U.S. Air-Force loves LINUX !!

[GlennSprigg]

It seems that 9 or 10 years ago, the U.S. Air Force wanted a new SuperComputer.
So they strung together 1,760 Playstation-3 's 
I guess they understood the power of Linux . . .
https://phys.org/news/2010-12-air-playstation-3s-supercomputer.html

Also see the link below, and scroll down to 'Supercomputer' & to 'Space' . . .
https://opensource.com/article/18/5/places-find-linux

OK, I'm sold now ! 

P.S.
The result, unveiled in 2010, was capable of 55 trillion floating-point operations per second,
at 5-10% of the equivalent cost for off-the-shelf servers.

[edy]

OK, I'm sold now ! 

It took the Air Force super computer to sell you on Linux? 

What we don't realize is how much of the world's "hidden" computing is done using Linux. It is embedded in a ton of stuff, runs efficiently and reliably in the background so nobody ever notices. It powers the majority of servers on the internet. A modified version is behind Android devices, Chromebooks, in many pocket-sized computers and IoT devices. It is everywhere but nobody sees it.

I have been using Linux on the desktop for years but market share in that domain is maybe 2-3% (nobody has exact numbers). I'm not sure if that includes Chromebooks. Anyways, it is a great OS and you can choose between dozens of "flavours" and best of all most are completely FREE! It is highly customizable and the learning curve can be very steep. Those who are willing to be frustrated and spend a huge amount of time out of their comfort zone and learn a tremendous amount of stuff will reap the rewards. But it depends what you want to do with it. Linux is NOT for everyone. There are already a few threads in the General Computing part of the forum that delve into this.

The point is this... we at least have a choice for those who wish to escape the clutches of Microsoft or Apple's grip. Not to mention you can get a nice long extension of usability on some older computers that would choke otherwise trying to run the latest Windows.... while keeping up to date on the latest viral and security threats. Just expect to relearn how to use almost every software as you have to embrace open source versions of most stuff you were used to. Thankfully there are tons of good apps. 

[jmelson]

I put in some VOIP phones, they have an embedded Linux system with a web server port for configuration of the huge number of options.  The web server is ONLY for configuring the options.
I'm guessing most VOIP phones have Linux kernels of some sort in them.

Jon

[VK3DRB]

It seems that 9 or 10 years ago, the U.S. Air Force wanted a new SuperComputer.
So they strung together 1,760 Playstation-3 's 
I guess they understood the power of Linux . . .

And with all that computing power, it still could not run Altium .

One would assume the Air Force uses Linux, QPX or some other trusted O/S, or no O/S at all for mission critical applications, not bloody Windows. There should be a Dr. Strangelove remake where humanity is wiped out by the American and Russian military with a nuclear Mutually Assured Destruction event, triggered by a Windows message, "Windows has found a problem. Do you want to used Windows Help?" .

A serious movie depicting stupidity of the USA leading to a catastrophe is... https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058083/ Don't say it will never happen... it almost did by the Russians in 1983.

[Halcyon]

Linux has been in mainstream use for many years. Even gamers are switching to Linux machines. It's uptake is only increasing as people get increasingly more annoyed with Windows and Apple MacOS is barely a viable competitor.

[I wanted a rude username]

MacOS is barely a viable competitor.

Apple will eventually discard macOS and replace it with iOS anyway. Then they will release a touch-screen laptop and claim it's a world-first innovation.

[james_s]

MacOS and iOS are already close relatives to Linux and Android is Linux. Outside of Microsoft, most of the tech industry and the vast majority of the internet back end runs on Linux. The only place that Linux is not absolutely dominant is the consumer and corporate desktop.

[German_EE]

With the exception of two pieces of test equipment that insist on MS Windows I have been running linux since 2001 and I'm now at the stage where everything 'just works'. It's a nice feeling to have.

[SolarMan]

Linux is great! 

While there is a learning curve, you will catch on to the basics (browsing the web, writing documents, etc.) very quickly.

It's like a breath of fresh air to have your computer run so much faster than before.

And the range of software that's available for Linux is fantastic, typically:
1.   Open source
2.   Free
3.   No finicky digital rights management software to contend with
4.   No bloatware
5.   Does not slow your machine down by running in the background when not asked to do so
6.   New software can be installed (or removed) in seconds simply by typing a few commands in the terminal

Best of luck!

[Bud]

7. Non-intuitive
8. One's software breaks other people's software
9. Nightmare to install programs and know where that shit went in the filesystem
10. Anything else I did not have time to write about.

[I wanted a rude username]

8. One's software breaks other people's software
9. Nightmare to install programs and know where that shit went in the filesystem

Use a package manager, bud.

[eti]

Linux is amazing.

Okay... so that "conversation" soon died. You'll soon grow out of the honeymoon phase, and realise that it's utterly meaningless in and of itself, and of no actual, substantial worth as a subject of interest or discussion. It's a clinical gathering of bytes - meaningless - and no doubt you can (and will) find enough people willing to squander weeks of their life "discussing" it.

