Social Inequality And Gender Inequality Essay - 2091 Words

Social inequality is defined as the set of unequal opportunities for different social classes or statuses for various individuals within a group or society. It usually refers to people of distinct genders, ages, and ethnicities. Many American’s have experienced some type of social inequality throughout their lifetime. America’s gaping inequality is seen everywhere from education to the workforce. Society tends to oversee inequality based on race, gender, and other social characteristics . Americans believe that racial discrimination no longer hinders or affects the advancement of minorities. Racial and ethnic actions are still being taken towards minorities in education, employment, housing, arrests, and many other issues of society. Social inequality and discrimination towards minorities is clear in everyday society. This can be seen by the way inequality is still persistent among the social classes. Among these classes formed by society, minorities tend to be one of the most affected. This is noticed by the way education remains segregated, the wage inequality, and the constant cycle of poverty. Many have used their voice to shine light on these issues, articles and authors such as â€Å"Social Inequality and Educational Disadvantage† by the Russel Sage Foundation argue the lack of equal assortment of resources between the rich and the poor is leaving them with the disparity of proper resources, and Jean Anyon’s â€Å"From Social Class and The Hidden Curriculum of Work† in herShow MoreRelatedSocial Inequality And Gender Inequality Essay2163 Words   |  9 Pagesn AmericaSocial inequality is defined as the set of unequal for different social classes or statuses for various individuals within a group or society. It usually refers to people of distinct genders, ages and ethnicities. Many American’s have experienced some type of social inequality throughout their lifetime. America’s gaping inequality is seen everywhere from education to the workforce. Society tends to oversee inequality based on race, gender, and other social characteristics believe that racialRead MoreGender Inequality : A Good Understanding Of The Social Inequality Essay1487 Words   |  6 PagesAs a female college student I feel the necessity to have a good understanding of the social inequalities around me. Although, women have socially grown with more power over the years, it is not enough to equalize with the men. For example, the pay gap difference between men and women for not having the â€Å"testosterone bonus† even though the same education and qualifications are present. I hope that over time I will be able to experience a change and have the same equal rights as men because I feelRead MoreGender Inequality : A Social Problem1728 Words   |  7 Pagesanalyze why a social problem exists, came to be and where its future lies. The best explanation on why gender inequality is, always has been, and will continue to be a social problem is from the functionalist perspective. Functionalist focus on how a society creates the social problem an d then analyzes how and why the social issue has been maintained over the years. The objective reality is that gender inequality has and always will be a major issue in society. The scope of gender inequality has changedRead MoreGender Inequality And The Social Construction Of Gender1562 Words   |  7 Pagesthe differences in the social construction of gender, race, class, and sexuality have led to discrimination and inequality of those classified under a variety of these categories. Through understanding the significance of these social constructs on society it becomes apparent the intersectionality they have when it comes to understanding why certain groups may face discrimination or inequality. This paper examines gender inequality and how the social construction of gender makes it difficult forRead MoreGender Inequality : A Social Problem1016 Words   |  5 PagesGender inequality is a social problem that is widespread in society. It is referred to as the unfair treatment of individuals based on one s gender. Historically, laws have opposed women to go to school, access certain jobs, and purchase property. Gender inequality has been experience through culture – honor-killing, sex-selective abortion, and society – occupation, gender roles, and education. The social expectations of men and women differ between cultures that are constructed socially and culturallyRead MoreSocial Class And Gender Inequality972 Words   |  4 PagesEquality has been and will always be a problem in our world. Not everyone can choose to have the job they want, do what they want or simply live the life they want. There is inequality in matters of race, sexual orientation, social class and gender. I know that both genders face some sort of gender inequality. While browsing through the internet, I saw four advertisements that depicted women in a sexist and discriminatory way. I chose to do my essay on these advertisements because I find them relatableRead MoreSocia l Stratification And Gender Inequality Essay1486 Words   |  6 Pagesmultiple forms of social stratification whether it may be social class, caste, slavery, race or even gender. Social stratification places groups of people in a hierarchy depending on their social status which is respective to their economic income. This in turn determines their social position in society. With social stratification comes social mobility. These two terms are commonly found together when describing social stratification. Social mobility is simply â€Å"the change of social status within societyRead MoreThe Social Issue Of Gender Inequality1939 Words   |  8 PagesThe Social Issue of Gender Inequality between Men and Women Nakia Bell University of South Alabama Abstract In this paper, I will be discussing the social issue of gender inequality between men and women. Gender inequality is a problem that is widely recognized and affects men and women alike. Gender inequality affects employment, earnings, how individuals are viewed, etc. This issue is one that needs to be resolved so women, and men, can make progress toward a gender-neutral societyRead MoreSocial Inequality : Race And Gender1893 Words   |  8 PagesSOCIAL INEQUALITY Race and Gender 1 a.) As defined by sociology, a minority group is one that is singled out and treated as lesser people, and given less say and resources than those who are of a higher station in society ((Ed.), (n.d)). The importance of having different ‘classes’ in society is that it defines who will be the one who serves those at the top and those who will be at the top. Although the separation of each class gives a clearer definition of who we are in society we should notRead MoreGender Inequality And Relevant Social Norms959 Words   |  4 PagesBuilt on the racial inequality discussed in the previous session, we continued to examine gender inequality and relevant social norms. It is interesting for me to see several female students, such as Teresa, Barbara, Katy, are not uncomfortable with being considered as inferior to their male counterparts in family and the external society. However, when imagining they had daughters, they unanimously said that they would love to teach their daughters to be independent and non-obedient. In my opinion

