From Issue #2 , Page #80

The bastard child of the computer world is suddenly becoming all the rage.

The first time you heard about Linux, did you think it was a character from Peanuts? Well, they do have some things in common. Both are small and are quite popular. But that’s about all the things they share. If you are any kind of gadget freak, you have probably crossed paths with Linux in some way and never even knew it. It has probably impacted your life somehow, and will absolutely be part of it in the future.

What is linux?
Many people would call Linux a replacement for Microsoft Windows. Certainly the folks at Linspire would—whose product, formerly known as Lindows, may sound familiar. Lindows is nothing more than Linux under a new name. Is it a replacement for Windows? Not really, but it is closer than anything else available. In other words, don’t expect Bill Gates to lose any sleep over it.

Linux is an open-source Unix-style operating system and associated tools that was originally developed by Linus Torvalds and literally thousands of volunteers worldwide. You can download several different versions of Linux for just about the cost of an Internet connection. In most cases, you can set up your PC so you can boot either Windows or Linux.

So now you know what Linux is, but do you know how pervasive it really is? The Sharp Zarus PDA line is Linux-based, as are many different network routers, including the Linksys series. Cell phones from companies like Ericsson, Motorola and Samsung use Linux; and TiVo is based on Linux, creating a large base of rabid TiVo hackers. Even Daimler-Chrysler has gotten into the foray, with a concept car, the Dodge Super8 Hemi, that has four embedded Linux controllers.

The Competition
But you have to remember that embedded Linux isn’t the only game in town. Microsoft has two embedded operating systems: Windows CE and embedded Windows XP. WinCE was engineered to resemble the look and feel of Windows and has several applications with similar operations, but there is no object-code compatibility. No chance of a Windows virus affecting a Windows CE device.

"Our customers told us that there is no true embedded Linux distribution—it can’t be implemented without a lot of work and support," says John Starkweather, product manager for Microsoft’s Mobile and Embedded Devices division. Windows CE, on the other hand, was designed specifically to be an embedded system. "We think it is because the product lifecycle—from the back of a napkin to a successful product on the market—is shortening. You can’t have 24-month development cycles. Microsoft is providing more ‘in the box’ to make it happen."

One big difference between embedded Linux and WinCE or embedded Windows XP is the available support. As you might imagine, it is a lot easier to implement a WinCE device than a similar Linux system, due to the great pains that Microsoft has taken to streamline the development cycle. "We have an entry-level program, called the Shared Success Program, where a company pays no royalties until the products start shipping," Starkweather says. They feel this gives developers a better start with embedded devices.

You may have heard that Apple’s OS X is based on something similar. You’re right—it is based on FreeBSD, which, according to the FreeBSD Web site, is based on the Berkeley version of Unix. The end result is very similar; both Linux and FreeBSD work similarly, and tools written for one operating system will in all likelihood be an easy "port" to the other OS. You can’t run Apple’s OS X on an Intel-based system; it is designed specifically for the Apple hardware. Linux, on the other hand, has been successfully ported to literally dozens of different computer systems, ranging from cell phones to mainframe computers. Hewlett-Packard has been distributing Linux for years. "Linux is a very key technology. It fits in our multiple-operating-system strategy," says Jeffrey Wade, HP’s manager of Linux marketing communications. Earlier this year, they announced a joint desktop with Novell that runs on Linux.

Bigger & Better
One logical question might be—why so many variations of Linux? One very real reason is support. All the major players are offering basically the same thing: the Linux operating system. The underlying code among these variations is all the same; however, each vendor is adding value with their own enhancements. Vendors must offer more than just the standard free OS; they normally sell the packages with support. Help is just a phone call away, often 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Just remember that "always available" support is usually more expensive.

Why Aren’t You Using It?
Linux is not the most popular operating system out there. Compared to Microsoft Windows or Apple OS X, Linux has only a handful of programs that will run on it. You certainly can’t go out and buy the latest "guns ’n’ guts"-style program to run on Linux. In fact, you almost certainly can’t find anything on the shelves that will run on a Linux box. While some programs do exist, they’re not yet commercially viable.

For example, there are freeware versions of portions of Microsoft Office available, called OpenOffice, which readily run on Linux. If you scour the Internet, you can find enough basic software for Linux that you could have a system that acted like Windows, even if it didn’t look exactly the same.

Another problem is support; not all hardware vendors write drivers to run their equipment on the Linux OS. Some of the major vendors have started releasing beta versions of their drivers for Linux. If you have a problem with the hardware or the driver, you may have to pay extra for support.

If you use your computer like your toaster, treating it like an appliance, Linux might not be for you. On the other hand, if you are always trying something new, standing on the bleeding edge of technology, give it a whirl. -Brian Abernathy

The Legalities of Linux
If you’ve heard about Linux, you may have also heard that there have been some lawsuits flying around. In brief, Santa Cruz Operations (SCO) filed a lawsuit against IBM, claiming that Linux contains code that is not in the public domain, but was written by SCO. IBM has been distributing Linux to their customers for years. Linux, as mentioned in the main article, started out as a project by Linus Torvalds. He based his work on the functionality of Unix, but created the code entirely from scratch. Over the years, other contributors have also written modules and tools for Linux.

According to some researchers, code from Linux has been ported to Unix. Is the converse also true? Well, that’s what SCO’s lawsuit is all about.

Currently, the suit is still in the courts, so the matter is far from over. The judge recently ruled that SCO must present the source code in question, so independent experts can determine if SCO’s claim holds water, or if they’re just all wet.

The Linux community is up in arms over the lawsuit. If SCO wins, they could potentially request that everyone who is running Linux must pony up a license fee. At present, SCO has still not presented any source code as proof to the court. Most users in the Linux community feel that this suit will never impact the home user.