CEdo 510 Welcome to Class 3 John Sklar, instructor

Linux First.... What's the point? You might ask.. Windows and Apple are not the only game and in the future they may wither. What else is out there? At this point the only viable alternative is unix/linux. Cloud computing could change that.

Google Chrome Chrome OS is a Linux-based OS designed to work with web applications and nothing else. Announced in mid 2009 it became an open source project, called Chromium OS, that November. (Thanks Wikipedia) Chrome OS only ships on specific hardware from manufacturing partners. The user interface is minimalistic, resembling their Chrome browser. Chrome OS is aimed at users who spend most of their time on the Internet, the only application is a browser that has a media player and a file manager.

There are a lot of ChromeBooks

Another Version of Linux Chrome is an extension of Linux as is OS-X on the Mac. This means that the Linux OS might be the future of computing. Whatever happens it is clear that the Windows platform is destine to change dramatically over the next few years. As we change the way we use computers, our needs for OS’s change. Linux has had the ability to do that.

Unix or Linux Unix was designed for specific hardware. It was the original multitasking environment, more on Angel… Linux is Unix on a PC. Designed by a grad student so that people could use UNIX on much cheaper and readily available hardware. Did I tell you it is free? Unix is not!

Linux is Unix on a… Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system distributed as open source software. The Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Originally for PC’s. Linux runs on a wide variety of hardware, including phones, tablets, routers, televisions, game consoles, desktop computers and supercomputers. (more than 90% of today's supercomputers run some variant of Linux.) (Thanks again Wikipedia)

The cost of an item is not necessarily tied to its purchase – consider updates, maintenance, etc.

Cloud Computing…. What is cloud computing? Sharing on the web. Using collaborative tools. Using online storage and applications

It is computing’s future

If We Do Cloud Computing…. Linux is another way to get there. Did you know it was free or very inexpensive? It gets you to the clouds for free… It can be used on a variety of hardware (includes Mac). A live CD gives you a chance to see other ways of doing the same things you usually do (for free).

Why does free matter? Most of you have not paid for an operating system, right? Wrong, it was included in the price of the computer you bought. So how much was it? A lot more before computer makers found out they could use Linux for free. Microsoft even crafted an almost free version of Windows 7 called Windows 7 starter edition.

Windows 7 Starter Microsoft says:

Actually… Windows 7 starter is a ploy to blunt the effect of Linux. It gives pc makers a cheap, probably very cheap, alternative to Linux. Remember, if you buy a netbook with Linux you need to contact the pc maker for support. Everybody already knows how to support windows… I bought a Windows 7 three pack a few years ago and put it on all my computers including my netbook.

In A Cloud…. No one knows what kind of computer you have. No one cares. Most important, you probably don’t care either. Put another way, if you are using online software, online storage and online distribution of the final product then whether you are online is more important than how you got there. If you know that going in the OS might not matter to you. Then how about Chrome OS?

The Future of Computing… Many of you already use pocket email devices or tablets. Some of you regularly surf at Starbucks McDonalds. People are moving around more, and want to take these rich resources with them. Cheap portable computing devices can’t be asked to support a bloated operating system and still be small light, fast and cheap. Linux has proven to malleable to many devices.

What to Consider… Some LiveCD linux will allow the user to view and manipulate Windows files that are on an otherwise password protected PC. If I boot my PC with most of these CD’s I can easily see, copy, delete and do whatever to all the files on the PC’s hard drive. No more file protection. Unless, of course, the file is encrypted. What if a kid walks in a lab with one of these and can boot a computer???? Havok?

Failure, Computer that is. Anything can wear out or get lost but what about your computer. What is on it you can’t bear to be without. Have you ever had a failure? Bank records, Music, family pictures. Every course I’ve ever taught. Passwords, software. OMG how does one manage to survive losing all of this?

Assignments: Still a couple of Blog posts to go…. Alternative OS is due Friday We will look at your work next class Disaster DATA Recovery and Your System Some will present these during class 5 Viruses and Their Cures Look at the executive summaries. We might do some of these for class 5 too. Designing the Perfect Computer  We will present these during class 6.

Questions??