Racism as a Message in a Lesson Before Dying - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 2 Words: 737 Downloads: 2 Date added: 2019/08/13 Category Literature Essay Level High school Tags: A Lesson Before Dying Essay Racism Essay Did you like this example? As Jefferson finds himself, in the wrong place watching a robbery of a liquor store. He himself is convicted and sentenced to death by an electric chair. A lesson before dying by Ernest J. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Racism as a Message in a Lesson Before Dying" essay for you Create order Gaines writes with the message about how people are treated based on their race. Jeffersons defense attorney pleads with the court as hes being convicted to death by comparing him to a hog who isnt even worth executing. Grant Wiggins is a character who is an educated black teacher in the same town, who is also treated differently compared to others based on his race. Nearing the end closing onto the time before Jefferson is about to die, he begins to regain his humanity and starts recording his thoughts in a diary. As Jefferson dies in the end, he turns into more of a human than a hog and, In the end, he dies with the dignity of changing himself into the person he wants to be. Gaines book set in the time before the Civil rights movements has the main idea about the brutal system that is tinted in racism, judgment, and treatment of African Americans. Gaines supports his theme of racism throughout the book with certain sentences such as I had come through that back door against my will, and it seemed that he and the sheriff were doing everything they could to humiliate me even more by making me wait on them (44) as the author is explaining that white people are allowed to humiliate black people without facing them or even speaking to them. As the idea of entering in the back door brings the idea of the segregation of blacks and white being separated in entering through separate doors. The idea of the people who enter through the back door (African American) has to wait till the white people have eaten or been served which shows the idea of control over others lives. Ernest J. Gaines books setting takes place in the pre-civil rights movements in Louisiana wi th signs of segregation between blacks and whites. In Gaines book A lesson before dying, there are 3 main characters that reveal the main points in the book. Grant Wiggins plays the role as the protagonist in the book, the narrator who experiences the most changes throughout the book as he starts looking for what he can change and help his community after he had given up the change in education. The mentor in the book is the character, Jefferson. He starts out as a quite character, but gets thrown into a tough situation nearing the end, he doesnt let people define who he is as a person, he defines himself as a man, and he helps to teach Grant to do that as well. With the major idea of racism being the message Gaines is portraying to the reader, a sentence to the reader that helps support the theme of racism would be We black men have failed to protect our women since the time of slavery. We stay here in the South and are broken, or we run away and leave them alone to look after the children and themselves (166) this message said by Grant shows an inside to the historical effects of slavery on society and how societal structures and relationships are affected. Carl Senna, the writer of the article Dying like a man, says in his writing a white sheriff tells a condemned black man to write in his diary that he has been fairly treated. Although the prisoner assents, nothing could be farther from the truth (Senna, Carl. Dying Like a Man. The New York Times, The New York Times, 8 Aug. 1993, archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/97/12/28/bsp/16002.html.) which goes along of stating that the white sheriff wants the black man to lie and write he h as been treated well which is the opposite of what has happened. Throughout the Book, the author Gaines has one strong message that stands out more than others, which is about racism. How the treatment of people is based on the color of their skin, and the journey of one character being falsely accused of a crime he did not commit, but at the end of it all, learning to not let others define who he is and even though he ends up dying in the end, he dies with dignity and whom he wants to be as a person.

Diabetes and Cardiovascular Disease in New Zealand Free Essays

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) and diabetes are major health issues for Maori, Pacific and south Asian people. The impacts of these diseases are increasing hospital admissions and readmissions hence increasing with an aging population. (Kaitiaki Nursing, New Zealand, 2013, pg. We will write a custom essay sample on Diabetes and Cardiovascular Disease in New Zealand or any similar topic only for you Order Now 20). Diabetes mellitus has been well pronounced as a cardiovascular risk factor in New Zealand and people with diabetes are 2-4 times more likely to suffer from CVD hence is a leading cause of death in diabetic patients (ministry of health, 2011, pg. 2). Diabetes mellitus type 2 is a preventable and reversible condition giving rise to a range of serious complications associated with nerve and blood vessel damage that bring on blindness, limb amputations, kidney disease, and increased risk of infection (Powers, 2005). According to Diabetes New Zealand (2008), people with diabetes increases the risk of developing narrowed, thickened or completely occluded arteries (atherosclerosis) due to an elevated blood sugar level. Insulin resistant diabetes (type 2) or a complete absence of insulin (type 1) increases serum lipid levels as cells try to break down fats and protein to form energy. Lipids