A Users View of Linux

Describe it to me

Linux is, at its base, a 32-bit, multi-user, multi-tasking, multi-processor, command line operating system. Yes, if you install Linux you will at some point be reunited with the beloved command line interface. Luckily, Linux's command line is much more powerful and useful than DOS's. Almost anything you can do from Windows NT Server can be done on the Linux command line. Many production servers are managed without graphical interfaces, since eliminating such fluff can free resources that are better dedicated to the server's real mission: serving files, web pages, news groups, and database content.

Of course, you're not limited to a text interface. All of the popular Linux distributions come with XFree86, a program that implements the standard X windowing system found on commercial UNIXes. X is the lowest level in Linux's graphical interface. On top of X-windows runs one of many window managers. A window manager is the program that gives your desktop its look and feel. Most window managers support themes that are downloadable from sites like themes.org. Along with the windows manager you can run a desktop environment, like GNOME or KDE. Both of these systems are being developed to provide a consistent, easy to use visual paradigm that can be extended across window managers.

It's not just about the text prompt

While all of these layers may sound complicated, the end effect is that a Linux desktop is almost infinitely customizable. A user can make their desktop look like anything from an iMac to the control panel on the Enterprise 1701-D. The choice of window manager and environment is usually made at installation, although it can be changed at any time (and for different users). Almost all distributions come with both KDE and GNOME, as well as several window managers. Check out the end of the article for sample images of Linux desktops!

The biggest advantage to separating the GUI from the protected kernel is a great improvement in stability when compared to Linux's intrinsically graphical competitors. All graphical programs (including the base X server) are run as user processes. If a program, such as Netscape, crashes and destabilizes the graphical desktop, the user can push a key combination (usually a combination of ctrl, alt, and a function key) and switch to a full screen command line. From here, you can kill the GUI programs and restart them without rebooting. Anybody who has used Windows 9x understands what happens when a program like IE goes down. Lets just say it's not pretty. It's not uncommon for a Linux server to go a year without rebooting, but an NT administrator who can claim the same thing must have a personal phone line to the Big Guy Upstairs (and l don't mean Bill Gates).

Watch Firingsquad for a more in depth comparison between the NT and Linux kernels.