I’ve come to observe a passion in its believers that is simply stunning and overwhelming. People who work on this stuff believe in what they’re doing, to an extent I feel is unparalleled in the history of computing.
You can observe this passion by immersing yourself in the culture. For years, I’ve been hanging out in Slashdot and similar forums. Now, I might only understand but half of what people are saying in such sites, but I’ve come to realize this: there are huge numbers of people who view this as a mission; one to which they devote huge amounts of time and effort, simply because they believe.
I’ve yet to see anything comparable from the other side. Sure, there are lots of people who believe that the “Microsoft way is the right way.” I presume many of them are sitting down right now composing a flame-hate-mail to me for daring to broach the Linux topic. But I don’t see the same level of passion – indeed, I’m now witnessing a greater degree of awe within them at what is happening on the “other side.”
Then there is the sheer momentum behind the efforts: everyone from IBM to Compaq to Dell has jumped on the open-source and Linux bandwagon. And I don’t think that this is glib public-relations hype. I chatted with a fellow at IBM the other day, who told me of an IBM server which can run thousands of concurrent Linux systems all at once. It’s sort of an e-commerce server on steroids.
To me, that’s not hype – that’s staff within one of the largest computer companies on the planet developing a passion for open-source product.
And I don’t base my opinion strictly on observation. I base it on the fact that I use this stuff.
I’ve been fooling around with Linux since the end of 1997, since I was convinced that something was happening. And you know what? I get this stuff. I can look into /var/log and understand what the log files are telling me. I actually understand what is going on within inetd.conf and other files in my /etc directory.
Getting my head around Linux has brought me to an understanding of the way that computers and networking actually work that I think is simply magical. And indeed, the technology has become the cornerstone to my home office.
For over a year, I’ve had the pleasure to have a Rebel.com NetWinder to support my networking environment. It provides me with DHCP address management, firewall support, shared Internet access – everything I need in a small office environment. And it does so for a fraction of the cost of a comparable Windows server environment. I can spend about $10,000 on an NT environment to do what I could for $1,000 or less within Linux.
The economics are certainly compelling. But it isn’t just the compelling economics of the situation – it’s the reliability. I’ve got five or six Linux servers running throughout my home. I originally set up my MP3 server on a Windows box, yet found that it crashed on an all-too-frequent basis. I then set it up on Linux, and have had rock-solid reliability ever since.
From my simple perspective, the stuff works.
Is that to say that Microsoft product is crap? Not at all. I’m using Windows 2000 on my main desktop and my IBM Thinkpad. I must say I’m impressed. I like the interface, it seems far more stable than previous products, and I won’t give it up.
The fact is, I haven’t quite been able to chuck Windows in order to use KDE or other Linux windowing environments for my main day-to-day activities.
So, what am I suggesting? Simply this: if you’ve been avoiding Linux and open-source, I think it’s about time you stopped.
Wake up and open your mind to what is going on. Something big is happening, and it’s going to have a huge impact on everything you do with your future career.
If you haven’t jumped on the bandwagon, it is about time you do. I’d recommend you install and learn Linux. Get your head around it. Come to respect it by using it. Don’t bash it without having your hands dirty.
Not only that, you should also take the time to understand the culture and passion driving Linux and open-source forward. More important than the technology, you should develop a deep respect for the passion of its believers.
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