are released as the bio-product which then travels in blood increasing the risk for occlusion in blood vessels. Hyperglycaemia, insulin resistance and altered serum lipid levels are responsible for formation of coronary plaque and blood clot in vessels. This leads to health issues such as ischaemic heart disease, stroke, hypertension myocardial infarction etc. (Lewis, 2012, 1388-1389). In New Zealand Maori, Pacific Islanders and South Asians are at a higher risk of developing diabetes, increasing chances of dying of cardiovascular diseases. Modifiable factors such as nutrition, physical inactivity, smoking, alcohol consumption and body size influence the risk of getting affected by diabetes and CVD. According to Ministry of Health (2008) diabetes occurs earlier in Pacific and Maori peoples, about 10 years before Europeans which contributes to an increased risk of chronic health conditions and mortality rate. It is appraised that due to demographic trends and projected growth in obesity, the number of diabetes cases will increase and the increase will be greater within the Maori, Pacific, and south Asian populations (Ministry of Health, 2008d). 5% of adults in New Zealand meet the criteria for obesity due to lifestyle, unhealthy nutrition and increased physical inactivity (eg. 42% of Maori and 63. 7% of Pacific peoples meet the criteria for obesity). The New Zealand Medical Journal, 2006 states that Asian new Zealanders especially Indians show a very high percentage of diabetes and CVD which is similar to Maori people (A meratunga, Rasanathan, Tse, 2006). According to the Ministry of Health (2009), more Maori, South Asian and pacific people died from the year 1987- 2006 when compared to non-Maori. Obesity is primarily caused by poor nutrition and sedentary lifestyles (Ministry of Health, 2008e). The New Zealand sport and physical activity surveys (conducted in 1997/98, 1998/99, and 2000/01) by Sport and Recreation New Zealand (SPARC) found that Pacific, Maori and south Asian children had higher levels of inactivity than other groups. Additionally, a healthy diet is a key determinant of health outcomes and is particularly important for the growth and development. With regards to ministry of health (2003), Maori, south Asian and more of pacific people in new Zealand tend to eat more unhealthy food as it came cheaper and children skipped breakfast due to lack of parental supervision. Smoking is seen to be another lifestyle adaptation amongst the New Zealand community and the leading risk factor for many forms of cardiovascular disease and diabetes. More Maori and Pacific individuals’ smoke (45 percent and 31 percent, respectively) compared with the total New Zealand population (20. percent) (Ministry of Health, 2008k). The Youth 2007 Survey found that twice as many Pacific students are regular smokers when compared to European students. Furthermore, level of economic resources available to the pacific and south asian people is another important social determinants of health. Asians generally do not show increased health issues statistically but south Asian particularly Indians are at a very high risk. Despite high levels of disease, Indi an New Zealanders are rarely presumed as a priority group in current diabetes strategies. For example, â€Å"Let’s Beat Diabetes Strategy† by Counties Manukau District Health Board fails to mention Indian people specifically but considers the general Asian population. Another possibility for the disproportionate effect on south Asian and pacific people could be higher levels of unemployment and lower income as a group (ministry of health, 2006). This is partly due to a lack of effective settlement strategies for migrant Asians and pacific people to New Zealand. Lack of employment and difficulties settling into the host community are associated with negative health effects and reduced accessibility to health care facility (Ameratunga, Rasanathan, Tse, 2006). The risk associated with diabetes and cardiovascular disease can be reduced and these conditions only respond well if managed with appropriate care. Evidence proposes that many Pacific individuals are often ignorant of the government services offered to them (Koloto Associates Ltd, 2007; Paterson, 2004). This demonstrates ineffective communication by health information services and providers. Primarily, nurses need to build a trusting therapeutic relationship via therapeutic communication techniques such as active listening, paraphrasing etc. It facilitates client autonomy, creates a non-judgmental environment and provides the professional with the holistic view of the client for better management. With reference to the case study by Counties Manukau DHB (Ministry of Health, 2011, pg. 6) the diabetic patient (Mr Cooper) found it difficult to follow instructions given by the doctor therefore his diabetes nurse helped him with all the information he needed. He verbalised ‘I learned a lot from the nurse. I learned how serious diabetes is and how it is not going to go away, but also how it is possible to live a normal life if you manage what you eat, etc. ’ This specifies that nurses are the closest health professionals who spends the most time with patients and so can work with the patients in partnership. In order to manage diabetes and CVD effectively (Ministry of health, 2011, pg. 2), it is very important for nurses to educate their patients about the risk factors and what needs to be done to improve early detection and management of diabetes and CVD. Adherence to therapies anticipated to control risk factors such as lipid levels or blood pressure for patients with type 2 diabetes is seen to reduce major cardiovascular complications and increase survival (Barrat, Butow, Caldwell, Davey Travena, 2006,pg. 13-23) . One probable way to improve patients’ metabolic control is to help them understand the risks of the disease and the likely benefits of available therapy options. Research has shown that information on the potential benefits of improving modifiable risk factors may assist both health professionals and patients in making treatment decision. This may increase patients’ willingness to accept management strategies recommended by their doctors and nurses. In fact, nurses as health educators can use diverse formats (e. g. decision aids, brochures, verbal advice) increasing patients’ knowledge and understanding (Barrat, Butow, Caldwell, Davey Travena, 2006, 13-23). However, as suggested by the New Zealand Guidelines Group (2003) nurses and other health professionals need to make use of an evidence-based practice in the management of diabetes as well as assessing the risk of cardiovascular disease. However, despite CVD and diabetes assessments being developed, uptake is often low. A possible reason for this is that many Pacific and Maori people do not prioritise health and generally would not seek any help unless they have physical symptoms such as pain or discomfort. With reference to nursing council of New Zealand competency 3. 