Linux Freely Available ?Linux Free ? Confused Enough ?

Linux Free..?

Many new Linux users are confused by the terms bantered around – Free, Freely Available, Commercial Distributions and Shareware.

The confusion comes primarily from the description and terms “Freely Available “and “Free’ and their distinctions.

Linux is open source software which means any software developer can add on to change the product’s basic source code. This is diametrically opposed to a strict proprietary concept such as Microsoft’s approach which is to own and have control the software and its code lock stock and barrel. There are some advantages to the proprietary approach particularly if you are dealing with a major mainstream product with millions and millions of users many of who are foolish novices; Life has enough problems without throwing in a monkey wrench to complicate efforts. Remember that if only 1/10 of 1 % of users think that if the computer throws out an error message commonly “ You have committed an illegal actions “ and run to lock their doors as the police are coming then that small percentage is a lot of people.

The confusion arises in that the source code and any changes made to it must be made “freely available “... Whiskey may be “freely available “at your local saloon but that does not make it free of cost to you as a customer. However in actuality much of the software available in the Linux world is given away at no charge or cost except with the proviso that changes and work done to source code must be made available to others without restriction.

Linux applications differ widely in cost and appearance. Many new Linux users are confused by the apparently contradictory terms used in Linux software product descriptions. These are “Freely Available Software “, “Shareware “and “Commercial Linux Applications”.

Freely available software is available for free use by the end user. Although software may be freely available, it is often not the same thing as “Public Domain “software.    Public Domain Software is software that is freely given on the open market either by the permission of the software developer or by being older than copyright constraints , that you as a user can do anything you wish to in terms of use , redistribution or changes.    However “Freely Available Software “is different in that it is often owned and copywriter by the owner, author (or authors) who then allow people to use and / or make modifications to it.     The term “Freely Available Software “ can be further divided into software that you can either “Freely Copy” or “ Freely Distribute”. Some people make their software “Freely Available “only if you copy or download it from a particular site or from a non commercial distribution. Other people will let you copy their software from anywhere.    Copying restrictions usually apply to people making a commercial distribution, not to the end user of the distribution. The distribution maker has the responsibility to be in compliance with the package’s copying restrictions which are usually outlined in the program’s source code or about or Help sections.

A lot of freely available software can be obtained by downloads on the internet. Some can be bought in physical form from commercial retail outlets either online or at a physical location.

Many freely available applications have been converted from UNIX to OS/2, Windows 95, 98, NT, 2000 and XP. And other operating systems... If you use an application that has been ported to many operating systems you will be able to carry your skills and data to alternate platforms if you wish to or have to change for one reason or another.

“NonFree Applications “consist of commercial applications and shareware applications. Commercial applications are sold outright. Shareware programs may be tried out  and evaluated then either not used, uninstalled or a license key purchased. Sometimes shareware programs may be used for free in a home environment but purchased if used within a business setting.

Hopefully now the distinctions between these terms bantered around in the Linux software distribution distro and downloads sites will be clearer to you now. More about Linux articel check in this site : https://www.klipping.site/

File Permissions in Linux

File Permissions in Linux

Linux operating system uses a permissions schema to define user rights for each file. These permissions establish:

-who can read the file. If the file is a directory, read means list the contents of the directory.
-who can write/modify the file. If the file is a directory, this permission defines if you can make any changes to the directory contents, for example create or delete files.
-who can execute the file. If the file is a directory, this permission defines if you can enter the directory and access its contents, for example run a search in the directory or execute a program in it.

File Permissions in Linux

Permissions are assigned to the file owner, to the file owner group, and to all users. For example, you can set a document to be readable and writable by the owner only, and just readable by everybody else.

When you issue an ls –l command, to list all contents of a directory, you will see file permissions like this next to each file:

-rwxrwxrwx

This means this file can be read, written and executed by anybody. The first dash means this file is not a directory. For directories, there will be a d letter instead of a dash.

The first set of  “rwx” refers to the file owner. The second set, to the owner group. The last set, to all other users. Let’s look at some examples:

-rwxr - - r - -    
This file can be read, written and executed by its owner. It can only be read by other users. When a permission is not set, you see a dash in its place.

