Welcome to 'This Week', my occasional series about what I have read recently. You are encouraged to tell me if you have written or read something cool that I should notice. Another person to do just that is Rich McIver:

> Hi Zeth, ><br> We recently published "`Linux for Business: 50 Apps to Get your Office on Open Source`_". I figured I'd bring it to your attention in case you think your readers would find it useful. ><br>Either way, keep up the great blogging!

Reading through the list I was reminded how much great stuff there is available from the Open Source community. Are there any businesses of significant size that do not use at least any free/open-source software somewhere in the organisation? I doubt it. It just shows how far we have come. It won't be long before we will be at the point where no computer user will be without some free software on their PC, even if they do not realise that it is there. We are winning, just very subtly and quietly.

Calling all in transit - Radio Free Europe Amarok

Something that should wake us up a bit is a live 24/7 online free music station. The ever-kinetic Mez is working on 'Radio Amarok'. It sounds absolutely fantastic, an idea whose time has certainly arrived. As regular readers will know, I absolutely love trawling around the web for new Creative Commons-licenced music to stick on my Rockbox to listen to while walking around the city.

The webpage (currently just a holding page), explains that the aim to use only Free Software in the creation of the radio station and only freely licenced music played on air. It is a fantastic concept. Free Software/open source is the beginning of us gaining digital freedom, music is one of the next important steps forward.

The webpage also mentions that it wants to have a talk show about KDE, I'm not sure how that fits in with free music, the former is quite limited interest, but the latter is potentially of interest to anyone who likes music (including GNOME users and real people outside the current free/open source community), but hey, try anything once (except incest and morris dancing - Oscar Wilde). They can always change the branding as they go.

Python Web Frameworks

As you know I have started to use Pylons even though it is somewhat poorly documented right now and it takes a while to get anything actually done in it.

Well Andrew W has really stepped up to the plate and reviewed all three of the latest Python web frameworks. Andrew is a professional geek above all geeks (university programmer/researcher), and even he also found that the steps into Pylons are significantly steeper than in Django and Turbogears, so there is hope for the rest of us after all! I still like the ideas in Pylons and am waiting eagly for the book to come out, I'll write a review then.

Unbundle the PC

It is the declared policy of the European Commission to make the operating systems market more competitive, success being measured by the respective market shares of the various competitors moving significantly back into a more healthy balance.

The Globalisation Institute is an influential Brussels-based think tank, they have been researching how to actually do that in practice, this is summarised in a two-page policy briefing (PDF format). The Globalisation Institute concludes that the Windows monopoly is bad for business, bad for society and bad for Europe, and "Windows' competitors, like Red Hat Linux are cheaper but locked out by bundling".

They looked at every other possible option, but the only way to restore competition, the only way that could actually work, is to "simply to insist that operating systems are purchased separately from desktop and laptop computers."

So if I buy a DVD player from a shop and take it home, I have to plug it into my TV for it to actually do anything. Likewise, the idea would be that you buy the hardware, you buy the software, you take everything home and put software on the hardware. Before you dismiss this idea, you should really read the briefing, it answers all the most predictable criticisms:

"We do not believe this would add complexity for consumers. Consumers would simply be asked to insert an operating system DVD when they first turn on a new computer, which would then automatically configure itself."

According to the report, the idea is that manufacturers of computers would compete to make this experience as painless as possible. The recommended policy allows the hardware manufacturer to include a helpful driver DVD that can be used after the operating system is installed.

I certainly agree with the findings of this policy briefing. Users must take control of their own computers. Having users neglect their responsibilities, combined with the software monoculture, is what has lead to such a fertile climate for viruses, malware, botnets and so on.

Every user would also have at least two DVDs, one with the operating system on, and one with the manufacturer's extras on. So every user would always be able to reinstall their system to this state. This is far superior to some current setups where the user gets the computer but without the complete installation CDs, but rather some watered-down half-arsed restore CDs which may or may not actually work two years down the line.

On the question of piracy, the policy briefing points out that other companies manage to successfully sell software on CD/DVD, so Microsoft, which already has activation for its software, should not get special treatment.

When faced with the choice of trying out alternate operating systems cheaply or for free, or paying several hundred pounds for Microsoft software, then many will choose the former: "Unbundling would foster a competitive market, increase consumer choice and reduce prices."

All good news for us Europeans. It also means that Microsoft will have to reduce the price that it charges in stores for the unbundled operating system compared to the OEM price.

Don't forget at the moment, that you are also heavily ripped off by virtue of being a European. In America, you can walk into Best Buy and pick up Windows Vista Ultimate for $379.99 American Dollars, that is £186.41 British pounds. In England, if you walk into PC World, Windows Vista Ultimate, the exact same software, costs £369.99 British Pounds, that is $754.19 American Dollars. So British consumers are ripped of by a further $374.20 dollars or £183.58 pounds. Good thing that no one is rushing out to buy Vista yet anyway.

