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Linux For Anarchists

Introduction

There is a disturbing lack of resistance to Microsoft's market hegemony among anarchists and activists today.  It is counter-revolutionary to design revolutionary fliers on a computer running Windows XP, displaying protest pictures on a computer running Windows XP is not a statement of protest, and using Microsoft software to coordinate anti-capitalist action is not anti-capitalist.  To many, however, it seems that there is no other choice.

This guide attempts to present an alternative.  The Linux operating system is a successful anarchist project based on open cooperation and rooted in the ideal of freedom.  Hopefully the following will help you install Linux after demonstrating the need to resist Microsoft.

Why Microsoft Is A Bad Choice

Microsoft is a devious and ruthless corporation which maintains a monopoly on the Intel PC Operating System market.  Not only does this monopoly stifle innovation specific to the PC Operating System market, but it is also used as leverage for broader market domination.

Given its monopoly over the Intel PC Operating System market, Microsoft can successfully charge an arbitrary amount for its software independent of any market pressure.  In fact, while the cost of PC hardware has steadily fallen under competitive pressure over time, the cost of Microsoft software has steadily risen.  In the 1980s, before Microsoft had secured a monopoly on the OS market, prices were falling by 8% per year.  Since the early 1990s, though, they have secured a monopoly and reversed that trend by almost tripling their prices.  Recent SEC filings show that the profit margin of the Microsoft Windows division is 86%.  This means that, although Windows XP currently sells for $300, they could sell it for $45 and still make a profit.  There is just no competitive pressure to do so.  Microsoft is only limited by the price elasticity of its own products [SEC].

Microsoft uses these huge profit margins to enter other markets and undercut competition by selling products at a loss.  In fact, Microsoft loses money in every other business market.  MSN, MSNBC, XBox, and Hotmail are all operating at a loss [SEC].  This does not indicate a failure on the part of Microsoft.  These are attempts to dominate new markets by driving competition out of business with the leverage of monopoly rents.  Such tactics are called predatory pricing.

For example, in 1995 Microsoft realized that the web browser was becoming a platform for computing which could threaten their control.  They consciously resolved to destroy Netscape Communications and spent $1,250,000,000.00 to develop and market Internet Explorer [FOF].  They did not see a cent in return.

This is a no revenue product, but you should worry about your browser share ... because if you let your customers deploy Netscape Navigator, you loose [sic] the leadership on the desktop ... You should go out to all the significant ISPs and on-line services in your country in May and close licensing agreements.  You should also be able to break most of Netscape licensing deals and return them to our advantage because our browsers are free. 
-- Internal Microsoft Marketing Memo, April 1996
Not only did they undercut Netscape's pricing model, they gave Internet Explorer away for free.  Today, Explorer enjoys over 96% of the web browser market share [CNET].  The project was a success, and Microsoft is now in complete control to set standards as it wishes.

They also use their monopoly to leverage predatory pricing through OEM distribution.  An OEM is an Original Equipment Manufacturer, such as Dell, Compaq, or Gateway.  Since OEMs need to sell Windows with computers, Microsoft can exploit that relationship and force OEMs to meet certain distribution requirements.

Microsoft Office's market share went from 8%  in 1991 to 94% in 2002 .  There is nothing to indicate that this was because Microsoft had better software to offer.
Despite WordPerfect's superiority in 1993 and comparable rating today, Microsoft managed to gain 94% of the market.  Strangely, even though Borland's Quattro Pro was the highest rated spreadsheet in 1993, it was Microsoft Excel that was taking over the market at that time.

Microsoft was able to make this happen by exploiting their relationship with OEMs.  From 1991 to 2001, it was not possible to buy a new Windows-based computer without also getting a copy of Microsoft Office.  OEMs were forced to buy Microsoft Office and pass it on to the consumer for "free."  As such, most individuals and companies started to use this "free" software instead of paying for WordPerfect, Lotus, or Quattro Pro.  Once market share was established and users were locked in, Microsoft started charging for upgrades.  Today the upgrades cost $349, while Microsoft Office Professional costs $599.