By the way, the bolts on my oven are pretty cool - very strong. The screws on my front door, are also... SEE? YOU'RE BORED! 

An OS is a means to an end, a container or a "room" to enter to get stuff done. You're looking at it as if it's your newly-wed wife, and it ain't - it's NOT all that exciting, and yes - yes it DOES slow down to a crawl, whether or not you "ask" it not to (my adblocking Pi is doing this last night, and this BULLSHIT wasted 2 hours of my VERY precious time - sofware is bollocks - people get all "excited" over it, but... for WHAT reason?)

[eti]

MacOS and iOS are already close relatives to Linux and Android is Linux. Outside of Microsoft, most of the tech industry and the vast majority of the internet back end runs on Linux. The only place that Linux is not absolutely dominant is the consumer and corporate desktop.

   

Android USES Linux (The Colonel [Sanders]) - apart from that, it is UTTER TRASH.

[eti]

Linux is great! 

While there is a learning curve, you will catch on to the basics (browsing the web, writing documents, etc.) very quickly.

It's like a breath of fresh air to have your computer run so much faster than before.

And the range of software that's available for Linux is fantastic, typically:
1.   Open source
2.   Free
3.   No finicky digital rights management software to contend with
4.   No bloatware
5.   Does not slow your machine down by running in the background when not asked to do so
6.   New software can be installed (or removed) in seconds simply by typing a few commands in the terminal

Best of luck!

Linux attracts a disproportionate number of raving enthusiasts, whom could be better used by being dispatched via mail order, "hired" if you wish, and arrive at the homes of insomniacs, to sit by their bedsides and send them to sleep as they evangelise about "Open Sauce", Heinz 57, Colonel Mustard and other assorted oddities of technically tedious trivia.

[Ed.Kloonk]

MacOS and iOS are already close relatives to Linux and Android is Linux. Outside of Microsoft, most of the tech industry and the vast majority of the internet back end runs on Linux. The only place that Linux is not absolutely dominant is the consumer and corporate desktop.

   

Android USES Linux (The Colonel [Sanders]) - apart from that, it is UTTER TRASH.

Yeah. I baulked at that a little bit too! 

[Halcyon]

MacOS and iOS are already close relatives to Linux and Android is Linux. Outside of Microsoft, most of the tech industry and the vast majority of the internet back end runs on Linux. The only place that Linux is not absolutely dominant is the consumer and corporate desktop.

   

Android USES Linux (The Colonel [Sanders]) - apart from that, it is UTTER TRASH.

Unfortunately the alternatives are worse. Windows Phone, enough said and iOS is like going back to drawing with eating crayons.

[I wanted a rude username]

"Drawing with" is charitable. 

[james_s]

7. Non-intuitive
8. One's software breaks other people's software
9. Nightmare to install programs and know where that shit went in the filesystem
10. Anything else I did not have time to write about.

What? Windows? Sounds about right.

I got so sick of fixing Windows on my mom's computer that I threw Ubuntu Linux on there around 3 years ago as an experiment and it has gone astonishingly well. It just works, I can count on one hand the number of times I've had to mess with it since. Every once in a while I run apt-get update to update everything, other than that it runs her browser, email client, word processor and spreadsheet, she can print her invoices and write her newsletter. Works great and saves me a lot of hassle.

I spent the first decade of my career working at Microsoft and at the time I loved Windows but the affair is over, it has devolved into a mess. Looks like a few linux haters have shown up here though, you can tell the people who haven't looked at it in 20 years and don't realize things have changed.

[james_s]

MacOS and iOS are already close relatives to Linux and Android is Linux. Outside of Microsoft, most of the tech industry and the vast majority of the internet back end runs on Linux. The only place that Linux is not absolutely dominant is the consumer and corporate desktop.

   

Android USES Linux (The Colonel [Sanders]) - apart from that, it is UTTER TRASH.

What are you? 12?

Android is linux based, are you saying that's not true or are you having difficulty with reading comprehension?

I'm not a fan of Android and don't use it myself but it is the most widely used consumer operating system by a wide margin. Currently on about 2.5 Billion devices it dwarfs all other consumer operating systems combined.

[taydin]

7. Non-intuitive
8. One's software breaks other people's software
9. Nightmare to install programs and know where that shit went in the filesystem
10. Anything else I did not have time to write about.

You've got it backwards for items 8, 9  Those are exactly attributes of Windows OS.

8. This issue was called "DLL Hell" under Windows. Microsoft's attempt at solving this was using DLL assemblies and manifests. Linux never had the "overwriting of common libraries" issue. Libraries under Linux were versioned since their first inception.
9. Perfect description of the situation under Windows. Try to install a MS Visual Studio and then obtain a list of what was installed where. But all package managers under Linux can give you this list on demand!

[Halcyon]

I suspect Bud has never actually properly used Linux before?

"Drawing with" is charitable. 

Sorry, my mistake, I have corrected my original post.

