Linux: Is it suitable for your desktop?<\/p>\n
By Zatni Arbi<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Last April, a reader, who is a lawyer by
\ntraining, sent me an e-mail asking me why I never touched on
\nLinux in my column.<\/p>\n
\"If big companies, many of them Fortune 500's, are willing to
\nrely on Linux, it must be the proof of the success of their
\nprogramming approach,\" he wrote.<\/p>\n
He was absolutely right. As a matter of fact, getting hands-on
\nexperience with this unique operating system was already on my
\nagenda after I returned from the Computer Associates' CA World
\nevent in New Orleans, last year.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, time has become so scarce nowadays that I have
\nnever gotten around to doing it. I admitted to this reader that
\nthe only reason I had never spoken of Linux was simply that I
\nhaven't had the chance to really explore it yet.<\/p>\n
But, it just so happened that the Singapore-based IT Asia
\nmonthly asked me to find a user group in Indonesia and write
\nabout its activities for them.<\/p>\n
In passing, I had been hearing that the Linux communities were
\nvery active in this country. I started asking around for leads,
\nand I ended up with one name, H. Prihantoosa. He was the chairman
\nof the Jakarta chapter of Kelompok Pengguna Linux Indonesia
\n(KPLI, or Indonesian Linux Users Group). I had an eye-opening
\nsession when I interviewed him at his Nurul Fikri computer
\ntraining center in Mampang, South Jakarta, which is also KPLI
\nJakarta's secretariat.<\/p>\n
That evening, he explained to me why Linux has been gaining
\nsuch strong support. \"Linux is an open source operating system,
\nwhich means you can download it from the Internet for free. But,
\nbecause it is free and everybody can use it, it has also become
\nthe most widely tested operating environment. Thanks to the
\ncumulative efforts of the community, it has also become one of
\nthe most robust operating systems ever available. It can be used
\non different platforms, including Intel-based PCs and Macs, all
\nthe way to the high-end computers from Sun Microsystems,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
KPLI itself, which consists of dozens of local user groups in
\nsmaller cities and towns from Aceh to Jayapura, is a very loose
\norganization. There is no formal structure on the national level.
\nYet, in their respective geographical areas, these user groups
\nhave been very active in creating an awareness of Linux.<\/p>\n
Of course, KPLI Jakarta, which now has around 400 members --
\nhalf of them students and half full-time IT professionals -- has
\nthe privilege of always getting the latest information,
\nliterature and publications on Linux.<\/p>\n
\"Therefore, one of our programs is to disseminate this wealth
\nof information to the regional KPLIs,\" said Toosa. \"For this
\npurpose, from time to time we go to the provinces and give
\ntraining seminars.\"<\/p>\n
Also for the Desktop.<\/p>\n
\"I read an article that said Linux is more suitable for
\nservers,\" I tried to challenge Toosa. \"That's not true,\" he
\nreplied and showed me his notebook, which was completely run on
\nLinux.<\/p>\n
\"I can play MPEG files, I can listen to MP3 music just as you
\ncan do in Windows.\" Next to his notebook was a desktop PC, also
\nrunning on Linux. On these two machines, he has Sun's StarOffice,
\nwhich can read all the files created in Microsoft Office (Word,
\nPowerPoint and Excel).<\/p>\n
Then Toosa took out his copy of last month's InfoKomputer,
\nwhich happened to feature Linux, and pointed out all the
\napplications that were available on Linux. There was a browser
\ncalled Mozilla; there was also GIMP, the \"Photoshop\" for Linux.<\/p>\n
Most of these applications can also be downloaded free from
\nthe Internet. Free! And that leads to the other major benefit of
\nLinux. Because it is free, according to Toosa, users do not have
\nto worry about licensing.<\/p>\n
Now, given the fact that Indonesia still has one of the worst
\nreputations in terms of software piracy, using Linux could be the
\nmost appropriate solution.<\/p>\n
\"Maybe not a lot of people know it, but more and more
\ncompanies in Indonesia are already making the move to Linux,\" he
\nsaid. Linux, he believed, may help businesses that are still
\nusing pirated copies of commercial software because they cannot
\nafford the original ones.<\/p>\n
What about local talent in Linux programming? \"It's really
\namazing! We have plenty of them, and some, like Pak Zen, are even
\nplaying an international role,\" said Toosa. He was referring to
\nM. Zen Muttaqien, current Vice Chairman II of KPLI Jakarta, who
\nis a member of the Samba project.<\/p>\n
There are others such as Idban Secandri, who posts application
\nafter application that he has written on a popular Linux Web
\nsite.<\/p>\n
Curiously, many of the best Linux experts in Indonesia -- and
\nperhaps in other parts of the world as well -- do not have a
\nbackground in computer science. Toosa himself is a graduate from
\nthe school of mathematics at the University of Indonesia. Pak Zen
\nwas a graduate from the department of library science at the
\nUniversity of Indonesia.<\/p>\n
\"One of the reasons for this, perhaps, is that with Linux you
\ncan keep on learning. It is an ideal training ground because it
\nis not a closed system like Windows, for example, where you can't
\ntinker with the codes.\"<\/p>\n
The Linux philosophy seems to have a very strong impact on its
\nusers. For example, a book on Linux servers is going to be
\npublished soon, and, following the open content principle,
\nanybody can make copies and then sell them without having to
\nworry about royalties and licenses, as long as they meet one
\ncondition: The contents, including the name of the author and the
\npublisher, are not altered in any way. That's how far the open
\nsource movement has affected the Linux community.<\/p>\n
Incidentally, I am going to assemble a new PC for myself next
\nweek, and when I partition the hard disk I'll make sure that
\nLinux will also be available on it. (zatni@cbn.net.id)<\/p>",
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