I have been using a pre-release version of Windows XP Pro for several weeks and can report that it works well. Windows XP hasn’t crashed or locked up my computer. In several weeks of heavy usage, I haven’t seen a single operating system glitch. It has a somewhat better user interface than the earlier versions of Windows. The new XP "look-and-feel" seems a bit less intimidating to the computer newcomer.

I also like Windows XP’s support of new technologies. For instance, I installed Windows XP on a new computer that I had built, which contained a CD-RW drive (for creating my own CD-ROM disks). Windows XP found that drive and automatically installed the appropriate software to read and write CD-ROM data. Previous releases of Windows did not include built-in capability to write CD-ROM disks; the user had to load third-party software, such as Nero or Roxio CD Creator (Roxio was formerly known as Adaptec).

Windows XP also includes built-in software for video cameras, digital photography, and digital music. Windows XP Pro also makes networking much easier, especially wireless networking, which I use extensively. For more information about Windows XP, check with any of the major online technology news sites. I would especially recommend ZDNet at www.zdnet.com/products/stories/reviews/0,4161,2809517,00.html and CNET at www.cnet.com/software/0-806340-1204-6534881.html?tag=sptlt.

All is not perfect in the world of Windows, however. One very controversial new "feature" in Windows XP is the introduction of copy protection. In short, you can only install the operating system on one computer. The new operating system will try for 30 days to contact a Microsoft Web site to register the new system. You can also call a toll-free number to register manually if the PC does not have Internet connectivity. The registration process also records information about the PC that it is installed on, and during registration. Microsoft transfers the information to its servers. If you later try to use the same installation CD and product key on a second PC, the registration process will fail. The Microsoft servers will know that your Windows XP product key has already been used once on the first computer and that this new registration attempt is probably an illegal copy. Microsoft will refuse to honor the registration. That second copy of Windows XP will then stop working after 30 days. You can read more about this copy protection feature on the news sites referenced earlier.

Microsoft also has provided manual methods to cover situations where a user legitimately upgrades to a new PC and wishes to remove Windows XP from the old system and then legally reinstall the same licensed copy of XP on the new PC. In short, the user will have to call Microsoft on the phone and explain why he or she wishes to re-use that license product key. I suspect Microsoft will accept almost any story once or maybe twice. However, if Microsoft starts to receive a lot of calls from people claiming to be upgrading the same license product key, I expect that the company will refuse to honor the requests.

To be sure, other companies have had somewhat similar practices for years. These business tactics are an attempt to stop widespread piracy. Many people have purchased one copy of a program or operating system and then, with a wink, have passed it around to family members, friends, and co-workers for their use, too. While it is a common practice, such software piracy remains illegal. Microsoft is fully within their legal rights to enforce the copyright laws and limit software piracy. Not everyone is in favor of Microsoft’s new piracy control methods, however.

Many people also question the prices of Windows XP. The lowest price is $99 for an upgrade edition to convert an existing copy of Windows 98 or ME to the new Windows XP Home Edition. This scales up to $299 for a complete copy of Windows XP Professional version to be installed on a new computer that does not have a previous version of Windows on it.

When you add the new anti-piracy controls plus the high prices being charged for Windows XP, many people have started looking for alternatives to Microsoft’s operating systems. The leading alternative these days is Linux, a "grass roots" upstart that began as a clone of UNIX but now has evolved into a very stable and rather mature operating system. Best of all, Linux is free. Yes, you can legally obtain a copy of the Linux operating system from a friend and then install it on your PC. You can even make additional copies of Linux CD-ROMs and then pass them on to others, all without worrying about copyright violations. In fact, the producers of Linux encourage you to do so.

Linux first appeared in 1991 when Linus Torvalds, a student in the University of Helsinki in Finland, created the very first version of a new operating system for his own needs. This very rudimentary program was intended to run on the 80386 PC of the age. Torvalds was very familiar with UNIX, so he created his new operating system as a clone of the expensive UNIX systems of the day. The name Linux evolved from Mr. Torvalds’ first name, Linus, and the operating system he was emulating: UNIX. Torvalds also had the good idea of making the operating system available to others at no charge, as he wanted to collaborate with others to improve it. Thanks to the support of the emerging Internet network and the newborn community of developers, Linux went on to become a full operating system. Today its power is unrivalled, and its stability is now legendary. Software developers around the world are still improving Linux for the fun of it, not for monetary gain. Linux remains free of charge for everyone.