2 forming partnership with the client and raising awareness for example informing and referring Maori patients about management programmes such as â€Å"Get Checked† which provides free annual check-up for people with diabetes. This programme focuses on physical health, lifestyle and disease management. According to Robson and Harris (2007), Maori enrolment in get checked programme in 2006 was lower than non-Maori. This is a clear indicator of moari people’s lack of knowledge about services being provided. However, nurses as professionals should practice nursing in a very culturally safe manner by acknowledging patients values beliefs and attitude towards health care. For example Maori people believe in â€Å"kanohi te kanohi† meaning face to face communication therefore nurses need to have more in person communication (Reid Robson, 2007). Nurses should also inform clients about initiatives for example â€Å"one heart many lives† which allows Maori and pacific men to get their hearts checked, improve awareness of heart disease and lifestyle habits. Furthermore, CVD assessment allows an early detection of the number of people being at risk of cardiovascular disease. The sooner it is detected the earlier these issues can be controlled as stated in the document published by the ministry of health (2011). The practice nurse is the key person to co-ordinate care for instance after reviewing a diabetic patient he or she may decide to refer the patient to the dietician. This way the patient is given an efficient holistic care with appropriate information (Kaitiaki Nursing, New Zealand, 2013, pg. 27) Nurses need to collaborate with the clients, agree on patient centered health goals such as promotion, prevention and early management of diabetes and cardiovascular disease by setting achievable and measurable goals. For example, ministry of health national health information Board launched a Shared Care Plan in 2011 which was in response to increasing number of deaths due to poor management of chronic illnesses. This programme aims to improve care of patients by increasing patient involvement (Kaitiaki Nursing, New Zealand, march, 2013, pg. 26). The New Zealand Cardiovascular Risk Chart shows that diabetic people who smoke are at much higher risk of developing CVD when compared to a non-diabetic and non-smoker (New Zealand guidelines Group, 2009). According to Solberg (2006) there is evidence that professional advice given by the health care provider helps patients to quit smoking. Nurses can effectively use the ABC tool provided by the ministry of health (2007) to help patients to quit smoking. Nurses need to inform clients about the advantages of being a non-smoker financially and health wise and provide alternative as to how nicotine replacement therapy helps minimise the urge to smoke. A practice nurse is responsible for most of patients’ assessments and health education, therefore nurses need to understand the standpoint of her patient and what does being healthy means to them. Establishing relationships and understanding their culture and customs. For example food plays a big role in pacific, Maori and south Asian culture. Family involvement in care plan is very important in shaping attitudes and activities as family plays an important role in their lives also explaining the effects of unhealthy and sedentary lifestyle. Nurses should use plain language and ensure the patient and their family understands what changes they need to make and why they need to make them. They should also make sure that the patient and family are fully informed about the care plan and any procedures being done to maximise care (Blakely, 2007). In conclusion it can be said that patients are fully dependant on nurses with regards to any health issues they have. Nurses are the first form of contact to patient in primary and secondary care setting who provides them with accurate information. It is very important for nurses to be aware of the fact that Maori, Pacific and South Asian New Zealander are more proned to diabetes and CVD therefore more emphasis should be given to them. During the assessment nurses should always consider patients socio-economic inequality, access to and quality of health care, and health risk factors such as tobacco, diet, and other lifestyle factors. 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Linux 2 Essay Example For Students

Linux 2 Essay Table of Contents LINUXI.IntroductionA. What is Linux1. Where did Linux came from2. When was Linux introduced3. Types of LinuxB. Benefits of Linux1. Performance2. Usability3. Features4. CostII.Getting StartedA.System RequirementsB.InstallationIII.Cool StuffA.X WindowsB.Networking C.System AdministrationIV.ConclusionWhat is LINUX?LINUX is a free, highly advanced, open-source operating system for PCs and Workstations. Technically, LINUX is an operating system kernel, the core part of an operating system. The LINUX kernel is commonly bundled with many other components to form a complete LINUX System or Distribution. When most people refer to LINUX, they are talking about this complete set of programs needed to run a computer, not just the kernel. Many people know of, or have at least heard of, UNIX. UNIX is both one of the oldest and one of the most powerful operating systems available today. How can UNIX be old and yet powerful by todays standards†, you ask. The answer to this qu estion lies in the history of UNIX; UNIX is a sort of subset of a much larger and more complex operating system called MULTICS. Both UNIX and MULTICS were developed decades ago for very large computers; only now, decades later are personal computers finally powerful enough to tackle these multitasking, multi-user systems with advanced features. Getting back to the crux of our first fact, LINUX looks like UNIX. LINUX is not officially UNIX simply because it was not written by the same programmers as was the original UNIX system. However, LINUX runs UNIX programs and shares the UNIX command set. LINUX is, for all general intents and purposes, a full-featured UNIX-type operating system. Where did LINUX come from?UNIX is one of the most popular