What’s this Linux?
I’m a CS undergraduate and I haven’t used Windows in two years.
Sounds odd? How are you even using your computer you might ask, oh yes there are other OS but aren’t they difficult to use? Do they support all the software out there? What about Microsoft Office, Adobe suite etc. ?
Well you don’t learn how to drive without getting in the drivers seat now do you? I first heard of Linux in high school when there was a chapter called ‘Operating Systems’ which was primarily concerned about what Windows is and how a computer is useless without it. It did hint that there are other OS out there. But Linux had just one small mention, no history no use case. As if it’s some ancient technology and the people who use it now a days have nothing else to do but test some random OS.
When my B.Tech started, and we first sat in front of the computers on campus, I saw the Ubuntu screen for the first time and assumed it’s some wacky theme for windows, but quite a lot was different, our professors guided us to open various IDE from the show applications menu, and that’s all I explored on Ubuntu. Semester two and we have Operating Systems as a subject, in full contrast to high school, Windows is not in sight. There are some core concepts, and there is Linux.
Fast forward to my first summer internship, everyone is discussing the absence of one lady on the floor. She’s a part of this team which was supposed to implement some updates in the core systems for a company. The work is stalled for the day, you see this lady was the only person in her team who had experience working on a Linux based system, and without her, the day was difficult.
How is working on a Linux system different from working on any other OS? In all honesty, it isn’t very different. You do use the Linux terminal to run some programs. But most of the development work is done on some or the other IDE. However there are some amazing features which makes Linux ideal for development. Git is inbuilt into the terminal, and in most distributions, it’s installed by default. Linux is overall very light on the hardware, and seemingly fast. Many companies even have their own distribution of Linux, like TCS has iON.
If you do a simple internet search, you will discover that Linux, Unix systems are the back bone bone of the internet. Because of it’s efficient code, Linux is the top choice for the world’s fastest computers. Almost all of the worlds top 500 supercomputers use Linux. Also, Linux is much more secure and virus safe. Yet only around 1% of the worlds personal computers use Linux. The simple reason is Linux does almost no marketing. But why should that be a reason for someone who knows how good Linux is to not use it?
I have been using Ubuntu as a primary OS from almost two years now. The only time I had to boot windows which now rests in a small partition on my hard disk was when I had to do a C# project using Visual Studio. There are only a few software suites like Adobe and Microsoft Office which are not yet available for Linux. But alternate, open source software exists, GIMP, Raw Therapee, Inkscape etc. are a good alternate to the adobe suite, whereas LibreOffice is a good alternate to Microsoft Office. Rest all software, specially those related to software development are available on Linux and can easily be installed using a simple one line terminal command.
I do my assignments on Linux, I watch movies, listen to songs, and edit photos, all on Linux and I’ve barely faced any issues, and I’m more than satisfied with the performance.
Linux has come a long way from being geek exclusive to highly user friendly. Some of the best benefits of Linux are, weekly updates which can be scheduled for any time later. Also, all the open source software which you might have installed also get periodic updates which install seamlessly. You can also choose which software you want updated and which not, and the number one complaint of windows users, forced updates which prevent your computer from turning on, is absent in the Linux world. I also liked the user interface which is minimal and easy to navigate. Oh and did I mention that most Linux distributions like Ubuntu are free?
Another major advantage of Linux is it’s performance consistency with respect to time. If you use windows, you must’ve felt that your machine is slowing down with time, it takes longer to start and longer to shut down. The reason for that is that as you install software, and add/delete files, they create traces which all have to be traced. In Linux, thanks to the clean code, there is way less trace of added and deleted software/files. There’s a command in Linux, ‘apt purge <package>’ which removes all traces of any package you intend to get rid off.
End conclusion is that Linux carries a stigma of being difficult to use, which needs to be broken. There are various Linux User’s group which help people who are new to Linux wrap their heads around and get used to the environment. One such group is VITLUG, which I started with the help of my friends in VIT Vellore campus and now we spread the goodness. We have regular classroom sessions where we demonstrate the use of everyday software as well as development special software.
Give Linux a go, it’s worth it.
