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Linux - the clone of Unix that runs nicely on low power PCs and has the potential to provide an alternative to the Windows desktop and server
environment - has been strengthened recently by announcements from Dell and HP that they will be producing PCs running the operating system soon.
Linux was recently polled “most exciting new technology” in the BTR Technology Survey and offers several interesting benefits for
librarians. Firstly, a low cost, robust environment onto which many software suppliers are providing versions of their standard packages. Corel for instance are offering free personal versions of
Word Perfect for Linux. Libraries have never been cash rich institutions and although many exist within an academic environment where costs are
absorbed by major licence deals, there are many smaller operations where the continual cost of upgrades to hardware and software are a serious concern.
Linux is low cost if you buy a commercial version and can be free if you have the energy
and interest to install from the net. The main reason for libraries to begin to take an interest in Linux, apart from the cost advantages, is the potential it shows as a robust alternative to
Windows on the desktop and as a server.
Working towards an environment where open standards replace proprietary de facto
monopolies has aways been good for information sharing environments witness MARC, Z39.50 and of course the Web itself. And there is another reason. As the competence and
the confidence of the computer using community grows in general - and breaking out of the "one operating system is all we need" syndrome begins to happen, we may see the
emergence of other operating environments more suited to specific tasks e.g. Beos for multi-media applications. Finally, the emergence of so many web based thin client
systems - like Basis Open Text, means that the operating system at the client level begins to mean even less - as long as it runs a browser it can do the job.
So what can you really do with Linux? Does it have the muscle to run serious applications
like a library mangement system? For an indicator on industry acceptance just look at the companies who now are endorsing Linux. One way or the other Linux will be a serious
alternative to proprietary Unix and Windows NT.
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