Your next computer will be a …?
WinXMac? Back in the dark ages (for computers that would be from about 1978 until 1990), people had real choices. Sinclair, Atari, Apple, Commodore, IBM. Each computer had a different kind of operating system. Each manufacturer had a different way of doing things. Today, about 90% of us have the same operating system, but this may change.
In the 1980s, Apple was concerned about the future and it hired a Pepsi salesman to run the place. He nearly ran it out of business. Meanwhile the IBM/Microsoft OS/2 venture derailed and Windows seemingly took over the world. Many thought Apple would die, but something changed but Steve Jobs returned, Ipods took over the music world and drew some attention to Apple, and Apple decided to base its computers on Unix.
A guy named Linus Torvalds, who couldn’t afford to buy a copy of Unix, decided to invent his own Unix-like language that became known as Linux.
If you’re looking for a computer now, or you will be in the next year or two, you’ll see Windows (90%+ share of desktops), Mac (less than 10% share of desktops), and Linux (what’s left). On the other hand, if you visit websites, you have about a 90% chance that the site will be served by a Linux machine.
With the arrival of Apple’s OS X in 2001, some clever packaging of Linux by companies such as Linspire, and Windows’ continued security problems, the decision of which to choose is a little less clear than in the past.
 The number one choice: Windows
Back in the 1960s and 1970s, there was a saying: “Nobody ever got fired for buying IBM.” The system administrators who specified Burroughs, Honeywell, or one of the other manufacturers of “big iron” had better know what they were doing because, if anything went wrong, the sure question would be “Why didn’t you specify IBM?”
That’s the way Windows has been. That’s why so many businesses have standardized on Outlook and Exchange servers even though that combo is one of the most dangerous combinations ever made. Everybody uses Outlook and Exchange servers, so it must be the right way to do business.
Windows XP is the best Windows ever and the next version (Vista) is expected to be even more secure. But is Windows what you should be using?
 The number two choice: Macintosh
Since 2001, I’ve had at least one Mac running and I’m more impressed by every subsequent version of OS X. Tiger, released this year, is nearly a work of art. If I had to buy my very first computer today, there’s a good chance that it would be a Mac.
The trouble is that I have 20 years of experience with Windows operating systems and the precursor, DOS. I understand how Windows machines work and I don’t have that level of understanding with OS X or Linux.
Whenever I travel, I take the Powerbook with me. I finished writing this article on a Mac in San Diego after starting it at Port Columbus, where I checked my e-mail quickly and easily with Apple’s built-in wireless capability and the airport’s free WiFi system. With a single click, I was on-line. At the hotel, I plugged the computer in to a wall outlet and within seconds I was downloading mail. Could I have done that with a Windows machine? Sure, but it would have required more work.
Macs are more secure than Windows machines. In part it’s because they’re smaller targets (why write a virus for 10% of the desktops when you can get 90%?) but it’s also because infecting them is harder. Running on Unix has well known security advantages. Users can still make mistakes, but Unix limits the damage a mistake can cause.
 What about Linux?
Linux is easier to use than ever, particularly with the Linspire distribution. The problem is that none of the major applications are available on Linux. No Word. No Excel. An older version of Wordperfect. No Eudora. No Quicken. No Photoshop or Powerpoint or InDesign. No Dreamweaver. You’ll find “similar” open-source applications and these might be adequate for what you want to do.
That, in fact, is what frightens everyone at Microsoft: What if large numbers of people decide that an entire computer with the operating system for less than $500 is “good enough” when used with free open-source applications?
Your choices in brief
Windows might be the right operating system for you. If you’re careful to avoid viruses and worms and you need some of the Windows-only applications, then Windows is what you need. Don’t ignore the other two, though, because the other choices are worth looking at.
- Windows: Largest number of applications, largest number of users, largest number of security problems.
- Linux: Much easier to use than in the past, free or cheap, but installing open source, multi-platform applications can be daunting.
- Mac OS X: Built on Unix, secure, not as many apps as Windows, Apple’s change to Intel CPUs in the coming year will mean faster machines that run cooler, many open source applications will run under Unix, strong security.
If this looks like I’m suggesting that Apple’s OS X is a viable solution, that’s exactly what I’m doing. OS X may not be the right solution for you, but you should look at it before blindly choosing Windows.
Understand that you’ll need to unlearn old Windows habits and learn new OS X habits, but those who are increasingly frustrated with Microsoft’s security problems and who aren’t ready to deal with the raw open-source community may find that Apple is exactly the right choice.
Open-source applications
Listener Tim Miller asked about Gimp, an open-source graphics application. He's planning to teach senior citizens at the Hilltop community center how to repair historic photographs. He's considering Gimp as the application to use because it's free. He's wondering if the application will work for his intended use.
"I intend to teach the app on PCs (there are 10 PCs running Windows 2000) and I am a Mac person (I'll learn it on my Mac). In your opinion, will Gimp fill my computer (s) with spyware? Have you used Gimp? Will it be able to do the basics of Photoshop (resize-images, allow colorization, use of clone tool, save with various extensions and ultimately print to a new printer I intend to buy)?"
