If you want a more stable alternative to wobbly Windows, try taking a look though the Linux portfolio.

Linux is a 'free to use' alternative operating system (OS) to Microsoft's Windows, which was created by a technologist angry with Microsoft's hold on the industry.

Linux applications were rare in the early days and those available lacked sophistication and demanded huge amounts of time and expertise to use.

Now Linux is becoming increasingly technologically and socially acceptable, more business users are seriously considering a move away from Microsoft.

So what exactly is an operating system? It's a programme installed on a computer that enables other programmes to run. It allows the user to interact with the PC via the keyboard, mouse and monitor and gives access to all the PC's resources and, in the eyes of many technicians, should do nothing else.

For most people, the Windows OS looks comfortingly familiar and its apparent ease of use gives the misleading impression that anyone can be a system or network administrator.

It operates on a wide variety of hardware and thousands, if not millions, of applications and accessories are available worldwide.

Unfortunately, the reality beneath the familiar Windows interface may not be quite so straightforward. There are many different versions of the Windows OS, including '95, '98, '98SE, ME, NT, 2000 and, now, Windows XP. Developers are having considerable trouble creating software that will run reliably across the range.

Reliability is a major issue with MS Windows (frequent crashes) and each new OS version is larger and more complex than the last.

It is widely accepted that Linux (a flavour of UNIX) offers a very stable and resilient OS with a high degree of interoperability. In fact, reliability is one of Linux's key offerings over Microsoft's platforms.

Of course, there are different versions of Linux too. Unfortunately, the range of available applications is still pitifully small and there is no real competitor to MS Office.

Linux lacks an easy-to-understand interface and requires a high level of knowledge to use. However, it is backed by major players such as IBM and more office suite producers are taking an interest, such as Sun with its Star Office suite. Equally important, Linux conforms to internet standards, thus encouraging maximum inter-

operability between all vendors' products.

Microsoft's position as a 'mega-corporation' makes it a subject for attack by a large number of viruses targeted at its operating system/applications. But few viruses are aimed at Linux and the Java Virtual Machine software (now rejected by Microsoft) prevents access to system resources from unauthorised entrants.

For small/medium businesses, Linux could provide an OS for high-availability, back-end servers, which manage data processing, storage and backup, while the graphical user-interface work is transferred to terminals, eliminating the fully-equipped desktop PC and its security hazards at a stroke.

If Linux is to become a real contender in the OS wars, then a critical mass of hardware manufacturers, software houses and users are needed.

Today, Microsoft acknowledges Linux as a competitor. Tomorrow, we might see a growing role for Linux as its reputation for reliability and security develops.