operating systems worldwide because of its large support base and distribution. It was originally developed at AT;T as a multitasking system for minicomputers and mainframes in the 1970s, but has since grown to become one of the most widely used operating systems anywhere, despite its sometimes confusing interface and lack of central standardization. Many hackers feel that UNIX is the â€Å"right thing† the â€Å"one true operating system†. Hence, the development of LINUX by an expanding group of UNIX hackers who want to get their hands â€Å"dirty† with their own system. Versions of UNIX exist for many systems, from personal computers to supercomputers like the Cray Y-MP. Most versions of UNIX for personal computers are expensive and cumbersome. A one-machine version of UNIX System V for the 386 costs about $1500. LINUX is a free version of a UNIX-type system, developed primarily by Linus Torvalds at the University of Helsinki in Finland, with the help of many UNIX programmers and wizards across the Internet. Anyone with enough â€Å"know-how† and gumption can develop and change the system. The LINUX kernel uses no code from ATT or any other proprietary source, and much of the software availabl e for LINUX was developed by the GNU project of the Free Software Foundation in Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.A. However, programmers from all over the world have contributed to the growing pool of LINUX software. LINUX was originally developed as a hobby project by Linus Torvalds. It was inspired by MINIX, a small UNIX system developed by Andy Tanenbaum. The first discussions about LINUX were on the Usenet newsgroup, â€Å"comp.os.minix†. These discussions were concerned mostly with the development of a small, academic UNIX system for MINIX users who wanted more. The very early development of LINUX mostly dealt with the task-switching features of the 80386 protected-mode interface, all written in assembly code. When was LINUX introducedThe very first version of LINUX (version 0.01) was made available by Linus Torvalds around late August of 1991. It was not pretty, it had no floppy driver, and it could not do much of anything. I am not sure if anybody ever compiled that versi on. No announcement was ever made for LINUX version 0.01. The version 0.01 sources were not even executable. They contained only the bare rudiments of the kernel source and assumed that you had access to a Minix machine to compile and experiment with them. On October 5, 1991, Linus announced the first â€Å"official† version of LINUX, which was version 0.02. At that point, Linus was able to run bash (the GNU Bourne Again Shell) and gcc (the GNU C compiler), but not much else. Again, this was intended as a hackers system. The primary focus was kernel development user support, documentation, and distribution had not yet been addressed. Today, the LINUX community still seems to treat these issues as secondary to â€Å"real programming† kernel development. After version 0.03, Linus bumped up the version number to 0.10, as more people started to work on the system. After several further revisions, Linus increased the version number to 0.95 in March 1992, to reflect his ex pectation that the system was ready for an â€Å"official† release soon. (Generally, software is not assigned the version number 1.0 until it is theoretically complete or bug-free.). Almost a year and a half later, in late December of 1993, the LINUX kernel was still at version 0.99. As of May 1999, â€Å"Red Hat† LINUX has â€Å"officially† released a version 6.0 of the LINUX kernel. I have not tried it yet, because it will be available starting on the 26th May 1999 and this paper is due on the 20th May 1999. Anyway, back to LINUX! Most of the major, free UNIX software packages have been ported to LINUX, and commercial software is available. More hardware is supported than in the original kernel versions. Many people have executed benchmarks on 80486 LINUX systems and found them comparable with mid-range workstations from Sun Microsystems and Digital Equipment Corporation. Who would have ever guessed that this â€Å"little† UNIX clone would have grown up to take on the entire world of personal computing? Types of LINUXThe question always arises at to which LINUX is the real one, or where to get the official version of LINUX. Unfortunately, this question really has no answer. The only part of LINUX, which is â€Å"officially†, LINUX is the core of LINUX, otherwise known as the kernel. All programs, appearances, configurations, startup code, and installation programs are provided as parts of what are called LINUX distributions. A distribution is simply a collection of programs and utilities, which turn the LINUX core (or kernel) into a fully functional UNIX-type system. Unfortunately, each distribution is slightly different and can greatly effect the users initial impression of LINUX. Different distributions will present the user with different initial configurations for LINUX. There are a number of LINUX distributions out there, both on the Web and on CD-ROM. Some are more businesslike; others are more playful or wild. Below is a brief summary regarding some of the major distributions. ? Red Hat LINUX UNIX for Windows users. This is the easiest transition into the UNIX world you can possibly hope for if youre a Windows user. Red Hat attempts to provide exceptional functionality and stability while keeping the system relatively easy to use and graphically oriented. Make no mistake, you will still have to learn about UNIX and the command line, but you will at least have something up and running by the time you are ready to hit the books. ? Slackware LINUX UNIX for UNIX hackers. Slackware, released several times per year, loves to provide cutting edge and beta applications and system code, and really gives that get your hands dirty feel. Dont be confused by its insider attitude, however. Slackware is very complete and can provide a serious platform for beginners and migrating Windows network users. Slackware simply requires a little more elbow grease and study to get going. Once going, Slackware feels mu ch more like UNIX than does Red Hat. ? Caldera OpenLINUX UNIX for business guys. If youre afraid that your boss wont like seeing LINUX on your desktop, and you have decided against Red Hat for one reason or another, Calderas OpenLINUX is the next logical choice. OpenLINUX is built by Caldera from the ground up for the business community; OpenLINUX often includes an office suite and telephone support. OpenLINUX also comes in several versions, from a small version for