With all the Linux hype in general these days and all the popularity it's been receiving, the most average people ask, what makes it so great?

When people think of Linux, the first thing that comes to mind probably is RedHat. As good as RedHat may be (or not), I found out by personal study that Debian GNU/Linux is a much better choice for a workstation or server environment. If this interests you, I urge you to read on to find out more.

Performance and Stability:
In many recent tests, Linux has actually proven to be much more stabler at handling all sorts of different tasks [compared to other OS's].

These days, performance and stability is everything. Running Windows 95 or higher on an old 486 machine would be dog slow, and crash quite often. Using Debian GNU/Linux on the other hand, would actually make an old 486 a decent workstation, or even a server, depending on the needs. And best of all, you won't ever get a Blue Screen of Death message in Linux, only useful debugging information. When was the last time you've seen a Windows Server stay up for more than a month straight without a reboot?

Compatibility and Capability:
Not only does Linux offer an extensive list of compatibility, it also offers capability. When I say ``compatibility'', I'm referring to hardware and software.

Now granted all new and old hardware generally is supported by Windows by default, that doesn't necessarily mean you cannot use them in a non-Windows environment. As the Linux kernel progresses, so does support for many gizmos and toys that you may have hooked up (if not already supported!). Developers all around the world also write drivers specifically for certain things, giving a whole new level of supported devices in an orderly and timely fashion.

Since most software for a UNIX based system is open source, getting the source code isn't difficult - and not to mention, it's free! This leaves capability for a developer to modify it freely to suit their needs, or to provide an alternative solution. Most software you see for Windows probably already is available for Linux (or atleast cloned-like software) and will give you the same capabilities (or just about) at no cost to you.

A good example of software would be GIMP, compared to Adobe Photoshop. Or MySQL/PostGreSQL compared to Microsoft SQL Server. For a searchable archive of software available for UNIX based systems, just goto <a href= http://freshmeat.net >Freshmeat</a> for all of your needs.

Security and Support:
By default, Windows out-of-the-box isn't very secure. After many patches and fixes installed on Windows, security issues go down, but still have the potential of being there.

What makes Debian outstanding compared to Microsoft is that they literally refuse to release a new version without taking as many security measures as possible. They review the source code of all the software bundled, thoroughly test it out, and eventually package it if all tests come back OK and no issues were to be brought up. This insures you that you are getting quality, stable software.

If security measures/events were to come up after a release, patches and fixes are released almost immediate after finding the problem. Not to mention a very descriptive explaination on what happened, why it happened, why it's in your best interests to fix it, and howto fix it.

If you get stuck along the road with any problem, there are quite a few ways to get help on it. There are many chat rooms on all sorts of IRC networks that have channels just devoted to problem solving and support in general for just about anything. Most of the time, finding support or a solution to a problem is relatively easy, and not time consuming.

Summary:
To sum up this long (possibly rambling) review, if you're looking to run a high performance workstation or a server with stability, using Debian GNU/Linux as the operating system on it will probably be one of the best decisions you've ever made. With all the functions and abilities it currently has, and constantly being developed, you can't go wrong.

At no cost to you, learning a highly versatile operating system will only increase your knowledge of it, and many other programs/languages associated with it.



Recommended: Yes