Why? IBM is less than enthusiastic about supporting OS/2, software developers and vendors are fleeing, and the user base is declining. Hmmm... maybe it's alive, well, and still has millions of users, but for how much longer?

In the meanwhile, the once obscure UNIX variant Linux has risen in popularity to the point that Microsoft felt compelled to publish a "Linux Myths" page on their website to discourage people from using it. Guess what? It didn't work, and suddenly it's beginning to look like Microsoft has some real competition on it's hands. One recent release in particular, Caldera OpenLinux eDesktop 2.4 offers not only the stability one would expect from UNIX and which Windows just cannot deliver, but also finally offers a really nice graphical interface straight out of the box. I actually think it's prettier and perhaps more functional than anything Microsoft has offered to date. KDE makes Linux easy to use, and Caldera has even gotten the installation process down to where anyone who is reasonably computer literate should have no problem, even if they have never used UNIX before. The OS can be installed to boot straight to the GUI, and you don't ever have to learn how to use the UNIX command line, though it's still something that's very good to know.

Many popular applications have been ported to Linux, with new ones announced almost daily. Many outstanding Linux-only programs are also out there. Linux also requires far fewer system resources to run than any 32-bit version of Windows, so your PC, old or new, will last longer without an upgrade, and will likely run faster. Did I also mention that Linux is free? OK, most people can't download anything that huge, but a whole bunch of systems sharing one CD-ROM is perfectly legal. Much of the best software is free, too. That's a price that can't be beat.

You know, I kind of like the Mac ads that say "Think Different". I mean, like, why should we all be sheep, or worse, lemmings. I don't need to enrich Bill Gates, at least until he sells a "must have" application. I hope nobody seriously thinks Windows M.E. is "must have." Eeek! For me, he hasn't done that yet. Besides, to go to Windows 2000 manyy companies would have to replace all of their servers and desktops to adopt it, and even as Microsoft-centric as some are, many just won't do that just now. How many people will, especially if Microsoft adopts an annual fee for Windows licenses, as they have announced they will? There are some really good alternatives out there, like Linux, FreeBSD, BeOS, and OS/2, and y'all already know which one I like.

Cool General Interest Sites:

Webgrrls is the ultimate organization for women technical professionals involved in the Internet and new media. A must for geekettes everywhere!

download.com is probably the unltimate site for getting shareware and freeware for the Windows set, and recently there's even some Linux software creeping in. One stop shopping, anyone?

The Dilbert Zone. It goes without saying, doesn't it? What overworked computer professional and certified geek or geekette doesn't just love Dilbert?

User Friendly. Is there anything out there funnier to a geek than Dilbert? Just read the antics at Columbia Internet, and you'll see that there is! User Friendly is the funniest strip out there.

Sun Microsystems now offers an OpenSource integrated office suite with features similar to Microsoft Office. (They also have OS/2, Linux, Solaris, and Java versions.) It is free, and is available for download!

Daryl's TCP/IP Primer. This is a great guide to the protocol that the Internet and most corporate networks run on. It assumes you already have a basic understanding of networking concepts.

Segfault. Here are the most outlandish and patently false news stories about today's tech world.

Just a few of the myriad of useful Linux sites:

Linux Online!. This is a great place to find our about all the various Linux releases, with links to an incredible number of other useful Linux sites.

Linux Today. Maybe the best online Linux news source.

LinuxChix is a fantastic organization for women in the Linux and OpenSource community. Their techtalk list has to be the most newbie-friendly environment for getting Linux help. Oh, and men are welcome too.

Google has a special search engine that may be the absolute best for finding what you need for you Linux system online.

Caldera Systems. Caldera OpenLinux eDesktop may be the easiest distribution of Linux to install and use out there. It also has some great system and network administration tools. Currently my distribution of choice.

Red Hat Software. The Durham, NC company probably has the most popular Linux distribution. Tech support information and links to other useful sites are here too.

Linuxberg. One of the best sites for finding and downloading Linux software.

KDE home page. The home of, in my not so humble opinion, the best and most user friendly desktop environment for Linux. Customize the look and feel any way you want, and have a system that looks and acts smarter than any Windows box.

KDE applications page. Needs apps written for the KDE environment? Here they are!

Gnome home page. The home of one of the better user friendly desktop environments.

Linux WebWatcher. I don't have enough Linux links? Here are hundreds more.

FileWatcher.org. Another great source of Linux software available for download.

rpmfind.net. Need that new software in RPM format for Red Hat, Caldera, Mandrake, or SuSe Linux. Here's where you'll find it.

Linux.com. VA Research's Linux news and informations page. Once again, lots of links here.

Themes.org. Lots of cool (and not so cool) desktop themes for most of the Linux window managers, including Enlightenment, GTK/Gnome, KDE, FVWM/2, and others.

LinuxHQ. Updates and information on the Linux kernel (the core of the operating system.)

LinuxStart. Another good Linux search engine.

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