It's 5 a.m. and you're struggling to finish that six-page paper due in just a few hours. With only one more page to go the screen suddenly goes black and your nearly completed paper is lost in the abyss of Microsoft crash hell.
Perhaps it's time to get a new operating system for your computer.
This Sunday the Charlottesville Unix Users Group, or CHUUG, is holding its Spring 2002 Installfest, the fifth event of its kind so far.
Engineering graduate student and CHUUG member Brain Mays said the group is made up of University students, local professionals and "computer hobbyists."
The group endorses Unix operating systems such as Linux and FreeBSD over popular programs like Microsoft for several reasons, Mays said.
"Windows and all of the Microsoft products are intended as desktop systems - if you want to sit down and write a letter," he said. But Unix systems are much more efficient with the Internet or scientific computations, he added.
"Where Unix really shines is if you're setting up a computer as a backbone of the Internet," Mays said. Although, Mays added, Microsoft has the advantage of being more user-friendly - Unix systems are known for their dependability and stability.
"My laptop has been running Linux for years and it's never crashed," Mays said. "Stability is one of the things we are promoting."
Unix programs, which are created by volunteers or computer enthusiasts, need to be promoted through alternate means because they do not have a huge company to publicize them.
"Microsoft products have a company behind them," Mays said. "A very rich company."
Unix systems rely on such inconspicuous means as word-of-mouth to gain converts - which is one purpose of the Installfest.
Mays and other Unix members are advocates of the "free software" or "open-source" philosophy. The philosophy is that "greater things can be achieved through sharing one's efforts."
He said that people often work alone in the computer world and hold on to their products. But because Unix programs are improved and perfected by many members of the computer community, it shows that "if you take your effort and give it to the community as a whole, people will build on that and everyone will benefit."
The Installfest will be held at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory auditorium from noon to 6 p.m. this Sunday. The Unix software and installation are both free. The installations are scheduled in two-hour time blocks. Although CHUUG encourages people to sign up for the program on their Web site, where there also is a list of how to prepare your computer for the installation - walk-ins will be accommodated if there is time.
Read More
It’s okay not to be okay
By Mai Hukuoka | 23 hours agoWhether talking to a friend, a loved one or a professional, it is so necessary, and human, to need more than you can provide for yourself.
Taking a break at Tangerines Kitchen
By Charley Thomas | 2 days agoWhat the restaurant somewhat lacks in ambiance, it compensates for in tasty dishes and prompt service.
Virginia Policy Lab — a hub for student-led policy action
By Katherine Haden | December 9, 2024Students propose their own projects and collaborate with other members to research their issues of interest, brainstorm solutions and write policy proposals.