Microsoft's dealings with IBM in 1995 clearly illustrate their emphasis on predatory pricing through OEM distribution.  In that year, IBM acquired Lotus SmartSuite, a product that competed with Microsoft Office.  Suddenly, Microsoft chose to delay the issuance of Windows 95 resale licenses to IBM.  Ostensibly, this was to "resolve an ongoing audit of IBM's past royalty payments to Microsoft for several different operating systems."  In reality, they were trying to force IBM's hand on Lotus SmartSuite:
On August 9, 1995, a senior executive at the IBM PC Company went to Redmond to meet with Joachim Kempin, the Microsoft executive in charge of the firm's sales to OEMs.  At the meeting, Kempin offered to accept a single, lump-sum payment from IBM that would close all outstanding audits.  The amount of this payment would be reduced if IBM offered a concession that Kempin could take back to Gates.  As one possibility, Kempin suggested that IBM agree not to bundle SmartSuite with its PCs for a period of six months to one year.  He explained that the prospect of IBM bundling SmartSuite with its PCs threatened the profit margins that Microsoft derived from Office and constituted a core issue in the relationship between the two companies.  The IBM executive rejected Kempin's suggestion.  In a follow-up letter, Kempin stated that Microsoft would require approximately $25 million from IBM in order to settle all outstanding audits.  Kempin reiterated that, "If you believe that the amount I am asking for is too much, I would be willing to trade certain relationship improving measures for the settlement charges and/or convert some of the amounts into marketing funds if IBM too agrees to promote Microsoft's software products together with their hardware offerings."  The message was clear:  IBM could resolve the impasse ostensibly blocking the issuance of a Windows 95 license - the royalties audit - by de-emphasizing those products of its own that competed with Microsoft and instead promoting Microsoft's products.
-- Judge Jackson, Findings of Fact.
This happens time and time again.  OEMs are consistently prohibited from distributing a non-Microsoft operating system or a non-Explorer web browser with new computers.   This often referred to as "the Microsoft tax."

Microsoft has also demonstrated a desire to control the information that we depend on.  They dream of the day when everyone will connect to the internet through MSN, browse the web with Internet Explorer, check their email with Microsoft Outlook or Microsoft Hotmail, and get their news from MSNBC.  This is particularly dangerous.  

Why Stealing Your Copy Of Windows Isn't Enough

Usage is support.  Microsoft's ability to ignore standards, resist interoperability, and operate with impunity is largely based on the acceptance of Microsoft software as a de facto standard.  Their large usage base is the foundation for this acceptance.

For example, Microsoft thrives on closed standards.  They can successfully obfuscate the Microsoft Word .doc file format and discourage interoperability because Word is considered a de facto standard.  Using Microsoft Word contributes to this acceptance.

Fortunately there is a good alternative founded on anarchist principles.

Why Linux Is The Solution
Linux is not a company, it is a project.  It is maintained by an open group of people who work together for a common good.  The entire operating system is free, along with almost all of the software written for it.  All of the source code is publicly available, and anyone can make modifications to any of it.  The only restriction is that any public modification be made freely available for the common good.  It is an operating system of the people.

While Microsoft software is based on a proprietary ethic, closed source, and competition, Linux software is based on public projects, open source, and cooperation.  Microsoft software is copyright, Linux software is "copyleft."               

The entire Linux user experience is different from that of Microsoft Windows.  In addition to being incredibly stable, Linux is also more in tune with the individual.  The windowing environment, XWindows, can be made to look like anything - even like Microsoft Windows.  

There is a standard amount of Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt.  
Here are some common questions:

Q: Can I do word processing on Linux?

A: There are hundreds of exceptional word processing programs for Linux, all of which are free.  One project in particular, Open Office, has done a remarkable job in producing a clone of the Microsoft Office suite.  This means that there is a Word clone which will read and save to .doc files, as well as an Excel clone that will do the same for Excel files.
(http://www.openoffice.org)

Q: Can I browse the web on Linux?

A:  Of course.  The Mozilla and Galeon projects are fast and solid web browsers that surpass Internet Explorer.
(http://www.mozilla.org)

Q: Is there Adobe Photoshop for Linux?

A: There is a free equivalent for Linux called The GIMP.
(http://www.gimp.org)

Q: Can I check my email on Linux?

A:  There are hundreds of different email clients for Linux, and the Ximian project has produced a very feature-rich email client similar to Outlook (but without the email viri).
(http://www.ximian.org/products/evolution/)

Q: Can I do 'X' on Linux?

A:  The chances are that anything you can do with Windows, you can do better with Linux.  There is a tremendous amount of free software available, and an entire community that comes with it.  To see the amount of free software available for Linux, browse www.freshmeat.net and www.sourceforge.net.  At time of this writing, there are 27,547 projects listed on Freshmeat and 58,409 projects listed on SourceForge.  There is also a community of 587,312 registered developers on SourceForge.

