Linux

[Jon Knight]

On Wed, 14 Aug 1996, Temple Hoff wrote:
> I'd like to start a discussion on linux; where and how it is or can be used 
> in libraries. Is anyone using it as a web, e-mail, or file server? How about 
> a firewall?  Has anyone considered it then select something else i.e. NT, 
> Netscape server, Sun etc?  

Well I used Linux in our library to prototype a gateway to DOS based
CDROMs for Mac, UNIX and dumb terminal users.  Unfortunately the project
got scuppered for political reasons before we could move it into
production but the prototype worked well - certainly better than the
dismal OS/2 attempt that was tried before I got to it.  This was a while
ago, so we were using a Slackware release with the 1.2.8 kernel.  I still
use the machine as my workstation in the library as I much prefer UNIX/X11
to DOS/Windows (though I sometimes have to reboot into Windows to do
development on the Windows CD-ROMs - something I can't do with my Sun
workstation in the Computer Studies dept).  I'd like to use Linux more in
the library but I'm only a grunt programmer employed to support the
CD-ROMs and various databases in the library one day/week. 

Our Computing Services are using Linux in production environments though; 
for example they're dedicating old 386/486 machines to be BOOTP servers
for the new student residence networks.  Its a great way of reusing
machines that have become too small to run the standard MS desktop OS and
apps.  It seems to be working well for them and I know of at least one of
their programmers that has Linux as his main working operating system on
his Pentium machine in his office. 

I also find that you also get much better support with Linux or FreeBSD. 
Sure, the commerical vendors of other OSes and apps may sell you support
contracts for their products but frankly the level of service you
sometimes recieve in return sucks compared to the hacker mentality and
helpful user community surrounding the free UNIXes.  And of course you do
get the source code, so if you happen to be a hacker yourself you can
always have a shot at fixing things yourself.  I wonder how many beta
users of Windows NT 4.0 wished they'd had the source code so that they
could remove the 10 socket limit before Microsoft did?  I know I've
certainly wished I had the source code to certain CD-ROM products so that
I could fix their brokenness in our network environment more easily. 

Tatty bye,

Jim'll

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Jon "Jim'll" Knight, Researcher, Sysop and General Dogsbody, Dept. Computer
Studies, Loughborough University of Technology, Leics., ENGLAND.  LE11 3TU.
* I've found I now dream in Perl.  More worryingly, I enjoy those dreams. *