First, to run Gimp on a Mac, you'll need to be running OS X, but that's not all. Gimp actually runs under X.11 (it's on the OS X installation disc, but is not installed by default.) X.11 is a windowing technology that's an antique. As a matter of policy (perhaps misguided) I don't use any application on a Mac that requires X.11.
If you visit http://www.gimp.org/macintosh/, you'll find links to some pre-packaged versions of Gimp. Choosing one of these will make the installation possible. Probably the easiest solution would be MacGimp at https://www.archei.com/macgimp/, but this carries a cost of $30 per machine. This would be needed only for your Mac and you might want to try some of the free distributions first. Usually the instructions provided with open-source software assume a level of geekiness that most of us don't have.
The Windows installations will be easier. There is an automated installer at http://gimp-win.sourceforge.net/, but you can also obtain the source code and compile it on your own if you want to.
I have installed Gimp somewhere and have looked at it. The interface is different from what most PC users expect, although it has some similarity to Photoshop on the Mac in that you get menus and tools on the desktop and then open an image that is separate from the tools. This drives some Windows users batty. Once you've learned where the various tools are, though, it will do most of the things the other applications can do.
When you download the application, you always want the "latest stable version." You will find a more recent version, but it's still essentially "beta" software, still being developed and likely to crash more frequently than the stable version.
It's probably an overstatement, but not by much, to say that no application you find at SourceForge.org will contain adware or spyware. Applications are vetted before being made available and any developer who doesn't play by the rules will be quickly discovered and exposed. Gimp has been around for quite a while, so I'd consider it as safe as any application from a major developer.
Open-source applications such as Gimp and Open Office, along with Linux distributions such as Linspire, are making the large software developers nervous and for good reason: The ability to buy an entire computer (with monitor and operating system) for less than $1000 and use it with software that is available for free is appealing to a lot of people. Linux and the open-source applications are currently "good enough" in many situations.
Technology corner rating for OPEN SOURCE APPLICATIONS |
 5 CATS: There are open-source applications (Gaim) that I use every day and many others that could do what I need to do. Overall, though, open-source applications are harder to install and maintain than commercial applications. Still, times are changing .... |
| How the Technology Corner rating system works. |
How much spam is too much?
In my opinion, any spam is too much. The spams I receive are invariably for bogus anatomical enhancements, fake "prescription" medicines, stocks from companies I've never heard of, and various other offers that are illegal, stupid, or disgusting. Fortunately, there are tools that allow me to fight back.
At the right is a list that shows about half of the spam addressed to me in a 24-hour period. Fortunately, most of it is trapped and discarded with no effort on my part.
The occasional spam still gets through. Those are the ones I report via SpamCop, but I see no evidence that the hosts of spamvertized websites care or that the hosts where spams originate are trying to shut down spammers.
In addition to the fake medicines, anatomical enhancements, and stock frauds, I frequently find virus-infected messages, phishing attempts, and messages from people who say that they want to loan me $500,000 or more.
Are there really still people so stupid that they're taken in by any of this deck? The answer, apparently is yes. About all that we can hope is that the spammers succeed in relieving all the stupid people of all their money so that spamming ceases to be a viable business.
I'm not holding my breath, though.
For example ... some examples of the latest dreck that's come to my mailbox. To look, click here.
Nerdly News
What's Steve Jobs going to announce on Wednesday?
There's been a lot of chatter that suggests a video Ipod, but that's not likely. At least not yet. Since the middle of the week, more sane projections have been surfacing: An Ipod that's physically smaller but holds more? An updated notebook?
Probably, but I'm not going to try to second-guess what Apple will do. The last time I tried that, I suggested that there was no way Apple would be switching to Intel processors, and look where that got me! You'd think I'd insulted an Internet service provider (one that cannot be named.)
The news is that there will be news. Steve Jobs will deliver it on Wednesday. Some of the pundits will tell you on Thursday that they were right all along. I'll wait until next week to do that.
First Microsoft Anti-Spyware, now Microsoft Antivirus
Sybari Software's antivirus application will soon have a new name -- Microsoft's. Microsoft has developed a new virus scan engine that's based on technology acquired in another acquisition.
What's different is that Microsoft's application will give users a choice of up to 7 antivirus scanning engines from various vendors -- Network Associates, Norman Data Defense Systems, Sophos, Computer Associates, and Kaspersky Lab.
Making an antivirus application part of the operating system is part of Microsoft's defense strategy. The new application will also provide anti-spam function.
Sybari offered support for Unix and Linux, but Microsoft has eliminated that.
Service providers kiss and make up
A couple of cry-baby service providers reached an agreement Friday that made it possible for their clients to use the Internet again. Cogent Communications Group said Level 3 Communications had begun to accept its Internet traffic again after blocking it Wednesday and Thursday in a dispute over payments.
Hundreds of thousands of Internet users on one side of the divide were unable to send e-mail to users on the other side and those on one side couldn't view websites on the other side. Experts say the problem affected up to 17% of Internet traffic. Large wholesale providers generally pass traffic from one network to another without charge, but Level 3 said it was handling too much traffic from Cogent and shut down connections.
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