desktops to a big, ugly version for network servers. ? Debian GNU/LINUX UNIX for purists. Debian GNU/LINUX is a sort of spiritual operating system, and both its website and its distribution remind me of those of the more official UNIXes like the *BSD projects. If you are interested in LINUX, but cant loose the hang-up about LINUX not being the true and official UNIX, maybe youll feel a little more at ease using Debian GNU/LINUX. PerformanceMany benchmarks have been conducted by independent organizations, pitting LINUX against Windows NT and against the various flavors of UNIX. Apart from one study that is discussed later in this section, it appears that LINUX quite consistently beats NT not only on single-processor machines, but also on multi-processor machines on which NT is expected to scale better on account of its multi-threaded architecture. LINUX seems able to deliver good performance even with heavyweight processes instead of the lightweight threads that NT uses. Process forking in LINUX is particularly efficient, almost obviating the need for threads. LINUX also narrowly beats Solaris on its home ground, SPARC hardware, albeit only single-processor SPARC machines. UNIX systems, LINUX included, treat graphics as a user-level application that can be optionally run. Reasonably, sophisticated graphical interfaces exist for LINUX, but these are not tightly integrated with the operating system kernel. They can be switched off when not required. On servers, graphics capability is an unnecessary overhead most of the time. Typically, on UNIX servers, LINUX included, the graphical interface is invoked only when the system is being administrated, and turned off at all other times, delivering a significant performance boost to the system, because graphics is a very resource-intensive capability. The Windows design, by contrast, suffers from an overly tight integration of the graphics subsystem with the kernel (unsurprising in view of its desktop roots), and this design model will forever reduce performance in its role as a server operating system. Perhaps LINUX will lose its slim performance advantage against Solaris when it acquires more high-end features and grows in size. Time will tell. However, the constant fine-tuning of the kernel by a worldwide group of expert systems programmers could continue to give LINUX a performance lead even in future. It will be an interesting battle to watch. In April this year, a benchmark conducted by a company called Mindcraft reported that Windows NT with Microsofts IIS (Internet Information Server) performed 2.5 to 3.7 times faster than LINUX as a Windows fileserver (running Samba) and as a webserver (running Apache). This is somewhat surprising, because it is contrary to what several independent testers have found in the past, including emailprotected Reseller On-line. Subsequent information on the benchmark found that the NT machine used was highly tuned and optimized for the tested load, while the LINUX machine was not, a fact later admitted by Microsoft. It was also discovered that the benchmark was sponsored by Microsoft, and was not as independent as it was made out to be. (Microsoft still sports these figures, though). These facts therefore put the results under a cloud. For now, rather than debate the legitimacy of the Mindcraft benchmark, it is best that you design and conduct one yourself, tailoring it to your situation. After all, not everyone runs servers that are as high-end as that used in the benchmark . Microsoft admitted after internal testing that on the same hardware, Netscape Navigator on LINUX was 30-40% faster than Internet Explorer on Windows NT. Benchmarking, of course, ranks with lies, damned lies and statistics, but from a variety of sources, the impression one gets is that LINUX is one of the leanest and fastest operating systems available. With the new kernel (version 2.2), it has reportedly even drawn level with the ultrafast FreeBSD. Nevertheless, the LINUX vendors need to submit formal SPEC or TPC benchmark figures; otherwise, this sort of controversy could keep arising. Incidentally, the TPC benchmarks have a price/performance parameter, and LINUX should do very well on that!Usability Users accustomed to the friendly graphical interfaces of Windows and the Mac would reasonably balk at having to type commands in an arcane syntax. Nevertheless, things are changing fast. There are two graphical desktop environments for LINUX. KDE (K Desktop Environment) is the slight ly more mature one, and the main criticism heard about it these days is that its too clean and corporate. Gnome is a more fun interface that allows users to customize it ad infinitum. Neither interface is yet as polished and complete as the Windows or Mac desktops. However, they have developed to their current state in an amazingly short time (See screenshots located at the back of this document). Critics of LINUX must remember that the earliest versions of Windows were eminently forgettable, and it was only with version 3.1, appearing sometime in 1993, that Windows became usable. It took more than another 2 years for Windows to achieve its current levels of usability in the form of Windows 98. Given the current status of both LINUX desktop projects and their tremendous momentum, it seems reasonable to expect that this argument about LINUX not having a friendly graphical interface will wither away by the end of 1999. Besides, to turn the user-friendliness argument around, a command- line is an excellent alternative to a GUI in many situations. Even with an extremely friendly GUI, a user may find certain operations difficult to express with a graphical metaphor, for instance, pimping – I meant â€Å"piping† the output of one program to the input of another one. The powerful commands that can be chained together make the LINUX command line a very productive environment. Scripting is another very powerful UNIX mainstay, an area where predominantly GUI-based systems like Windows and the Mac are notoriously weak. The DOS batch files of Windows are pitifully inadequate compared to the basic UNIX shell script, while Applescript comes somewhat closer. Neither can match the breadth and power of LINUX scripting languages like Perl, Python, Tcl and Guile. That may explain why these languages are now being ported to Windows. It remains to be seen whether Windows 2000, with its promised Active Scripting using Visual Basic, brings Windows up to this level. Iron ically, with a graphical environment very similar to Windows or the Mac, LINUXs command-line and scripting interface