There is more to Linux than you might know

Date: 04th April 2011

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Linux

• It is just a kernel.

• Full OS: 1,5 - 3 % Linux, 15 % GNU and 80+ % everything else.

• GNU/Linux OS more than 15 years in market.

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Open, free, gratis – Closed, proprietary, paid

• Free as a speech and free as in beer.

• Open source and commerce are fully compatible.

• Open source is a possibility to verify and improve.

• Proprietary code is a Black Box - it is either working or not.

• Proprietary code is not sold, it is licensed by vendor only to run.

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Information and freedom of speech, program patents

• ACTA, DMCA and other tools for monopoly protection.

• "Those who do not want to imitate anything, produce nothing." (Salvador Dali)

• Users starts to loose rights to use physical things they have bought.

• Copyright and patents not always dependant.

• New technologies are judged by patent system, older than 200 years.

• Patents are the cold nuclear war of an IT sector. Patent trolling.

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Get the facts

• Linux is cheap.

• Linux is easy.

• Linux is secure.

• Linux is stable and reliable.

• Linux is widespread and universal.

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Get the facts: Linux is cheap

• Linux pricing starts from 0.

• TCO of Open Source systems is 19 to 36 % cheaper than Windows. (2004 Cybersource research).

• Microsoft end user product support prices during work hours:

• Lithuania: 499 Lt/hour + 21% VAT.

• UK: 45 or 185 pounds + VAT per incident.

• Canonical support for Ubuntu Linux Desktop:

• UK: 89 pounds per year.

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Get the facts: Linux is easy

• It is just another OS providing similar functionality.

• It you know how to drive a car it should not matter on which side the steering wheel is.

• Most likely it is available in your native language.

• Almost everything is documented.

• As you can poke inside there are comments too!

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Get the facts: Linux is secure

• Commercial "Linux" systems gets EAL4 certification.

• Methodically Designed, Tested, and Reviewed.

• Properly designed system remains secure when everything about the system but the keys to the system itself is known. (Kerckhoffs' security principle)

• Information about flaws emerges and are patched faster.

• That’s due to the nature of open source.

• If you know, you can always do it by yourself if vendor is slow to turn.

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Get the facts: Linux is stable and reliable

• Since the year 2004 RedHat remains among vendor trust top 3 list. (CIO Insight Vendor Value 2010)

• Linux is trusted by biggest companies such as:

• NYSE

• LSE

• Amazon.com

• Google

• Virgin America

• DreamWorks

• GENIVI

• Nonprofit industry alliance with founding members BMW Group, Delphi, GM, Intel, Magneti-Marelli, PSA, Visteon and Wind River

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Get the facts: Linux is widespread and universal

• Linux is much more than a simple desktop.

• Servers

• Depending on what is counted and how (sales, units): from 16 to 74 %.

• Supercomputers: 91,8 %

• Small computer appliances and external peripherals

• SOHO routers.

• Internet PC's.

• Home electronics

• Samsung, Philips TV's.

• GPS devices.

• Media players.

• Phones: WebOS and Android uses Linux too. In total: from 5 to 44 proc.

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Linux Myths

• Complex and user unfriendly

• Secure

• Panacea to cure all diseases

• Incompatible

• It is just for enthusiasts

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Linux Myths: Complex and user unfriendly

• As any other OS

• Requires lots of time to master, double time to relearn.

• Human have to think and machine have to work. Not vice versa!

• Linux is not a Windows replacement

• Alternative and replacement is not the same.

• BMW is a replacement for Mercedes.

• Linux is very user friendly

• It just Linux carefully chooses, who it wants to befriend with.

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Linux Myths: Secure

• If you mess with a thing long enough, it will break. (Schmidt's law)

• Bad practices lowers security.

• Habit to work with root privileges.

• Absence of passwords or usage of primitive passwords.

• Do not update or patch the system.

• I'm using secure OS / I'm too small to be interesting.

• Damn Vulnerable Linux - as an extreme example of insecurity.

• http://www.damnvulnerablelinux.org/

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Linux Myths: Panacea to cure all diseases

• Lots of Linux distributions are still less than number of problems.

• One in seven companied responded that fulfillment of cost savings for open source systems, including Linux, was below their expectations. (2005 CIO Insight and Forrester Research data)

• It is not uncommon that migration is harder and takes longer than planned.

• Munich city migration to Open Source:

• 12000 workstation migration to OpenOffice: completed in 2005 - 2009 period.

• 12000 workstation migration to Linux: in 2005 - 2009 period only 3000 are migrated.

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Linux Myths: Incompatible

• Most of the brand name hardware works with Linux

• Linux rarely drops support for older hardware

• Linux can use Windows resources more often than otherwise

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Linux Myths: It is just for enthusiasts

• Do you still think so?

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Linux

Questions?