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Recently at a party I met a woman who is working for Microsoft. Even though I wasn't exactly in the mood of diving into the topic Linux vs. Microsoft with her she couldn't resist mentioning that she thought the (natural) monopoly of Microsoft was a good thing for everybody. The company would offer good products for a good prize. Hmm, for some people this might be so. But why is Linux a success then? How does it come that I as well as many other people like Linux so much that we can't imagine working with Windows ever again? There are many reasons why I like Linux: First of all I like to have a choice and I like my freedom. Some people like a tough boss or dictator because then they don't have to take responsibility and they don't have to think. For those Windows certainly the right system to use.

Linux however gives you freedom, freedom in every meaning of the word.

By using Linux I have many choices. It starts with the distribution I am using as there are many, it goes on with the look and feel of the desktop and even on the operating system and kernel level I can customize it as I like. I have the freedom to change the programs, to add functionality, to use them as I like and as often as I please. I am not spied by anyone and nobody tells me when I should change or update. I can maintain and use my Linux PC for as many years as I like. This is especially important for server systems which can generally live for a very long time, 5 years, 10 years...

But of course this freedom has its price and you don't get a "free lunch" by using Linux: you can't use Linux successfully if you are not ready to spend hours and hours to learn about the system. Unless you are only using those programs that already come with your distribution you will find that e.g. the installation often is tricky or the program has some bugs that need to be fixed first.

Whether you value this freedom enough to be willing to pay this prize is finally up to your choice!

But if you do LinuxFocus might be able to help you get the necessary know-how.

Enjoy reading!

--Katja Socher--

Software Development

• Implementing a scroller in SDL graphics , by Leonardo Giordani
  
  SDL is the simple direct media layer often used to implement fast and portable graphics.

• GUI Programming with GTK , by Özcan Güngör
  
  This is the first article in a series on programming of graphical user interfaces with GTK.

• Concurrent programming - Message queues (2) , by Leonardo Giordani
  
  This series of articles has the purpose of introducing the reader to the concept of multitasking and to its implementation in the Linux operating system.

Applications

• GWorkspace, the GNUstep Workspace Manager , by Georges Tarbouriech
  
  The concept of Workspace Manager appeared with NeXT at the end of the 80's. It was a complete new way of using a system GUI. GWorkspace is the GNUstep free implementation of this revolution.

• A short Ximian Evolution installation guide , by Christian Van Caillie
  
  How to install Ximian Evolution under Mandrake 9.x.

Articles at Linux Netmag offline Mailinglist Dial-In-Server: ISDN realtime audio streaming recommended links

Articles at Linux Gazette The MailBag More 2-Cent Tips The Answer Gang News Bytes By Michael Conry HelpDex By Shane Collinge Ecol By Javier Malonda Software development for a Sharp Zaurus SL-5500 Linux PDA By Bruce Forsberg Perl One-Liner of the Month: The Mystery of the Red Worm By Ben Okopnik Book Review: Perl for System Administration By Dustin Puryear setjmp/longjmp Illustrated By Raghu J Menon The CUPS printing system By Alan Ward Programming with User Mode Linux By Nick Weber

System Administration

• Packet filtering with Linux , by Vincent Renardias
  
  How to setup a basic firewall.

• 8cm-Multiboot-CDROM with modified Knoppix linux , by Tjabo Kloppenburg
  
  This is an instruction how to make your own bootable mini CD.

• IDS - Intrusion Detection System, Part I , by Klaus Müller
  
  This article will not only present typical IDS architectures but also typical attacks against Intrusion Detection Systems are discussed and analysed.

Forum

• Case Study: Open Source Content Management Systems Make E-commerce Websites Affordable , by Linda Christie
  
  It's one thing to formulate a great idea for a Website that's informative, entertaining, and commercially viable. It's quite another turning a passion into a robust e-commerce Website.

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