will perhaps soon emerge as a major selling point for advanced users. Windows and Macintosh treat all users alike, irrespective of skill level, and do not allow users to acquire more control over their machines with increasing experience. UNIX and LINUX systems, on the other hand, scale extremely well with experience, rewarding advanced users with dramatically greater productivity. Therefore, the argument that LINUX has no friendly interface is now clearly untrue. The challenge for LINUX now is to develop graphical metaphors for its powerful command-line constructs as well. Piping and redirection through drag-and-drop, visual scripting, graphical representation of the powerful UNIX file abstraction, and other innovations can push the LINUX interface beyond the reach of Windows and Macintosh, because they lack the underlying architecture to support such visual represen tations. William Blake's Songs of Innocence and Experience EssayMice and other pointing devices -Typically, a mouse is used only in graphical environments like X. However, several LINUX applications that are not associated with a graphical environment also use mice. LINUX supports standard serial mice like Logitech, MM series, Mouseman, Microsoft (2-button), and Mouse Systems (3-button). LINUX also supports Microsoft, Logitech, and ATIXL bus mice, and the PS/2 mouse interface. Pointing devices that emulate mice, like trackballs and touchpads, should work also. CD-ROM drives LINUX supports many common CD-ROM drives attach to standard IDE controllers. Another common interface for CD-ROM is SCSI. SCSI support includes multiple logical units per devices. Additionally, a few proprietary interfaces, like the NEC CDR-74, Sony CDU-541 and CDU-31a, Texel DM-3024, and Mitsumi are supported. LINUX supports the standard ISO 9660 file system for CD-ROMs, and the High Sierra file system extensions. Tape drives Any SCSI tape drive, including quarter inch, DAT, and 8MM are supported, if the SCSI controller is supported. Devices that connect to the floppy controller like floppy tape drives are supported as well, as are some other interfaces, like QIC-02. Printers LINUX supports the complete range of parallel printers. If MS-DOS or some other operating system can access your printer from the parallel port, LINUX should be able to access it, too. LINUX printer software includes the UNIX standard lp and lpr software. This software allows you to print remotely via a network. LINUX also includes software that allows most printers to handle PostScript files. Modems As with printer support, LINUX supports the full range of serial modems, both internal and external. A great deal of telecommunications software is available for LINUX, including Kermit, pcomm, minicom, and seyon. If your modem is accessible from another operating system on the same machine, you should be able to access it fr om LINUX with no difficulty. Ethernet cards Many popular Ethernet cards and LAN adaptors are supported by LINUX. LINUX also supports some FDDI, frame relay, and token ring cards, and all Arcnet cards. A list of supported network cards is generally included in the kernel source of the distribution. Installation Each Linux distrribution has its own setup utility, every one vastly different from all the others. This makes it very difficult if not impossible to write a general step by step Linux installation manual. The closest thing in existence is the â€Å"Linux Installation and Getting Started Guide†, which should be included in HTML format with every Linux distribution, and is available online thanks to the â€Å"Linux Documentation Project†. This book contains a fairly good comparison of the major distributions and an outline of the installation process for each one. It also covers the basic technical concepts you need to understand during installation, and covers s ome issues of usability following the install. X WindowsThe X Window System, or simply X, is a standard graphical user interface (GUI) for UNIX machines and is a powerful environment, which supports many applications. Using the X Window System, you can have multiple terminal windows on the screen at once, each having a different login session. A pointing device like a mouse is often used with X, although it is not required. Many X-specific applications have been written, including games, graphics and programming utilities, and documentation tools. LINUX and X make your system a bona fide workstation. With TCP/IP networking, your LINUX machine can display X applications running on other machines. The X Window System was originally developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and is freely distributable. Many commercial vendors have distributed proprietary enhancements to the original X Window System as well. The version of X for LINUX is XFree86, a port of X11R6, which is f reely distributable. XFree86 supports a wide range of video hardware, including VGA, Super VGA, and accelerated video adapters. XFree86 is a complete distribution of the X Windows System software, and contains the X server itself, many applications and utilities, programming libraries, and documents. Standard X applications include xterm, a terminal emulator used for most text-based applications within a window, xdm, which handles logins, xclock, a simple clock display, xman, a X-based manual page reader, and xmore. There are manu other application written which includes spreadsheets, word processors, graphics programs, and web browsers like the Netscape Navigator. Theoretically, any application written for X should compile cleanly under LINUX. The interface of the X Window System is controlled largely by the window manager. This user-friendly program is in charge of the placement of windows, the user interface for resizing and moving them, changing windows to icons, and the appeara nce of window frames, among other tasks. XFree86 includes twm, the classic MIT window manager, and advanced window managers like the Open Look Virtual Window Manager (olvwm) are available. Popular among LINUX users is fvwma small window manager that requires less than half the memory of twm. It provides a 3-dimensional appearance for windows and a virtual desktop. The user moves the mouse to the edge of the screen, and the desktop shifts as though the display was much larger than it really is. fvwm is greatly customizable and allows access to functions from the keyboard as well as mouse. Many LINUX distributions use fvwm as the standard window manager. A version of fvwm called fvwm95-2 offers Microsoft Windows 95-like look and feel. The