A while ago this space contained some information about Linux which is an alternative operating system to the various Microsoft Windows products.
Like Firefox, Thunderbird and Open Office familiar to many users running Windows, Linux is an open source product that is free and has the capability to support most, if not all, the application software popular with home computer users.
The Vernon PC Users’ Club has found that the majority of people showing up at our meetings have one of several different releases and versions of Windows with varying degrees of currency with the latest updates and fixes.
This situation makes it difficult and confusing to help people resolve what are usually relatively simple problems because a solution that works for one situation does not necessarily work for others involving seemingly similarly configured pc’s. It is not often that we encounter a Linux user, and even rarer a Linux user with a problem, but when we do the solution is usually found quickly within a growing user support group. There is a reason why an increasing number of commercial Internet servers are operating under Linux as opposed to Unix or Windows NT — the system architecture is solid and well-suited to supporting multiple users.This does not mean, however, that Linux available for home users is overkill. Quite the contrary, the same rigour and robustness required to support a large network is to be found in the system designed for your pc. Everyone wants to have a stable, trouble-free computer and it very well could be that Linux is the answer! Stay tuned.
The Vernon PC Users’ Club meets the second Tuesday of the month at 7 p.m. at the Schubert Centre in the cafeteria. Visit our website at www.vpcuc.org Call Betty at 542-7024 or June at 549-7221 for more information or see www.vpcuc.org.