[GlennSprigg]

(O.P. here).  Well, that went a bit wild! Including some Anti-Linux salvos across the bow ! 
I just realized that when I originally quoted 1760 Sony PS-3's, that coincidentally that is the
same number of Yards in a Mile!  If the U.S. was 'Metric', maybe they would have rounded it
off to 2000 units!!  Just 'sayin'...  (Ok, i'm finished...)   

P.S.  Eating crayons causes 'Giant-Hand' syndrome!!!

[eti]

MacOS and iOS are already close relatives to Linux and Android is Linux. Outside of Microsoft, most of the tech industry and the vast majority of the internet back end runs on Linux. The only place that Linux is not absolutely dominant is the consumer and corporate desktop.

   

Android USES Linux (The Colonel [Sanders]) - apart from that, it is UTTER TRASH.

What are you? 12?

Android is linux based, are you saying that's not true or are you having difficulty with reading comprehension?

I'm not a fan of Android and don't use it myself but it is the most widely used consumer operating system by a wide margin. Currently on about 2.5 Billion devices it dwarfs all other consumer operating systems combined.

How is my age, in any way related to the fact that you said "Android is Linux", and then changed that to "Linux-based"? It's not even Linux-based, it's JAVA-based and just happens to USE Linux kernel, somehow - the marketing muppets use the "It runs on Linux" schtick to make it appear "cool" to nerds. They also push (as do many other tireseome bores) the whole "Open Source" bollocks - who CARES, so long as the phone works.

We didn't have all this obsessive, policital crap back when Nokia had the 3210/3310 etc - you bought a phone, got used to it and loved it, and weren't online ranting or raving about it like a complete sad sack loser.

[GlennSprigg]

MacOS and iOS are already close relatives to Linux and Android is Linux. Outside of Microsoft, most of the tech industry and the vast majority of the internet back end runs on Linux. The only place that Linux is not absolutely dominant is the consumer and corporate desktop.

   

Android USES Linux (The Colonel [Sanders]) - apart from that, it is UTTER TRASH.

What are you? 12?

Android is linux based, are you saying that's not true or are you having difficulty with reading comprehension?

I'm not a fan of Android and don't use it myself but it is the most widely used consumer operating system by a wide margin. Currently on about 2.5 Billion devices it dwarfs all other consumer operating systems combined.

How is my age, in any way related to the fact that you said "Android is Linux", and then changed that to "Linux-based"? It's not even Linux-based, it's JAVA-based and just happens to USE Linux kernel, somehow - the marketing muppets use the "It runs on Linux" schtick to make it appear "cool" to nerds. They also push (as do many other tireseome bores) the whole "Open Source" bollocks - who CARES, so long as the phone works.

We didn't have all this obsessive, policital crap back when Nokia had the 3210/3310 etc - you bought a phone, got used to it and loved it, and weren't online ranting or raving about it like a complete sad sack loser.

Wow... You seem to get quite angry... Maybe step outside & smell the roses, and hear the birds!   
I'm sure that I, yourself, & others have made 'typos', or accidentally mis-phrased something, but take
a 'chill-pill' when you come back in from outside. People will, on a forum like this, talk about various tech
aspects of equip out of interest, whether they 'Need' to know it or not, as in the Android/Linux/Phone stuff. 

'Phrasing' aside, Android SmartPhones DO utilize a Linux Kernel, it does not supply a typical Front-End to
it, as per the typical various Linux distribution 'Builds' like Ubuntu etc. When you boot an Android device, the
Linux kernel loads just like it would on a Linux distribution. However, much of the other software is different.
The 'Android' variation to the front end is specifically designed to deal with the Touch Screens etc.

You mentioned Java....  Rather than running typical Linux applications, Android uses the Dalvik Virtual Machine
to essentially run applications written in Java. These applications are targeted at Android devices and the
application programming interfaces (APIs) Android provides rather than being targeted at Linux in general.
I know all this now, as I researched it, just out of interest. Not because our lives depend on it.   

P.S.  Out of interest, I found ref to an interesting App for Android phones!! It works without the phone being
'Rooted', but evidently has more power when it is. It's called Terminal Emulator for Android....
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=jackpal.androidterm
It's a new version, to Access your Android's built-in Linux command line shell. Unleash your inner geek! 

Have a happy new year... 

[VK3DRB]

In a nutshell:

Linux is robust, Windows is not.
Linux can be multi-user, Windows cannot.
Linux tell you when it has booted up with all subsystems ready, Windows does not.
Linux is not user friendly for artists, politicians and old age pensioners, Windows is.
Linux was created by a first class nerd, Windows was created by a first class turd.

I ran an IRLP server for nine years on a Linux machine (Mandrake) that got a lot of use around Melbourne. I NEVER had to rebooted it. I NEVER had to fiddle with the software. It had a UPS. In nine years all I needed to do was replace a noisy fan. You would NEVER get that sort of reliability out of Windows, even today. https://serverfault.com/questions/274089/how-often-do-windows-servers-need-to-be-restarted