Linux is stable, even more so that the new Windows XP. Unlike earlier versions of Windows, a proper Linux installation almost never crashes or locks up. Also, installing new software on Linux normally does not require a reboot of the operating system. Many Linux systems have been left up and running for a year or more without difficulties, a claim that is matched by very few Windows systems! Next, Linux is less demanding of the hardware. The latest version of Windows suggests you need at least 128 megabytes of RAM memory and a rather high-speed CPU to run today’s applications. Linux is very happy on a few megabytes of memory and an inexpensive Pentium processor. In fact, a minimal Linux installation without the graphical user interface will be quite happy on a 486 processor. Adding in the fancy graphics user interface and some more powerful programs will require more memory and CPU power but still less than that required of Windows XP. Linux is much more powerful than Windows XP, assuming both are running on equivalent hardware.

Another unique feature of Linux is its resistance to viruses. Unlike Windows, very few viruses have ever attacked Linux. That is probably due to two factors: (1.) Linux is less popular, so the virus writers don’t spend pay much attention to Linux and (2.) Linux is inherently more secure than Windows. There are fewer "holes" in Linux for virus writing scoundrels to take advantage of. If you have ever dealt with a virus in your Windows system, you may appreciate the relative safety that Linux users enjoy!

If you have a high-speed Internet connection at home or at the office, you can legally download the latest version of Linux from a number of online sites. Typical Linux "distributions" these days require a download of 1,000 to 1,800 megabytes: enough bytes to fill two or three CD-ROM disks. If you do not have a high-speed Internet connection and cannot find a copy of Linux to borrow, you can purchase a copy at a local bookstore or computer store. In-store prices for a barebones Linux installation run about $20 or $30. Some companies will include extra application software and then charge a higher price. Twenty bucks may seem high for an operating system that is supposed to be free, but the in-store packages normally also include a user’s manual of a few hundred pages. The same book without the Linux CD-ROM disks probably sells for nearly the same price, typically $15 to $25. If you download or borrow a free copy of the operating system, you probably will want to buy such a book anyway. In short, $20 or $30 seems to be a bargain for an operating system on CD-ROM plus a good reference manual.

Linux runs well on most PCs as well as on some other hardware. There are versions of Linux available for Macintosh, DEC systems, Sun workstations, and more. There is even a mini-Linux available for the Compaq iPAQ shirt-pocket-sized computer. The most popular hardware platform is the PC. If your PC can run Windows, it can also run Linux. An old 486 system with 2 megabytes of RAM memory will run a stripped-down character mode Linux, but you will need a Pentium with at least 4 megabytes of memory in order to run the nicer-looking graphical user interfaces at a satisfactory speed. Your five-year-old Windows 95 computer may not have enough horsepower for the latest version of Windows, but it will probably be quite happy running a full version of Linux. However, as with almost all operating systems, more memory and higher-speed processors will always improve operation.

Unlike Windows, Linux is available from a variety of companies and organizations. Therefore, you will find less standardization in Linux than in Windows. Whenever you buy Windows XP, you know that it will look the same as every other version of Windows XP that you find on friends’ computers. In contrast, each distributor of Linux is free to modify the "look and feel" and to bundle or unbundle things differently. As a result, there are many different "distributions" of Linux, a variety that may be confusing to the newcomer. I use Mandrake’s free Linux distribution and am quite pleased with it. This free version can be downloaded from www.mandrake.com. You can also buy the three CD-ROM disks for only $5.95 plus shipping from LinuxCentral.com at www.linuxcentral.com/catalog/index.php3?prod_code=L000-116&id=4A6HebWXlrBKM. Another Linux distribution that I hear is great for newcomers is Best Linux, available free at www.bestlinux.net. However, you will also find other people who are equally pleased with Linux distributions from other providers.

