¿What is Unix?     ¿What is the best kit ?     ¿What Linux works better?     ¿Is it sure?

¿What is Unix?

Unix has become the first operating system of Internet. In fact, Unix is the operating system more thoroughly used in the world about computers with more power than the PC's.
Certainly, NT Windows is quickly arising like a common operating system of Internet, and it's so marvelously buggy (with bugs) that it seems to be converted in the number one of crackear.
The great advantage of the systems based on UNIX is that you can run Unix in your own computer and with a SLIP connection or PPP you can be connected directly  to Internet.



 Note for beginners: The Serial Line Internet Protocol connections(SLIP) and Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP) gives you a temporary address or Internet Protocol (IP) that allow you to be directly connected to Internet. You has to use SLIP connection as well as PPP connection, in order to use a Web Browser that provides you graphics and photos instead of single text. So if you can see photos in the Net, you already have one of those available protocols.
The advantage of using one of those direct connections for your search activities is that you don't leave a file log of shell behind, so  the system administrator of your supplier cannot studie it attentively. Even if you are not breaking the law, a log file of shell that shows you making some things related with searching, could be enough for some administrators in order to close your bill.

 



  Which one is the ideal kit in order to run an Unix system ?

 There are countless variants of Unix that run in PCs. Most of them could be free, or available very cheap in CD-ROMs.
The three main variants of Unix that run in PCs are Solaris of Sun, FreeBSD and Linux. Solaris costs around $700. I think it's so much. FreeBSD is so good but  it doesn't offer much support. Linux, however, has the advantage of being available in many variants and with the extra advantage of possessing thousand of programs for this system and several versions of that.
More over, Linux is leaning on many news groups, mail lists, and Web sites.

 Historical note: Linux was created by a group directed by Linus Torvalds, of the University of Helsinki in 1991. Linux has copyright under the GNU General Public License. Under this agreement, Linux could be redistributed to anyone, with the source code. Anybody can sell a variant of Linux, modify it and return to bale. But even if somebody modifies the source code, you won't demand copyright for nothing created from Linux. Anybody that sell a modified version of Linux  will provide the source code to the buyers and permit them use it in their commercial products without collecting license's quotas. This agreement is known like "copyleft."
Under this agreement the original creators of Linux don't receive any license's quota or shareware one. Linus Torvalds and the many others that have been contributed in Linux, they been made by the amusement of programming and by a community sense.

 
Linux is the operating system inself (called the "kernel") and several associate programs.
The kernel, like all types of Unix, is an operating system many-worked and multiple-user. Although it has different structure of  files, and that's why is not directly compatible with DOS and Windows,  is so flexible that many programs DOS and Windows will execute while we are in Linux. So, an user will probably want to pull up in Linux and later be able to run programs DOS and Windows from Linux.

Associates programs  that come with most of distributions of Linux  include:
* a shell program (Bourne Again Shell--BASH-- is the most common)
* compilers for programming languages such as Fortran-77, C, C+, Pascal, LISP, Modula-2, Ada, Basic, and Smalltalk.
* X-Window (sometimes called X-windows), a graphic user's interface.
*utilities programs like the reader of Pine email and Elm.

The 10 reasons in order to install Linux in your PC: (not very serious by the way)
 
1. When Linux will be "outside of the law," only the outside of the law will have Linux.   J
2. When you settle Linux, it's so amusing execute fdisk without have done a backup before.
3. The flames you will receive by making questions in the news groups of Linux are better than those ones from alt.windows.2000   J
4. Doesn't matter wich variant of Linux you install, tomorrow you will discover that there was a better version that you should have gotten instead of this. J
5. People that use FreeBSD or Solaris won't laugh of you. Instead of this they will offer their sympathy. J
6. Surfing for the ports in private.
7. A word: scripts.
8.To install Linux in your office's PC is like being a mail employee and take an Uzi to the work. J
9. But--if you install Linux in your office computer, your boss won't have no idea of what it means. J
10. Bill Gates never forgives you !!  J

 

  What  type of Linux works better?