-rw-rw-r- -
This file can be read and written by its owner and the owner group. It can only be read by other users.

You can set these permissions using the chmod command. For example, this command:

chmod ugo=rwx filename

assigns read, write and execute permissions to file owner user(u), group(g) and others (o). This other example:

chmod ug=rw,o=r filename

assigns read and write permissions to user and group, and only read permission to others.

Permissions can also be expressed and set using the octal numeric system. Each permission is associated to a number:

Read = 4
Write = 2
Execute = 1

You need to come up with a number for the file owner, another number for the group and a last one for the other users. If you want to assign read, write and execute permissions to file owner, you add up the three values, thus getting a 7. If you want to assign same permissions to group and others, you come up with three sevens. You can set these permissions like this:

chmod 777 filename

If you set permissions for a file with the following command:

chmod 764 filename

then you’re establishing these permissions: read, write and execute for file owner (4+2+1=7), read and write for group (4+2=6) and only read for others (4).

The following commands are equivalent:

chmod ug=rw,o=r filename
chmod 664 filename

The file permissions schema lets you implement security policies. It is not a good idea to set file permissions high (e.g.: 777) for all files. It is important to think about it and assign the right permissions to the files, so users can do their job, and we are sure each file is accessed only by the right people. Related post in indonesian language - klippinglinux Indonesia : https://www.klipping.site/2022/01/linux-file-permissions.html

What is Linux?

What is Linux?

Linux is an operating system created by Linus Torvalds during his days as a student at the University of Helsinki.  Linux was created and meant to be used as an option or substitute to the other operating systems being used by computer users, like MS-DOS, Windows, Mac OSX, etc.  Linux is not a program or a set of programs like a word processor of an office suite.

A Brief History

While studying at the University of Helsinki, Linus used a version of the UNIX operating system called 'Minix'.  Several requests for modifications and improvements for the operating system were being sent by Linus and other users to Andrew Tanenbaum, Minix’s creator, but he felt that they weren't necessary.  Therefore, Linus decided to create his own operating system; one that would take into account the users' comments and suggestions for improvements.

A “kernel” is the focal point of any operating system.  Without going into great detail, the kernel tells the CPU to do what you want the program or application that you're using to do.  An operating system would not exist without a kernel.  However, a kernel is also useless without any programs or applications.

In 1991, two critical situations evolved that would serve as the starting point for Linux.  A kernel was already created by Linus, but he had no programs to use; some programs were available from GNU and Richard Stallman, but they had no working kernel.  So Linux was born by combining the programs from Richard and GNU in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with the kernel provided by Linus in Helsinki, Finland.  It was a lot of ground to cover and far to travel, so the Internet became the primary method of getting Linus’ kernel together with the GNU programs.  It can almost be said that Linux is an operating system that came to life on the Internet.

Not For Everybody at First

Other software companies will sell you software contained in a CD or a set of floppies, together with a brief instruction booklet, and in half an hour or probably even less, you could install a fully functional operating system on your computer.  You only needed to know how to read and follow instructions in order to install it.  This was what those companies had in mind when they developed their operating systems.  However, when Linux was developed by Linus, this factor wasn’t initially considered.  Later on, Red Hat and other likeminded companies made it their purpose to develop Linux to the point where it could be easily installed just like any other operating system in the market, by anyone who can follow simple instructions, and today we can definitely say that they have succeeded in this particular purpose.

Linux Today

Nowadays, there is a great deal of favorable reactions from computer users regarding Linux.  The fact that Linux has proven to be impressively stable and versatile, especially as a network server, surely has played a big part in this popularity.  Down-time is minor or insignificant when Linux is installed and used as a web server or in corporate networks.  Many cases have been reported wherein Linux-powered servers have been functioning smoothly for even more than a year without needing to re-boot, and when it had to be taken down, it was only for a brief period for maintenance purposes.  Its cost effectiveness has become to be one of its strongest selling points.  Linux can be installed and run on either a home PC or a network server, without having to spend as much as it would be for other software packages.  More reliability and less cost - it's ideal.klippinglinux indonesia

10 Major Reasons To Switch To Linux

10 Major  Reasons To Switch To Linux

1. It Doesn't Crash

Linux has been time-proven to be a reliable operating system. Although the desktop is not a new place for Linux, most Linux-based systems have been used as servers and embedded systems. High-visibility Web sites such as Google use Linux-based systems, but you also can find Linux inside the TiVo set-top box in many livingrooms.