Keep in mind that Linux was developed by techies for use by techies. It is still a somewhat complex operating system and hasn’t been fine-tuned for use by computer novices. The newer distributions, especially the Mandrake 8.1 Linux release, have become much more user-friendly. Unlike earlier versions of Linux, I found the Mandrake 8.1 Linux release to be very easy to install, as easy as Windows XP. However, I would still not refer to Linux as a "plug-and-play" operating system like Windows or the Macintosh. Linux is for the user who has a good understanding of software and operating systems. If you feel comfortable configuring software and tweaking an operating system’s settings, you may enjoy Linux. If you don’t know the difference between a config file and a registry, then I’d suggest you should stay with Windows or Macintosh as your operating system.

The biggest drawback of Linux, in my mind, is the lack of applications software. Linux will not run programs written for Windows, except as detailed a bit later in this article. When you first install Linux you will only be able to run programs written for Linux. While the list of available Linux programs is growing daily, it still is a much shorter list than that of Windows.

Not only is Linux a free operating system, but many of the applications programs are free as well. You can find high-quality, user-friendly software for many purposes available at no charge. Most of these free applications can be downloaded online. I have installed an e-mail program, a word processor, a spreadsheet program, and a graphics presentation program on my Linux system, all of which are as high quality as the leading equivalent programs for Windows. These programs are roughly equivalent to Microsoft Office, including Word, Excel, Outlook, and PowerPoint.

StarOffice for Linux has approximately the same capabilities and is free of charge. By contrast, Microsoft Office for Windows sells for about $500, depending upon which version is obtained. For the Windows system you need to add in $199 for Windows XP Home Edition or $299 for Windows XP Professional. Now you can quickly see the difference: $700 to $800 total for a Microsoft operating system plus an office productivity suite versus zero cost for the same functionality on Linux. I should point out that there is a free StarOffice for Windows as well as for Linux. You could easily use that on a Windows system, reducing the cost in the above formula to $199 or $299. See www.sun.com/staroffice/6.0beta for more details about Sun Microsystem’s StarOffice. Much of this week’s newsletter was written with StarOffice.

I should also point out that StarOffice isn’t the only free office productivity program; it simply is the one that I use. You can find others as well.

If you are willing to spend a bit of money, you can also purchase WordPerfect Office 2000 for Linux. This is a Linux version of the popular WordPerfect office productivity suite for Windows. WordPerfect Office for Linux doesn’t appear to be any more powerful than the free StarOffice. However, it will appeal to WordPerfect users who like the WordPerfect user interface. WordPerfect Office 2000 for Linux is available in two editions: Standard ($99.95) and Deluxe ($149.95).

So what is available for Linux genealogy programs? The quick answer is, "Not much." Now we have encountered the Achilles Heel of Linux for genealogists. You can only find three Linux genealogy programs available today, and one of them is no longer supported by its creator.

Lifelines was the first genealogy program to become available for Linux. Lifelines was written by Tom Wetmore about 1991, and he continued to improve it until 1994 or so. In those days Linux had a straight command line interface; it didn’t use a mouse and didn’t use overlapping windows running in graphics mode. Lifelines was developed to match that interface. It is strictly a keyboard program with no graphics. The program looks rather crude when compared to today’s Windows and Macintosh programs, but it was quite powerful for its time and ran quickly on the typical 486 systems of the day. LifeLines does not create fancy graphics reports, does not store pictures or sound bytes, and it does not create multimedia scrapbooks. LifeLines versions were created for Linux, UNIX, and Solaris. An MS-DOS version was also developed but never achieved much popularity. While no longer supported by the developer, LifeLines is still favored by quite a few dedicated users. You can still download it at no cost. For more information about LifeLines, look at: www.genealogy.org/~ttw/lines/lines.html. Be aware that the information there is quite dated, however. That Web page was last updated on 29 December 29 1995.

Ftree is another free genealogy program for Linux. Written by Clive Stubbings, Ftree runs in a windowed type of environment (this is "X-Windows," not to be confused with Microsoft Windows), and it does use a mouse for some functions. However, it is not a graphics-oriented program. You can see screen shots of the program in operation at www.vjet.demon.co.uk/ftree/screenshots.html. To find more information about Ftree for Linux or to download the program, go to: www.vjet.demon.co.uk/ftree/.