The only real exception is games.  If you're a hardcore gamer, the downside to Linux is that only a few of the popular titles have been ported.

Linux Requirements

Although Linux will run on many hardware platforms with many different resource constraints, this guide was written for Intel-based computers with at least 128 megabytes of RAM.

Switching to Linux
Great, so you've decided to switch.

First back up your data.  Although it is possible to dual-boot Linux and Windows, this guide will only cover completely replacing Windows.  Since this involves formatting your hard drive, all data will be lost.  You can back up documents, email, images, and mp3s by burning them to a CD, saving them to floppy disks, saving them to an external ZIP drive, or copying them somewhere on a local area network.

Also, make a note of your network configuration.  If you use a dialup modem, be sure to note the access number as well as your username and password.  If you have an Ethernet/DSL/Cable connection, select 'Networking' from the control panel and investigate the setup of your ethernet adapter.  Note whether it is using DHCP, PPPoE, or if a static IP address is specified.  In the latter case, record the IP address, gateway, and DNS servers.

Obtaining Linux
Linux comes in the form of a distribution.  A distribution is just a way of packaging Linux.  There are many different distributions, each with their own installer, directory structure, and default set of software.  Popular distributions include RedHat, Debian, SuSE, and Mandrake.  Different distributions meet different needs, but RedHat is generally accepted as a good distribution for new users.  The RedHat installer is straightforward and easy to use, so this document will cover installing the RedHat distribution of Linux.

If you have a CD burner, you can download the RedHat 9.0 CD images for free.  These are available at any of the following sites:

ftp://ftp.dulug.duke.edu/pub/redhat/linux/9/en/iso/i386/
ftp://ftp.net.usf.edu/pub/redhat/linux/9/en/iso/i386/
ftp://ftp-linux.cc.gatech.edu/pub/redhat/linux/9/en/iso/i386/

The CD images you want are:

shrike-i386-disc1.iso
shrike-i386-disc2.iso
shrike-i386-disc3.iso

Consult your CD burning software documentation for information on burning these to CD-Rs (Note: ISO images are not saved to CD-Rs in the same way as regular data files).  

If you don't have a CD burner or reasonably fast internet connection, you can purchase official RedHat CDs at a computer store - or you can purchase less expensive CDs online:

http://cart.cheapbytes.com/cgi-bin/cart/0070010908.html

Booting The Installer

Once you have the CDs, put disc 1 in your CD drive and reboot your computer.  To make your computer boot off the CD, you most likely have to change the boot order settings in your BIOS.  To do so, watch the instructions provided on your display when your computer first boots.  You will see a line of text telling you to press the [Del] or [F1] key to enter the BIOS settings.

Once you have entered your BIOS setup program, find the section where you can alter your boot sequence  The default boot sequence is often Floppy, Hard Drive, CD-ROM.  Change this sequence so that the CD-ROM is first in your boot order.  This instructs your computer to first look at the CD-ROM drive for bootable media; if it does not find bootable media on the CD-ROM drive, it will then check your diskette drive, followed by your hard drive.  Save these changes before exiting the BIOS.

If your computer boots into Windows at this point, you did not successfully modify the boot order.  Otherwise, a screen containing the 'boot:' prompt should appear after a short delay.  This screen allows you to specify a number of specialized boot options, but normally you should just press [Enter].  At this point, the installer should detect your hardware and prompt you for information on what type of install to perform.  You should select 'CD-ROM Install'.

Now the graphical install interface should load and prompt you for a language selection, followed by a keyboard layout selection, followed by a mouse selection.

Next the installer will prompt you for an "Installation Type."  You should  choose "Personal Desktop" and click "Next."  This will bring you to the "Disk Partitioning" section.  Select "Automatically Partition" and click "Next."

The automatic partition tool will prompt you for information on what to do with existing partitions on your system.  Be sure that you have backed up all your existing data and select "Remove all partitions on this system," then click "Next."  The installer will now display the partition structure in "Disk Setup," which you should not need to modify.  Simply click "Next."

The installer will now prompt you about the "Boot Loader Configuration."  Uncheck the "Use a bootloader password" and "Configure advanced boot loader" options.  The screen should now look something like this:

Boot Loader  

Click "Next" to move on to "Network Configuration."  

