The home computer – the battlefield of the software companies
A major interest of commercial software providers is in retaining the user. Their software is sold as proprietary, i.e. the property of the company - the user simply buys a license to use it. Patents have been set up to protect the software under copyright law and the program code is kept secret (closed source). A lot of work is invested in successfully positioning yourself against competitors and rivals in order to secure market shares for your own software group. A famous example is the “browser war” (between 1995 and 1998), in which Microsoft managed to increase the market share of its own browser to over 95 percent (2003) by linking Internet Explorer to the Windows installation. In order not to be completely pushed out of the market, Microdoft competitor and then market leader Netscape was forced to give away its browser for free in 1998 and to make the source code available as open source. This ultimately laid the foundation for the Mozilla project. Because the code of proprietary software is secret, there is a risk that applications will start background services and, for example, collect and send user data unnoticed.
Free Software – Who actually owns it?
“Free” refers to software that is under the GPL (General Public License). This means: The program code is public property and no one can claim to be its owner. Free software is maintained and further developed by a global community of developers. Anyone can obtain the code, view it and change it. Free programs such as LibreOffice (formerly OpenOffice) have now achieved the performance and convenience of their proprietary equivalents. The difference is that free software is transparent and free. Codes that harm the user cannot hide here. In addition, there is little money flowing into the market for free software. Programs prevail because of their quality, not because of elaborate marketing campaigns. Many of its users also see free software as a contribution to the democratization of the world.
Linux Ubuntu – An operating system based on free software
In 2004, the South African company “Canonical” committed itself to the task of developing a free and free Linux distribution that was adapted to the habits of a Windows user. In terms of function, support and operation, it should be in no way inferior to commercial ones and should even be ahead of them in terms of security and stability. The result was Linux Ubuntu. It can be started in live mode directly from a USB stick without installation. This means the user can take a first look at the system without any worries. A parallel installation to the existing system is child's play. The Ubuntu desktop “Unity” meets the highest visual standards and is intuitive to use. Applications are installed and removed via the “Software Center,” which is similar to an app store. Almost all applications included are free, free of charge and verified by Canonical. The most common applications are already preinstalled.
Fully featured, fully compatible & available to everyone
LibreOffice and MS Office are equivalent in terms of functionality. The interface and operation are almost identical and incompatibilities with foreign file formats are rare. PDF viewers, image editors, scanning and printing software, Firefox and Thunderbird are also included. Chrome, Skype and Dropbox are not free, but they can also be installed with one click. Ubuntu also offers free media applications that play almost every file format. With Rhythm-box the music collection can be managed and played. It's inspired by iTunes, but not nearly as limited in functionality. The Totem Player is based on the Windows Media Player. All standard applications for communication, Internet, office and entertainment are completely covered by Ubuntu with free software. The same also applies to more specialized software such as data plotters, software editors, video editing and CAD programs. Most peripheral devices (printer, scanner, webcam) are ready for operation via plug-and-play. In addition to the major upgrades, there are smaller updates. This includes bug fixes and optimizations. In addition, potential security gaps are closed. The current version can be downloaded from the homepage ubuntu.com. Since a reliably working system is necessary for everyday study, version 12.04 LTS is recommended here - even if there are already newer versions. There are two large German-language help portals available for questions. The Ubuntu Wiki (wiki.ubuntuusers.de) answers general questions, although an extremely helpful community is also available for beginners for more specific questions (forum.ubuntuusers.de).
– For security reasons and cost savings, the French Gendarmerie wants to convert its 70,000 Windows PCs to Ubuntu by 2014. The French Ministry of Agriculture will convert another 15,000 computers to Ubuntu.
– The Munich city administration has invested the budget for Windows licenses in the development of a tailor-made Linux system. 12,000 computers were converted to the free “LiMux”.
– The Macedonian Ministry of Education equipped its schools with 160,000 workstations for computer-supported learning with Ubuntu through the “Computer for every Child” program.
– With 25 million users worldwide, Ubuntu is also interesting for the games industry. Counter-Strike, Half-Life 2 and Team Fortress 2 can already be played on Ubuntu via Steam.
Cover photo: Illustration by Sabine Redlich
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The home computer – the battlefield of the software companies A great interest of commercial software providers is in retaining the user. Their software is sold as proprietary, i.e. the property of the company - the user simply buys a license to use it. Patents have been set up to protect the software under copyright law and the program code is kept secret