Gramps (Genealogical Research and Analysis Management Programming System) is a new genealogy program for Linux as well as for BSD and Unix systems. Gramps has numerous advanced features, including the ability to generate HTML files suitable for uploading to a Web site. Gramps seems to have more features available than the other Linux genealogy programs but still does not yet approach power of the free Windows programs: Legacy 3.0 and Personal Ancestral File 5.0. You can find more information about Gramps at: gramps.sourceforge.net/

So if we cannot find a powerful and modern Linux genealogy program, what is the Linux user to do? The quick answer is, "Run a Windows genealogy program!" This reply isn’t as silly as it sounds. There are several Windows emulators available for Linux systems. These emulators make it possible to run most well-behaved Windows programs on a Linux system. To be sure, the programs will probably run a bit slower than they would on similar Windows systems. However, they do allow the user to have the best of both worlds: a stable and free operating system that runs a modern, high-powered genealogy program.

One package that will let you run Windows programs on a Linux system is called Wine. Wine (which stands for "Wine Is Not an Emulator") is a free implementation of Windows 3.x under Linux. As its name suggests, it technically is not an emulator, but the end result is the same: you can run 16-bit Windows applications under Linux. Wine is 100 percent Microsoft-free code, but it can optionally use native system DLLs if they are available. Wine comes with complete sources, documentation, and examples. Wine can be freely copied and given to others. However, it is still a developers-only package; it is not yet ready for general release. There are numerous bugs in the latest release. Additionally, many standard Windows features haven’t yet been ported to Wine. Wine also operates only with 16-bit Windows programs, which excludes a lot of modern software. If you are not a software developer, I’d suggest that you avoid Wine.

VMWare Express is a very popular Windows emulator that allows the user to run well-behaved Windows applications on a Linux system. However, be aware that VMWare Express is very demanding on the resources of a system, so it requires more hardware, a faster processor, and more memory than some other solutions. VMWare Express has been around for some time, is stable, and also is very popular. It is modestly priced at $49.95. Details are available at: www.vmware.com/products/desktop/exp_features.html

Moving up in capability, Win4Lin (Windows for Linux) by NeTraverse is a fully developed, robust, and reliable 32-bit emulation of Windows 98 that operates under Linux. Win4Lin allows you to run most Windows applications on a Linux system as well as to share files and printers. You can run both Windows 98 and Linux applications simultaneously. The manufacturer has tested it with all the leading Windows programs, including Microsoft Office, Intuit Quicken, Adobe Photoshop, Lotus SmartSuite, Intuit TurboTax, RealPlayer and much more. However, to my knowledge, it has not been tested with today’s leading genealogy programs.

I recently added Win4Lin to my Mandrake Linux system and have been impressed with it. Do not be surprised if you read about the use of Windows genealogy programs on a Linux system in future editions of this newsletter!

Win4Lin is a commercial program that costs $79.99 when downloaded online. If you prefer, you can buy a CD-ROM copy with a printed user’s manual for $89.99. , look at: Read more about Win4Lin.

Lindows is an interesting new operating system that has recently been announced. Lindows is an operating system that is based on Linux, but it also includes built-in support of Windows programs. The announcement claims that Lindows can run Linux programs side-by-side with Windows programs, with no Windows emulator required. Lindows is being released as a commercial operating system with a retail price of about $100. Lindows is an announced product that is not expected to ship until some time in early 2002. If it lives up to advertised claims, Lindows should become a very popular operating system. You can find more information about Lindows at www.lindows.com.

In summation, Linux is a great operating system for many sophisticated computer users. This free operating system features rock-solid stability and a lot of good, free software to meet common needs. However, it is somewhat hobbled by limited availability of software for specialty applications such as genealogy. Is it for everyone? Certainly not. Computer novices should avoid Linux. However, it may be a good fit for you if you are looking for a new challenge and want to learn more about operating systems. If you own only one computer, the combination of Linux and Win4Lin or VMWare Express will give you the best of both worlds. If you recently upgraded to a new computer for Windows and still have the old system lying around gathering dust, you might want to load Linux on the older system and experiment a bit.

There is a wealth of information about Linux available online. One place to start is at Mandrake’s Web site: www.linux-mandrake.com/en/linux.php3. Also take a look at www.linux.org and at www.linuxcentral.com.

I have a Linux system and have been using it quite a bit recently. Depending upon your feedback and feedback from other readers of this newsletter, you may find more information about using Linux for genealogy in future editions of this newsletter.

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