Linux, which is found primarily on corporate servers, as the domain of the propeller-heads. Could I, a technologically challenged amateur, venture into this world?
At first, I wasn't sure I would have the nerve. Although I'm often annoyed by Windows, it's still the devil I know. Jettisoning it from my hard drive seemed drastic. Fortunately, I found I could install Linux on my year-old Dell Inspiron 3800 laptop, using a portion of my hard drive and leaving Windows untouched. The package I installed, SuSE Linux Personal 7.3, is one of dozens of available versions of Linux, some free and downloadable. It automatically partitioned my hard drive during installation, and each time I boot my computer, I have the option of Linux or Windows. (There's also a version for Apple's PowerPC).
The $39.95, three-CD SuSE package comes with a cornucopia of free software, including Sun Microsystems' StarOffice, a slower-but-passable alternative to Microsoft's $479 Office suite, and GIMP, a photo- and graphics-editing program with many features found in Adobe's $600 Photoshop. There also are options for browsing the Web, sending and reading e-mail, downloading and listening to music, burning CDs, displaying pictures and video, and exchanging instant messages.
A rival package, Mandrake Linux 8.1, comes with more software--seven CD-ROMs' worth--for $69. But SuSE's menu was plenty for my needs. StarOffice could open all my Windows files and save new documents so Windows users could read them. I was able to do anything in Linux I could in Windows except manage my finances (there's no Quicken for Linux) or watch a live Webcast of Steve Jobs's MacWorld appearance last month (Apple's Web site doesn't offer a Linux version of its QuickTime video player).
But now that the novelty has worn off, when presented with the option of choosing David or Goliath, I remain inclined to go with the big guy. Linux, a so-called open-source collaboration among independent software programmers, still lacks the fit and finish of its competitor. Where Windows offers consumers a single desktop environment and file-management system, for example, Linux offers several. This array of choices is great for corporate customers, who can hire programmers to fine-tune Linux for their own purposes. But the lack of standardization can be a headache for consumers.
For example, I downloaded an updated version of the RealPlayer, but installing it required typing commands into a text-based module--steps a point-and-click person like me wouldn't dare to attempt. In Windows, all of this is handled with a few mouse clicks. But Linux is not yet standardized enough to deploy a universal installation program. For all of its user-friendly add-ons, Linux's primary audience remains the technical elite. "As a desktop operating system, Linux does have a future, but at this point it is really nichey," says Mary Hubley, research director at Gartner, a research firm. "It really isn't focused on the consumer desktop."
Even so, Linux has its advantages. I worried less about viruses because most target weaknesses in Microsoft's software. Unlike the new Windows XP, Linux runs fine on older, less powerful PCs like mine. And it didn't crash even once--a marked contrast to my daily frustrations with Windows 98. Although I ultimately wasn't sold on it, using Linux made me realize I'm not as much Bill Gates's prisoner as I thought I was.
By David Landis
Get BusinessWeek directly on your desktop with our RSS feeds.
Add BusinessWeek news to your Web site with our headline feed.
Click to buy an e-print or reprint of a BusinessWeek or BusinessWeek Online story or video.
To subscribe online to BusinessWeek magazine, please click here.
Copyright 2002 , by The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. All rights reserved.
Printer-Friendly Version
