Estate Agents Software : Linux

Overview of Linux Software

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Linux: is an exciting and comparatively new operating system now making waves in the computer industry.

Only very basic information is given here and we've tried to offer constructive advice on it, but we would be especially interested in hearing from any property companies who are using Linux already.

So if you do use Linux and you would like to give us any feedback on your usage which you think would be of interest to other organisations then do send us an e-mail.

What is Linux?

Linux is an operating system for servers and, to a lesser extent, workstations. It is becoming more and more recognised as being a competitor for Windows (NT or Win 2000 rather than desktop Windows right now) and it is certainly gaining a lot of support and interest. It already runs many web servers on the internet and many commerical & public organisations are now using it on their own internal servers. For the technically minded, Linux is a Unix 'clone'.

You can find out more detailed information at Linux International's site

Why would Estate Agents be interested in Linux?

The main reasons Linux may be of interest to Estate Agents is because it is free and it will run on old and far lower specifications than a system like Windows. Even old 486 PCs can run Linux (although a Pentium PC is still recommended for any Linux GUI - Graphical Interface). It is also extremely robust with many users reporting their severs running non-stop for years without crashing.

Sounds Great! Why isn't everyone using Linux already?

Linux is still in an early stage of commercial usage and it is not yet a truly, fully viable desktop system. Although it is continually being simplified, it still requires a higher level of technical competence than Windows, both in terms of installation and every day use. But this is changing and GUI interfaces (Graphical User Interfaces) are now available for Linux, whereas before you had to use 'command prompts' (similar to DOS, but more complicated).

Perhaps more significant is the comparative lack of applications compared to Windows, although this is rapdily changing. More and more software vendors are introducing Linux versions of their products (and in particular the major database suppliers like Oracle and IBM) and some applications (such as Sun's Star Office) can also read and write documents, spreadsheets etc in Windows format as well, so exchanging files between Windows and Linux systems is becoming easier and more practical. Applications are mostly limited to X-Windows. X-Windows is a free GUI which is supported on Linux, although because it has been rooted in Unix and because of Windows dominance on the desktop PC, X-Windows has little exposure in "every day" usage. There are also more "Windows like" GUI's appearing for Linux such as those produced by Red Hat, Mandrake and others.

Acceptance and the 'conceptual jump' to Open Source software is also limiting Linux's growth.

More applications can be seen in our Linux Applications section.

So where is Linux being used?

At the moment, as mentioned above, Linux is mostly used on Web Servers and by technical users on their own office's internal servers. A few examples of users are: Bob Geldof's Deckchair.com, the flight web site; and Hill House Hammond, the insurance company.

How come Linux is free?

Linux is "open source". The concept is that no-one owns the Linux code; anyone can download a copy of the source code and make changes and bug fixes which can then be integrated into later versions. There are thus potentially huge numbers of people all round the world developing, testing and de-bugging it.

In practise, you pay a small 'distribution' charge to get a copy, especially if you buy it from a retail shop. This is because the Distributors have packaged the bare bones of Linux into a more user-friendly application with their own GUI, applications, support, automatic access to instant security patches and so on. But you are still talking only £30-£50 or so, and if you buy one copy then you can use it as many times as you like on as many computers as you like! Examples of the larger distributors are listed in the next paragraph below.

Where can I get a copy of Linux?

If you want to try Linux, you can buy it in a number of retail software sellers or you can download it from the following places. But remember, as described above, you do need to be more technically competent to use it.

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