Q1: What is the security of the Linux-based computers? Do I need to install an anti-virus program to protect myself from viruses?

Answer: GNU/Linux systems, such as Ubuntu, do not require anti-virus software since they are not affected by the hundreds of new viruses that target Microsoft Windows systems each year.

We are often asked whether the reason why Linux is not affected by viruses is because it is a smaller target than Windows. This may be true for desktop computers, but Linux is a very popular operating system for Internet servers, such as Web servers. Most of the very rare viruses that target Linux are often aimed at specific software running on webservers.

Also, many key Free Software (or FOSS) applications, such as Mozilla Firefox, Evolution or Open Office, have focused on security a long time ago. There is no perfect software, but they have made sure that users can easily and pre-emptively upgrade their software before any viruses are released.

Under Ubuntu, a small red icon appears in the upper-right corner of the screen when an important update is available. The East of England FOSS team will also keep you informed if any exceptional security issue occur, and we will assist you in making sure that your computer is secure.

If a technician or manager you are working with is not convinced by this answer, they should be familiar with other operating systems, such as Apple MacOSX. MacOSX is also unix-based and does not require any anti-virus.

For a more detailed explanation, we recommend the following article by Scott Granneman of SecurityFocus. The article dates back to October 2003, but according to us, it still applies today.

Q2: Do I need to do anything particular in order to connect to the local office network?

Answer: The computers are by default configured to connect using DHCP, which is the most common way to connect many computers to a common network. If you are having problems connecting the computer to your network, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Q3: How can I transfer all my files (documents) from the old computer to the new one?

Answer: You can use your USB key provided with all the hardware for this aim* or the local network.

*Please remember that you should not forget to unmount the device after you stop using it!

You can also transfer files using the “Windows Networking”: from the menu “Places”, select “Network”. If any computers are listed, you can try connecting to them, then drag-and-drop the files you wish to copy.

Q4: Can I use a Windows software on the Linux machine? If yes, what do I need to do in order to be able to start it?

Answer: Short answer: no. Long answer: there are good chances it may work.

Linux is a completely different system, which is incompatible with Windows. Its building blocs are using completely different models than the Windows one. For example, if we were comparing houses, Linux and Windows might use different electrical sockets, different phone plugs, plumbing architecture, etc.

Of course, for household equipment, we can convert phones or electric equipment using adapters. The main problem with Windows software is that its building blocs are gigantic, and many parts of it are kept very secretly by Microsoft, which makes it difficult to build adapters for it.

But a team of hackers have been working on it for many years, and they have managed to develop an emulator (i.e. an adapter) that can run a good range of Windows software. Its name is “Wine”, an acronym for “Wine is not an emulator”. More information can be found on its website: www.winehq.com. We recommend browsing its database of supported applications.

Wine also has a commercial equivalent for which the company behind it, Code Weavers, offers support for software such as Adobe Photoshop, Macromedia Dreamweaver, Microsoft Visio, Quicken, etc.

In conclusion, it may be possible to get that last Windows software which stops you from moving completely to Linux. It is not necessarely easy, but we can help you to give it a try if you are interested.

Q5: Where do I save my files on this computer?

Answer: You should store your files in the home directory, followed by your username. For example: /home/foss/ or /home/maria. Files that are saved on your desktop can be found in /home/foss/Desktop/.

Q6: Where can I find further documentation and on-line support for the programmes?

Answer: You can find more information related to most of the programs installed on your Linux computer on the website of the project: Sofware section of this website. There is help for Open Office, Mozilla Firefox, Evolution etc. The articles include links to the original websites of the software applications, with more help including how to get online support. For example, the website for Open Office, is www.openoffice.org etc.

Most programmes also have a help-menu on the upper panel, which has plenty of information related to its use.

You can also ask us questions or send us your feedback at foss-admin@ciac.org.uk. We intend to regularly publish articles similar to this one, so that we can document the questions asked and share them with the rest of the group.

Q7: If my friends or colleagues are interested in this Ubuntu Linux system, disregarding the computer costs, how much does it cost?

Answer: Ubuntu Linux can be downloaded from www.ubuntu.com for free. You can also order a CD by mail, there are only shipping costs. However, before you buy a computer for Linux, you should check whether the hardware is supported (in 90% of cases there are no problems, but sometimes it happens).

If you would like to install Ubuntu Linux on a computer you already own, you can test to see if it is supported by using a “Live CD”. A Live CD is a CD-ROM which we insert in the CD-ROM drive before rebooting the computer. When the computer starts, it will boot Linux directly from the CD-ROM. It will not touch anything already installed on the computer disk (e.g. Microsoft Windows), but it will allow you to see whether the computer can boot Linux. The result will be a fully functional Linux desktop, except that it will be a bit slower because it is running from the CD-ROM. Also, when you reboot the computer, your documents will not be saved, unless you copied them to a USB disk. Live CDs can be downloaded or ordered from the Ubuntu Linux website.

Q8: Can I download more software on the computer? I want to experiment more with the system.

Answer: The project aims to evaluate the potential of Linux on the office desktop. Because of limited ressources, we have given everyone the identical configurations (both software and hardware), altough we have tried to satisfy a large range of office activities. This will also help us to better document the results at the end of the project (June 2006).

If there is a specific programme which you think will be useful for your work and for your evaluation of Linux on the office desktop, we encourage you to contact us so that we can evaluate what is the most suitable solution.

Please note that at the moment, it is very difficult for us to support requirements outside the scope of this project. However, there are further FOSS project being carried out on Web servers, Voice over IP, and the development of specific software. These will help to look at the overall picture once all the research has been collated.

Q9: Can I use Skype on this computer?

Answer: It is possible to install it, but we cannot assist you to do so, because of the goals of this project (which limits us to common office software, otherwise we would have to supports thousands of different software). Additionnally, Skype is not Free Software, it does not provide us (users of the software) with the basic four freedoms.

To those of you who decide to use Skype anyway, please note that Skype may use excessive network ressources. For more information on this, we recommend reading this article about safe computing.

Alternatively, we recommend using Gaim, which is already installed on the computers. It supports text instant-messening protocols such as ICQ, Yahoo-messanger, MSN, IRC, Jabber and many others.