Linux has proved to be so reliable and secure that it is commonly found in dedicated firewall and router systems used by high-profile companies to secure their networks. For more than ten years, it has not been uncommon for Linux systems to run for months or years without needing a single reboot.

2. Viruses Are Few and Far Between

Although it is possible to create a virus to target Linux systems, the design of the system itself makes it very difficult to become infected. A single user could cause local damage to his or her files by running a virus on his or her system; however, this would be an isolated instance rather than something could spread out of control.

In addition, virtually all Linux vendors offer free on-line security updates. The general philosophy of the Linux community has been to address possible security issues before they become a problem rather than hoping the susceptibility will go unnoticed.

3. Virtually Hardware-Independent

Linux was designed and written to be easily portable to different hardware. For the desktop user, this means that Linux has been and likely always will be the first operating system to take advantage of advances in hardware technology such as AMD's 64-bit processor chips.

4. Freedom of Choice

Linux offers freedom of choice as far as which manufacturer you purchase the software from as well as which application programs you wish to use. Being able to pick the manufacturer means you have a real choice as far as type of support you receive. Being open-source software, new manufacturers can enter the market to address customer needs.

Choice of application programs means that you can select the tools that best address your needs. For example, three popular word processors are available. All three are free and interoperate with Microsoft Word, but each offers unique advantages and disadvantages. The same is true of Web browsers.

5. Standards

Linux itself and many common applications follow open standards. This means an update on one system will not make other systems obsolete.

6. Applications, Applications, Applications

Each Linux distribution comes with hundreds and possibly thousands of application programs included. This alone can save you thousands of dollars for each desktop system you configure. Although this is a very small subset, consider that the OpenOffice.org office suite is included as well as the GIMP, a program similar to (and many people say more capable than Adobe Photoshop); Scribus, a document layout program similar to Quark Xpress; Evolution, an e-mail system equivalent to Microsoft's Outlook Express; and hundreds more.

For the more technically inclined, development tools, such as compilers for the C, C++, Ada, Fortran, Pascal and other languages, are included as well as Perl, PHP and Python interpreters. Editors and versioning tools also are included in this category.

Whether you are looking for Instant Messaging clients, backup tools or Web site development packages, they likely are all included within your base Linux distribution.

7. Interoperability

More and more computers are being connected to networks. No system would be complete if it did not include tools to allow it to interoperate with computers running other operating systems. Once again, Linux is very strong in this area.

Linux includes Samba, software that allows Linux to act as a client on a Microsoft Windows-based network. In fact, Samba includes server facilities such that you could run a Linux system as the server for a group of Linux and Windows-based client systems.

In addition, Linux includes software to network with Apple networks and Novell's Netware. NFS, the networking technology developed on UNIX systems also is included.

8. It's a Community Relationship, Not a Customer Relationship

Other operating systems are the products of single vendors. Linux, on the other hand, is openly developed, and this technology is shared among vendors. This means you become part of a community rather than a customer of a single manufacturer. Also, the supplier community easily can adjust to the needs of various user communities rather than spouting a "one size fits all" philosophy.

This means you can select a Linux vendor that appears to best address your needs and feel confident that you could switch vendors at a later time without losing your investment--both in terms of costs and learning.

9. It's Not How Big Your Processor Is...

Because of a combination of the internal design of Linux and development contributions from a diverse community, Linux tends to be more frugal in the use of computer resources. This may manifest itself in a single desktop system running faster with Linux than with another operating system, but the advantages go far beyond that. It is possible, for example, to configure a single Linux system to act as a terminal server and then use outdated hardware as what are called thin clients.

This server/thin client configuration makes it possible for older, less powerful hardware to share the resources of a single powerful system thus extending the life of older machines.

10. Linux Is Configurable

Linux is a true multi-user operating system. Each user can have his or her own individual configuration all on one computer. This includes the look of the desktop, what icons are displayed, what programs are started automatically when the user logs in and even what language the desktop is in.

And lastly no Bill schmendrick character telling you what you can and cannot do.