Linux now of interest for PC novices

New S.u.S.e distribution simplifies installation and maintenance

Frankfurt/Main (AP). From its very beginnings, in 1991, the free Linux computer OS had been considered a plaything for hackers and freaks. Since then, the OS has become attractive for PC novices and mainstream users. The current 5.3 distribution released by the Franconian firm, S.u.S.e., shows significant advances toward a unified system for installation and maintenance.

"Linux is not more complicated than Windows - just different", claims S.u.S.e. CEO Roland Dyroff in an interview with the AP news service. Those who venture to try the OS, conceived by Finnish student Linus Torvalds and further developed by thousands of programmers in voluntary collaboration, enter into a totally new world. The hard drive is no longer called C:, but /dev/hda. The file system must be mounted at every session, and many functions can be invoked only through cryptic commands that are reminiscent of DOS and that require hours of study in handbooks. The advantages of this PC edition of the mainframe UNIX system include its greater stability and clear logical structure. "In Linux, everything is open", according to Dyroff.

Just recently, Linux has acquired a new interface that makes using it intuitive. KDE, the "K Desktop Environment" can not only take on Windows 95/98 on its own turf, but is in part clearly superior to this Microsoft standard. It offers not just a single desktop, but four, among which the user can switch at will. Each of these desktops may be laid out individually, and simultaneously have different programs open. If the screen becomes too cluttered with open windows, a single click of the right mouse button moves to a different desktop. "KDE opens up Linux to a wider audience", states Dyroff. "That is decisive for this powerful desktop GUI".

Following a period of intense development by a group of Linux enthusiasts, KDE has finally left the Beta stage and is for the first time present in a S.u.S.e. distribution as version 1.0. Commercial distributions of this type - the S.u.S.e. package costs 98 Marks (approx. $60) - unify countless applications around the core OS and offer a more gentle introduction to Linux than downloading it in its entirety free from the Internet, which is, of course, entirely possible.

The KDE file manager opens files with a single mouse click and can be used like a Web browser. There are many small utilities and applications, and an office package for KDE is in the works. In contrast to Windows, it is not necessary to close all apps at the end of a session. KDE keeps track of whether the text editor is still open and will bring up an identical window with the same text in it at at the next session. This very useful capability is called "Session Management".

Video cards are now automatically detected

Before the Linux beginner can use the slick KDE Desktop, there is still a way to go. First, the system needs to be set up in console mode, using the "command line", just as in good old MSDOS. Then, the so-called X Windows system, upon which the KDE Desktop runs, needs to be installed. S.u.S.e. simplifies this task somewhat with its new SaX configuration utility, which now automatically detects PCI video cards.

Monitor specs must still be entered manually, and who among us has the exact "horizontal sync frequency" at his fingertips? Nor is the installation of a sound card or scanner very straightforward. This requires, at a minimum, rebuilding the kernel. Yet, with the help of a handbook and advice from an appropriate Linux newsgroup on the Internet, even these obstacles can be overcome.

Many users install Linux in a dual-boot system, together with Windows. With a large hard drive, this presents no problem. However, a growing number of people use Linux as their primary OS. Even in the business community, Linux is establishing itself as a serious alternative for running company-wide networks. Since the beginning of this year, S.u.S.e. has sold about 100,000 Linux packages and expects a 50% increase in sales for the year. S.u.S.e. 5.3 is already sold out and will not be available again until the beginning of September, with S.u.S.e. 5.4 to follow in October.

On the road to the mainstream, the OS with a "touch of anarchy" has much going for it. Dyroff says, "The Linux community will be not be satisfied until we are Number One, in front of Microsoft".

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