XFree86 distribution includes programming libraries for programmers who wish to develop X applications. Widget sets like Athena, Open Look, and Xaw3D are supported. All of the standard fonts, bitmaps, manual pages, and documentation are included. PEX (a programming interface for 3-dimensional graphics) is also supported. Many X application programmers use the proprietary Motif widget set for development. Several vendors sell single and multiple user licenses for binary versions of Motif. Because Motif itself is relatively expensive, not many LINUX users own it. However, binaries statically linked with Motif routines can be freely distributed. NetworkingLINUX supports two primary UNIX networking protocols: TCP/IP and UUCP. TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) is the networking paradigm which allows systems all over the world to communicate on a single network, the Internet. With LINUX, TCP/IP, and a connection to the Internet, you can communicate with users and machines via electronic mail, Usenet news, and FTP file transfer. Most TCP/IP networks use Ethernet as the physical network transport. LINUX supports many popular Ethernet cards and interfaces for personal computers, including pocket and PCMCIA Etherne t adapters. However, because not everyone has an Ethernet connection at home, LINUX also supports SLIP (Serial Line Internet Protocol) and PPP (Point-to-Point Protocol), which provide Internet access via modem. Many businesses and universities provide SLIP and PPP servers. In fact, if your LINUX system has an Ethernet connection to the Internet and a modem, your system can become a SLIP or PPP server for other hosts. NFS (Network File System) lets your system seamlessly share file systems with other machines on the network. FTP (File Transfer Protocol) lets you transfer files with other machines. sendmail sends and receives electronic mail via the SMTP protocol; C-News and INN are NNTP based new systems; and telnet, rlogin, and rsh let you log in and execute commands on other machines on the network. finger lets you get information about other Internet users. LINUX also supports Microsoft Windows connectivity via Samba and Macintosh connectivity with AppleTalk and LocalTalk. Support for Novells IPX protocol is also included. The full range of mail and newsreaders is available for LINUX, including elm, pine, rn, nn, and tin. Whatever your preference, you can configure a LINUX system to send and receive electronic mail and news from all over the world. The system provides a standard UNIX socket-programming interface. Virtually any program that uses TCP/IP can be ported to LINUX. The LINUX X server also supports TCP/IP, and applications running on other systems may use the display of your local system. UUCP (UNIX-to-UNIX Copy) is an older mechanism to transfer files, electronic mail, and electronic news between UNIX machines. Historically, UUCP machines are connected over telephone lines via modem, but UUCP is able to transfer data over a TCP/IP network as well. If you do not have access to a TCP/IP network or a SLIP or PPP server, you can configure your system to send and receive files and electronic mail using UUCP. System Administration LINUX differentiates be tween different users. What they can do to each other and the system is regulated. File permissions are arranged so that normal users cannot delete or modify files in directories like /bin and /usr/bin. Most users protect their own files with the appropriate permissions so that other users cannot access or modify them. Each user is given an account that includes a user name and home directory. In addition, there are special, system defined accounts which have special privileges. The most important of these is the root account, which is used by the system administrator. By convention, the system administrator is the user, root. There are no restrictions on root. He or she can read, modify, or delete any file on the system, change permissions and owner-ships on any file, and run special programs like those which partition a hard drive or create file systems. The basic idea is that a person who cares for the system logs in as root to perform tasks that cannot be executed as a normal us er. Because root can do anything, it is easy to make mistakes that have catastrophic consequences. If a normal user tries inadvertently to delete all of the files in /etc, the system will not permit him or her to do so. However, if root tries to do the same thing, the system does not complain at all. It is very easy to trash a LINUX system when using root. Picture the root account as a special, magic hat that gives you lots of power, with which you can, by waving your hands, destroy entire cities. It is a good idea to be a bit careful about what you do with your hands. Because it is easy to wave your hands in a destructive manner, it is not a good idea to wear the magic hat when it is not needed, despite the wonderful feeling. The best way to prevent accidents is to sit on your hands before you press â€Å"Enter† for any command that is non-reversible. Conclusion After LINUX 1.0 was released, work was done on several enhancements. LINUX 1.2 included disk access speedups, TTY improvements, virtual memory enhancements, multiple platform support, quotas, and more. LINUX 2.0 has even more enhancements, including many performance improvements, several new networking protocols, one of the fastest TCP/IP implementations in the world, and far, far more. Even higher performance, more networking protocols, and more device drivers are available in LINUX 2.2. In the final analysis, the greatest irony behind the LINUX phenomenon may be its reliance on the same principal upon which Microsoft has relied: the bottom line. While Microsofts bottom line has led to incomplete and disfunctional software, cutting corners, buyouts and legal wrangling, the LINUX bottom line, in financial terms, remains ultimately advantageous. In LINUX, the bottom line is zero. Zero dollars, zero lawsuits, zero buyouts, and zero political concerns. Because LINUX, by its v ery nature, has avoided nearly every concern with which Microsoft has struggled recently, LINUX appears to have a clear advantage, especially when the technical superiority of the LINUX operating system is considered as well. LINUX may very well be the operating system of choice in the future at its features and performance clearly outguns that of Windows NT. On the other hand, Windows NT do offer a more â€Å"user-friendly† environment than LINUX. 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