It depend on what you really want to make. Redhat or Slackware? Linux is famous by being the easier to install. The Walnut Creek Linux 3.0 in CD-ROM is also really easy to install--for Linux, that is! My idea is to have many versions of Linux and mix and gather the best of each distribution.

INSTALLING LINUX  is not for people that suffer of heart! Several tricks in order to survive to the installation are:

1) Although  in theory you could run Linux in a 286 with 4 MB RAM and two units of disk, is* much* easier with a 486 or bigger with 8 MB RAM, a CD-ROM, and at least 200 MB free of hard disk.

2) Try to know everything about the type of motherboard, modem, hard disk, CD-ROM, and video badge !! that you have. If you have any documentation of them, keep with you in order to consult during the installation.

3) it's better to use known hardware and old one in your PC. Since Linux is freeware, it doesn't offer drivers for the whole new hardware. And if your hardware is like mine--a heap of things of X mark and The Cheapo, you could waste a lot of time experiencing with which drivers works.

4) before beginning the installation, MAKE A BACKUP of your hard disk !  In theory you could install Linux without damaging your files DOS/ Windows. But all we are human beings, especially if we continued the advice 3)

5) Have more than one Linux distribution. The first time you install Linux with success, finally touch something that work using the  boot disk of a distribution with the CD-ROM of another. Anyway, each Linux distribution has several utilities programs, emulators of operating system, compilers and others. Add them to your system and you will be prepared in order to be above the elite.

6) I buyed two or three books about Linux. I didn't like any of them! But there are better that nothing. Most of the books of Linux come with one or two CD-ROMs that they could be used in order to install Linux. But I found that what comes in the books doesn't coincide exactly with what comes in the CD-ROMs.

 Now I could almost guarantee that even continuing those 6 warnings, you will have problems installing Linux;), but you have to feel happy, just because the whole people also suffers extremely when they install and they use Linux, Internet has an incredible amount of resources for the desafiado-por-Linux.

The best that I have found is http://sunsite.unc.edu:/pub/Linux/  Include the Linux Frequently Asked Questions list (FAQ), available in  http://sunsite.unc.edu:/pub/Linux/docs/FAQ

The HOWTO file of Linux is in the pub/ Linux/docs/ LDP directory of sunsite.unc.edu and contains the current set of LDP manuals, and the direct access to the documentation is: http://www.sunsite.unc.edu:/pub/Linux/docs/HOWTO

You could obtain the "Linux Installation and Getting Started" of sunsite.unc.edu in/ pub/ Linux/ docs/ LDP/ install-guide. The README file from there describe how you could request a printed copy of the book of the same name (about 180 pages).
You can posting , questions on the incredible number of news groups of Usenet that cover Linux. These include:

comp.os.linux.advocacy                       The benefits of compared Linux
comp.os.linux.development.system       Kernels of Linux, devices drivers 
comp.os.linux.development.apps          Writing Linux applications
comp.os.linux.hardware                       Compatibility of hardware
comp.os.linux.networking                     Nets and communications
comp.os.linux.answers                        FAQs, How-To's, READMEs, etc.
linux.redhat.misc
alt.os.linux
alt.uu.comp.os.linux.questions              The Usenet University helps you
comp.os.linux.announce

comp.os.linux.misc                             You should visit the MARVELOUS  Linux paginate in:
comp.os.linux.x
comp.os.linux.setup                             System settling


http://sunsite.unc.edu/linux, that has tons of information this http://www.linux.org/. You will want to check  http://www.redhat.com/ y http://www.caldera.com/ for more information about commercial versions of Linux" (that they are still available free as GNU)."

 

Is Linux a sure system? 

 Yes, Linux, like all operating system,  is imperfect. Eminently hackeable, if you really want to know it. So if yout want to know how to assure your Linux system, or if you meet with one of the many suppliers that use Linux and you want to explore (ups, forget that I wrote that), here is where you could go for information: 


ftp://info.cert.org/pub/cert_advisories/CA-94:01.network.monitoring.attacks
ftp://info.cert.org/pub/tech_tips/root_compromise
http://bach.cis.temple.edu/linux/linux-security                                                Sofware for Linux

                                                                                                    Mirror for Linux 


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