We have talked about home consumers so far, what about companies? Well how it works in the moment, is that a company will buy a PC that comes with Windows (even if you do not need it), and they will then reinstall it with the corporate image. So the new policy it would not any trouble for them, but they can save on not having to buy Windows licences if they do not need them.

At the moment there is no financial incentive for many companies to try out something else, because they were given Windows to start with. Under the unbundled policy, companies and institutions can choose to try out a cheaper or free operating system and save the difference, reducing their costs.

Most companies either depend on the state of the economy as a whole or have their own industry cycles. So every company has ups and downs, it is in the slump periods when cost-cutting becomes extremely important and the indirect bother of changing seems less important than the direct cash savings.

If the company is scared of going bust this year, arguments about long-term and intangible 'cost of ownership' studies do not matter, you have just got to cut the luxuries. If it is a choice between proprietary licences and salaries, even the most die-hard Windows supporter becomes a Richard Stallman.

If a company moves to Linux in the low, then when times improve, and if Linux has equivalent or better functionality, then there is no reason to switch back to Windows when the good times return, it is just an extra cost.

How to Start in Linux?

Talking about switching to Linux, if you have arrived at this blog randomly and never used Linux before but you are interested then one place to start would be to read Menelkir's post.

One of the interesting points that he raises is about whether you should bother burning your own install CD or order one online. I have always just toasted my own and often talked about that on this blog. But thinking about it, in 2007, ordering a CD online might be a really good way to start, especially if you are not an IT worker/student and so have pressing commitments on your time away from the computer. Maximising the time you spend inside Linux is how to be productive and so feel like you are getting somewhere.

If someone has never burned a CD before, and all they have is Windows, then the worst-case scenario is that they have to get decent cd-burning software and then take a few attempts to actually burn it (i.e. burn it is an image not a file!). This might take them a frustrating couple of hours if they are alone (tip: don't be alone - use online help such as IRC, or real-life help at your local Linux User Group) and learning as they go. Of course it is really easy if you already know how, but flying the space shuttle is really easy if you already know how.

I was a bit indecisive whether I should mention particular options here, but just saying "order a CD online" is not very practical. When the BBC promotes it's own TV guide it says "other programme listings are available", so I take the same approach here. The following is what I know works, there will be other great (and not so great) options out there too. If you have used one of these other options then please tell us about it by leaving a comment.

If you are really patient then you can use the Ubuntu ShipIt system to get a CD postage and cost free, but they only ship twice per year or something, so you might be waiting a while. I received one of these and the CD itself came in a groovy red colour.

Another example is the Linux Emporium who are based here in Europe, they are a small organisation/company who aim to spread Linux and open source software in various ways, they have been around in one form or another for a decade or two.

The Linux Emporium will burn a CD for you and post it to you straight away. For example, at the current price, a single CD distro to me in the UK works out at less than a fiver, pretty good considering that most of the cost will be postage and taxes, even better when you think about the cost of Windows Vista (see above). Ubuntu and Fedora both have single CD bootable LiveCDs, so that might be one place to start.

An advantage of that is you get the name of your chosen distribution printed directly on the CD. I have several hundred home-burned CDs and I have no idea what is on them!

Another source of premade CDs are magazines sometimes mount Linux install/LiveCDs on their cover. These days, I only read a lot of computer magazines when I go on long trips, but one magazine that comes to my head now is "Linux: User and Developer", but there are many others too.

More expensive options are distributions that are shrink-wrapped in cardboard boxes with a manual/and or telephone support, you can get this from places like the Linux Emporium or directly from that distribution. This is one of the options that Menelkir discusses. I personally have never needed phone support but again, if you are in a rush and have money, it will be quicker than Googling for the answer. Again, if you are an IT worker/student, save the money for beer.

The last option that I can think of is to email your local LUG and say that you want to try Linux for the first time, and ask whether anyone got a spare CD that they do not need any more. You never know, you might find someone in your local who can help you. If someone actually comes around and provides free computing help, then be sure to give them a beer or make them a simple meal. Reciprocity is very important, as is being a polite neighbour.

More Advanced Linux

A couple of months ago, I rationalised the Linux distros into ten Linux Distributions that were worth knowing about if you were coming to it from scratch. Bruce Byfield wittles it down to seven distributions.

I did a random rant last week trying to understand the computers around me and how I got here, i.e. that using two different distros is the most optimal set up for me, there is no single distro to rule them all. Andrew L has written 'The Return of the Prodigal Son', explaining his setup and also his latest experience of installing Gentoo.

On the same subject of my own computing setup, I recently started to think outloud about how I might replace my home server. On that note, Rachel Greenham explains how to set up the 'perfect home server'.

Let's end this week with this thought from Richard Mason:

> Now I feel that just in the last couple of years, we have started to come round again with the re-universalization of the geek. All of a sudden everyone is desperate to be a geek. We have people claiming to be "drama geeks" and "wine geeks." I say, what the $&#* is a wine geek? Is there a Doctor Who episode about wine?

Doctor Who, like all true geeks, drinks Real Ale of course.

Discuss this post - leave a comment.