Chances are that you either have a Cable/DSL connection or a dialup modem.  If you have a dialup modem, we'll configure it later.  If you have a Cable/DSL connection, it either has a static IP, uses DHCP, or uses PPPoE.  DHCP is the default, so you'll need to select the interface and click "Edit" if you want to specify a static IP.  If your internet connection uses PPPoE, we'll configure it later.  After you're satisfied, click "Next."

This brings us to the joys of software firewalling.  The default "medium" setting should be appropriate.  Following this is the "Language Support" section, where you can add support of other languages if you wish.  When you're through with the languages, the next section configures your time zone.

This brings us to the "Root Password" section.  The Linux administration account, or superuser, is called "root."    The root user has complete access to the entire system; for this reason, logging in as the root user is best done only to perform system maintenance or administration.  These tasks are most often done seamlessly by graphical tools.  This section will ask you to create a password for the "root" user.  Remember that passwords are case sensitive.
 
Click "Next" to go to the "Authentication Configuration" section.  The defaults in this section should be appropriate, so click "Next" to skip to the "Package Group Selection" section.  This section is for specifying software to have initially installed.  The defaults were chosen based on your earlier declaration that this is a "Personal Desktop" system, however you can browse the list of package groups and add anything else that might look interesting.  When you're finished, click "Next."

At this point, the installer will begin installing packages.  When it's done, it will prompt you to create a boot disk.  Select "No, I do not want to create a boot disk" and click "Next."  In the next section, the installer probes your video hardware and asks you to confirm its selection.  Finally, follow the instructions in the next sections for configuring your Monitor.

Congratulations!   Your installation is now complete.  

Remove the CD from your CD drive and reboot.

Basic Linux Usage

If everything went well, Linux should boot and prompt you to create your user account.  Enter a username and password to continue.  This should bring you to your desktop.

The desktop works much like you'd expect.  The panel at the bottom contains a red hat "Main Menu" icon that works much like the Windows "Start" menu.  Try it out and explore the available applications.

Configuring Your Network

If you have a dial-up connection or a Cable/DSL connection that uses PPPoE, we still have to setup your network.  You can test your internet connection by running Mozilla.  Click [Main Menu] => [Internet] => [Web Browser].  If you can browse the web, the installer successfully configured your network connection.

Otherwise, you can get online with the "Internet Druid" application.  Click [Main Menu] =>  [System Tools] => [Internet Configuration].  Simply select the type of connection you have and follow the steps in the wizard.

Browsing The Web

There are three default web browsers available.  Try them out and see which one you like best.  I recommend Galeon, it's fast and simple.

Mozilla:
 [Main Menu] => [Internet] => [Web Browser]
Galeon:
 [Main Menu] => [Extras]    =>  [Internet] => [Galeon]
Konqueror:
 [Main Menu] =>  [Extras]    => [Internet] => [Konqueror]

Accessing Email

There are three default email clients to choose from.  I recommend Evolution, it's similar to MS Outlook.

Evolution:
 [Main Menu] => [Internet] => [Email]
Mozilla Mail:
 [Main Menu] => [Extras]    => [Internet] => Mozilla Mail
KMail:
 [Main Menu] => [Extras]    => [Internet] => Kmail

Working With Documents

The OpenOffice suite includes a word processor similar to Microsoft Word, a spread sheet program similar to Microsoft Excel, a presentation program similar to Microsoft PowerPoint, and an illustration program similar to Adobe Illustrator.

Word:
 [Main Menu] => [Office] => [OpenOffice.org Writer]
Excel:
 [Main Menu] => [Office] => [OpenOffice.org Calc]
PowerPoint:
 [Main Menu] => [Office] => [OpenOffice.org Impress]
Illustrator:
 [Main Menu] => [Office] => [OpenOffice.org Impress]

The Community

Usually if you have a problem or a question, someone else has already asked about it.  For help, try searching the newsgroups through http://groups.google.com.  Often times you'll find someone who asked the same question you have, along with all of the answers people posted.

Hopefully your install went smoothly and you enjoy being out from under the thumb of Microsoft.

Bibliography

Securities And Exchange Commission, Microsoft Corporation 1040-EQ, 2002,http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/789019/000103221002001614/d10q.htm
FOF:Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson, Findings Of Fact, 1999
CNET: CNET, , , http://news.com.com/2100-1023-955734.html