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Linux Installation 1
by Ben Hills
Penguin Power Unless
you have spent the past few years living in
a cave in the farthest reaches of Southern Cornwall
you can't have failed to have heard the name,
"Linux". In the first of a two-part
article I will attempt to explain exactly what
Linux is and why, as an Atari user you should
really care.
So what is
Linux? Linux is an operating system in
the same way that TOS is an operating system
and Microsoft Windows is an operating system
(although some may argue about the latter).
Linux is a UNIX-like
operating system started in the early nineties
by Linus Torvalds who, at the time was a student
at the University of Helsinki in Finland. Since
then it has evolved from a small hobby project
developed by Linus into a fully-fledged operating
system developed by hundreds, if not thousands
of users around the globe.
So why should
I care? This is a good question. You
may be asking yourself why you would want
to use another operating system when you are quite
happy with TOS.
- Linux is
free
Yes, Linux is free, although in
the words of the GNU Software Foundation
think of Linux as in free speech rather
than free beer. Free means that software
developed under the GPL license (see below)
cannot be withheld although this does not
mean that companies cannot charge for distributing
it.
- Linux is
open source
Linux is covered by the GNU
General Public License, or GPL. In short
this means that software covered by the
GPL must make available its source code.
This allows people to modify or enhance
the software if they so wish.
- Linux is
powerful
Don't let the openness of Linux
fool you into thinking that it is simply
a hobbyists' operating system. Linux contains
all (if not more) of the features you would
expect from a modern operating system including
full multi-tasking capabilities, support
for virtual memory and multi-user support
(allowing many people to access and work
on the computer at the same time).
- Linux is
popular
The popularity of Linux is increasing
all the time and some of the big names in
the industry such as IBM and Oracle are
now openly supporting and pushing Linux
as a suitable platform to run their software.
- Linux is
stable
Linux is a very stable operating
system. In my experience it is very rarely
necessary to reboot Linux due to a system
crash. Even if an application crashes, Linux
will keep on running and tidy up after such
an application failure. I have known Linux
systems that have been on twenty four hours
a day, seven days a week for a whole year
and have not required rebooting.
- Linux is
multi platform
Many people may think
that Linux is an operating system that only
runs on Intel-based PCs. Well, you'd be
wrong. As the source code is freely available
a number of people have taken the source
and re-compiled, or ported the system to
architectures other than the x86 platform.
These include the Sun SPARC, DEC Alpha,
PowerPC and our very own Motorola 680x0.
This means that with a little time and effort
you could turn your Atari computer into
a fully-fledged Linux server or workstation.
So how do
I get Linux? Originally, the name Linux
referred to just the Linux kernel (the core
or heart of the operating system), but now when
people refer to Linux they are referring to
a complete set of software that constitutes
an operating system.
As mentioned
before, Linux is developed by hundreds if not
thousands of people around the world, so
getting together a complete set of software
packages necessary for setting up and installing
Linux on your computer could be a rather time-consuming
task. Fortunately, this is not necessary as
a number of commercial and non-commercial organisations
have put together complete distributions available
to buy or download. A few years ago there were
only a handful of distributions available but
now there are dozens of distributions available
ranging from the very basic that can be run
from a single floppy disk to full distributions
spanning many CDs. Some of the most popular
and well-known distributions are Red Hat, SuSE,
Mandrake and Debian.
When it comes
to our own Motorola 68K platform the choice
of distribution is somewhat limited, and in
fact the only 68K port that I know of is Debian
(although I understand there is an unofficial
port of Red Hat).
OK, I'm convinced.
How do I get Linux on to my Atari? If
you have decided that Linux is not for you then
that's fine, thanks for reading. If on the other
hand you would like to delve in to the world
of Linux and install it on your Atari, tune
in next time where in the second part of this
article I will take you through the steps required
to prepare and install Debian GNU/Linux (v2.2r7)
on your Atari computer, as well as a short introduction
on how to use it.
In the meantime,
why not take a look at the Debian web site
and (assuming your Atari meets the minimum requirements)
get hold of a copy of Debian. You can download
CD images from the Debian site (or one of its
mirrors) or you can purchase CDs (at very reasonable
prices) from a number of vendors. All this information
can be found on the Debian web site.
Till next time...
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