How many out there use Linux? I bet if I asked 100 people, less than 10 percent would say yes. To be fair, people think in terms of computers, laptops, netbooks, and desktops, and that demographic is 90 percent Windows, 90 percent Microsoft-centric. But computers and OSes that power them permeate all aspects of our lives today. While people mostly don’t care about computing they don’t directly choose and pay for, I think people might be surprised at the numbers and how much they do use Linux. Let’s let people know computing doesn’t always equate to Microsoft or Apple.
According to http://www.arm.com/products/processors/index.php there are about 20 billion ARM processors in existence and about 10 million shipped every day. These almost exclusively would run Linux and live in your set top boxes, washing machines, fridges and lots of other unimportant stuff like airbags and automotive braking systems. In other words there are already more processors out there running Linux than are running Windows.
As for security, openness is an advantage. The more people able to review your code the less likely you are to be shoddy and introduce defects and the more likely any defects are to be picked up and corrected. I have never personally experienced any malware on a Linux system and know no colleagues or friends who have over about the last 20 years - but I can't even stretch the truth to say the same for the Windows systems I've been forced to use over the years, let alone all the people I know who have been affected by Malware using Windows systems. Some would obviously say that its because Linux isn't used as much as Windows - but the truth is that its just a better design. I personally like this article on Linux security : http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/10/22/security_report_windows_vs_linux/ (its a little dated but the concepts still hold).
Just as Google had to pull Applications because they contain Malware. Open source is its biggest security risk. Yes, Windows and Apple's OS X are not immune but when you open everything up. Not just the good guys can see your cards. This is why I am surprised Google did not do more to protect its users. That is what bothers me the most. Linux in itself is not bad. Its how badly it is used that is the problem.
Good article. Not the usual Linux bla bla bla. Our family unit's all run Ultimate-Edition Linux. Why? Reliable, power, security, software. And it has community. I can fix a problem 24/7 with world wide forums. It's 2011, enough of the same old Linux bla, bla. Good job. Tell em more. We're still here.
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Posted by: Elbert Hannah March 1, 2011 05:00 AMHow many out there use Linux? I bet if I asked 100 people, less than 10 percent would say yes. To be fair, people think in terms of computers, laptops, netbooks, and desktops, and that demographic is 90 percent Windows, 90 percent Microsoft-centric. But computers and OSes that power them permeate all aspects of our lives today. While people mostly don’t care about computing they don’t directly choose and pay for, I think people might be surprised at the numbers and how much they do use Linux. Let’s let people know computing doesn’t always equate to Microsoft or Apple.
As for security, openness is an advantage. The more people able to review your code the less likely you are to be shoddy and introduce defects and the more likely any defects are to be picked up and corrected. I have never personally experienced any malware on a Linux system and know no colleagues or friends who have over about the last 20 years - but I can't even stretch the truth to say the same for the Windows systems I've been forced to use over the years, let alone all the people I know who have been affected by Malware using Windows systems. Some would obviously say that its because Linux isn't used as much as Windows - but the truth is that its just a better design. I personally like this article on Linux security : http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/10/22/security_report_windows_vs_linux/ (its a little dated but the concepts still hold).