What is Linux?   Linux, an operating system that originated in Finland in the early 90s, is now being used around the world to power mainly business Internet servers. However, Linux can power school servers and computer labs just as easily, and it's free! This month, Kidspeak speaks with a student who has set up an Internet server for himself using Linux.   By Alicia M. Bartol SCR*TEC

n operating system is the software responsible for controlling your CPU, memory, and hard drive. Without an operating system, your computer is basically useless. Educators, and much of the rest of the public, are accustomed to using the popular operating systems that come with their computers, such as the various Macintosh OS or Windows versions. Many people don't realize that they have a choice when it comes to operating systems however, and depending on your needs, you may not want to use a Mac OS or Windows. You might choose a system like LINUX, which is growing in popularity. This was the case for the student we interviewed this month for Kidspeak. We spoke with Andy, a rising high school freshman from Kansas, who found that his computer needs exceeded the capabilities of most widely-known operating systems.        Andy said, "I was interested in having my own server, and it's kind of hard to have your server with an operating system such as Windows 95, so I was looking into whether to have Windows NT or a free operating system like Linux." Linux is a hot topic with professional and amateur programmers around the world, and more and more, the public is discovering the power of Linux. Most of what you find on the Internet nowadays is powered by Linux. Not only is Linux powerful, but it's free. Andy explained, "Linux is a UNIX clone. UNIX was an operating system designed in the 70s by AT&T as a multi-user operating system, and Linux is just a free clone of that. It has all the capabilities and benefits of a commercial OS, such as Windows NT."

any Linux advocates will say that the benefits of Linux far exceed commercial systems though, because each programmer has the capability to modify the OS in any manner, for any use they can imagine. The creator of Linux, Linus Torvalds of Finland, started putting Linux together in the early 90s, and protected it with a unique copyright that says anyone can use it and improve it, but no one can sell it. This stipulation has invited programmers and computer users across the world to perfect Linux for the free use of all. To "buy" Linux often means just paying for the CD-ROM on which it is stored. So why hasn't the world overthrown Bill Gates and Macintosh by switching to Linux? There are a number of reasons.        "You have a very popular company, such as Microsoft, which dominated the computer operating system market for so long; that's what people think is the standard," explained Andy. "It's not something like when you go into a car dealership, you know you have options, such as [buying] a Honda or a Chevrolet. But when you go into a computer store, you really don't have those options. You buy a [PC], you get Windows 95. So how is the average Joe-Computer-User going to learn another operating system such as Linux?" In fact, learning Linux is perhaps the biggest hurdle. Linux is not for the faint of heart.

hen we asked what people should know before trashing their old operating system and installing Linux, Andy said, "There's a very steep learning curve. They're going to need to spend a bit of time learning it and getting used to it if they want to unleash the true power within it." This didn't stop Andy however. "I decided on Linux because it was free, and I had heard a lot of good things about it." His research showed that for a server, Linux was his best bet.        In fact, Andy highly recommended Linux as an excellent operating system for school computer labs. He said, "In a school, you could use it for a file server in a lab. You could [also] use it as a firewall, as a proxy server ... to not only give Internet access to the rest of the networked lab, but also to block adult sites." He added that Linux allows a school to provide Internet access easily while maintaining security through brief, routine maintenance.

uch maintenance includes: "updating software, and checking if there're any security exploits going around, such as denial service attacks, which could block the server from being accessed by your client or students in the lab." These checks are probably happening already in Windows and Mac labs in schools every day, but Linux seems to provide more power to the technological coordinator of a lab, since the code of Linux is open to the public and easy to modify.        To get Linux up and running on your computer, you need to do a little prep work. You can get Linux from different sources, usually the Internet. Andy said, "It's about getting Internet access, and finding appropriate information about Linux. Then once you find that, you can download Linux off the Internet, and you can either install it with Windows or you can delete Windows altogether. You can [also] order a CD-ROM of Linux which will provide the necessary tools." The software comes in a number of different distributions, and you should take into account the type of hardware you have, PCs or Macs, as well as if you wish to use the OS for home or school. Andy said, "Get the various software, which usually comes in the basic Linux distribution. A good proxy server is called Squid or Apache." Then you configure the system to the needs of your network, and this is where doing your homework comes in handy.

ou'll need to read up on Linux and its uses if you want to use it to its full potential. There's a plethora of Linux literature online, but Andy's choice is the Linux Documentation Project, located on the Sun site of the University of North Carolina. Andy said that the only real drawbacks of Linux are the learning curve, and the time involved. Of course, we know that teachers often don't have a lot of time to devote to learning complicated technology. However, the payoff might be more than just a cheap operating system and a powerful school server. Andy is convinced that using Linux will help improve computer literacy in our students. "You're helping kids, because Linux is a bit harder to use, and you need to learn a bit more about your computer. You're helping kids learn about computers in general, and you're also giving them, I think, a better preparation for using computers in their future."

Take a few minutes to view these Linux sites!

A few picks by the SCR*TEC staff:   Frequently asked questions about Linux. Here you can read more about the nature of Linux, what kinds of software it supports, what computers it can run on, and much more.   The Linux Home Page. View this site for information on Linux distributions, hardware, and user groups.   LinuxFocus Magazine. An online magazine about Linux.

Students interviewed for KidSpeak are nominated by teachers. Send nominations to the editor. Copyright. © 2002, 2001, 2000, 1999, 1998, 1997 ALTec, the University of Kansas