New laptop computer for under �100

[sp1214]

I had to blink twice when reading this article today. Yes it is true! How is it possible when we know the Microsoft software costs more than this. But after reading further see that the operating system instead of Windows is run by Linux which is virtually free and open access software. It is being sold by Elonex a British company and is called 'The One'.

My question is what functions does Linux provide and can anybody use it successfuly?

[sp1214]

It might help if I had provided a link

http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/t ech_and_web/personal_tech/article3374812.ece

[Buenchico]

(2-part post):

Linux is generally regarded as a vast improvement on Windows. (It's certainly more stable). There are various distributions available which come with a variety of applications, such as OpenOffice for Linux (which is a direct replacement for Microsoft Office).

At one time, Linux was probably best left to the 'techies' but recent distributions make it fairly easy for anyone to set up quickly. The biggest concern for some people is whether they'll be able to find drivers for their peripherals (such as printers). The majority of manufacturers don't yet provide Linux drivers with their products, so users have to rely on third party drivers. However, most distributions of Linux now come with a wide range of drivers and many others can be downloaded from the web.

I've got Linux on CD but I've not yet got round to loading it. However, when I do, I know I'll be joining the many local authorities, police forces and government departments (as well as major companies) which now use Linux so as to avoid having to pay licence fees to Microsoft.

[Buenchico]

As you state, Linux is virtually free. In fact, it's officially completely free although you might pay a few pounds for a particular 'distribution'. (The version I've got was on a magazine cover disk). You can learn much more about it here:
http://www.linux.org/
My problem with that official site is that it still seems to be aimed at 'techies'. The reason I bought the magazine with the cover disk was because it shows how simple it really is.

Some people believe that Microft Windows is too well entrenched to ever be seriously challenged by Linux. Others believe that Linux might put Microsoft out of business within a few years. The reality is that if the manufacturers of peripherals start producing Linux drivers, Microsoft will lose a large chunk of their business market. If games manufacturers start to produce Linux versions of popular software, Linux might quickly dominate within people's homes.

Chris

[vehelpfulguy]

>My question is what functions does Linux provide and can anybody use it successfuly?

FYI, probably more than half the web sites in the world are running on Linux and not Windows or other products.

Most universities use Linux for their in-house computers and for studying computer technology.

One of the problems with Linux is that there is no ONE single Linux. This makes it very confusing.

Linux is written for free by computer students and other computer programmers.

The problem is that the Linux that is provided by these people is not packaged in a user friendly way.

So what companies do is take the Linux code and make their own "version" of Linux, including different components depending on what audience they are aiming for.

So there is "Ubuntu Linux", "Fedora Linux", "Red Hat Linux" and many more.

There are applications that sit on top of linux like office suites and so on, and they are all free.

[Ice.Maiden]

3 friends of mine use linux, and swear it's better than windows. One of the main reasons is that you don't get viruses with it.

[vehelpfulguy]

>My question is what functions does Linux provide

To add a bit more to my append above.

Linux itself is an operating system, like Windows, so it can be used as a complete replacement for Windows.

Windows applications cannot run on Linux, but there are loads of applications written for Linux, which are also all free.

The Firefox browser has a Linux version, The office suite called OpenOffice has a linux version.

Here is a web page showing all the Linux applications availavle.

http://www.linux.org/apps/

[sp1214]

Thanks for your very informed answers. I suppose if Elonex hope to make inroads into the market you would expect them to put extra effort into Linux so that many users will opt for their machine. The drivers do seem to be a problem as you cannot chuck out all your peripherals.

I do hope it catches on else we will forever be in the clutches of Microsoft and as Yahoo have demonstrated people cannot be bought.