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The Magic of Red Hat Linux

The magic of Red Hat Linux happens the moment you boot to your first install. Unlike early installations of Linux and some current installations of other Open Source operating systems, such as BSD UNIX, you'll be greeted with a graphical, point-and-click interface to speed you through the process. Although every Linux distribution using a specific Linux kernel is the same underneath, there are several good reasons to use Red Hat Linux:

Red Hat Linux is the most popular Linux distribution— Red Hat Linux has consistently been one of the top sellers in its category for several years, and provides distributions for the Compaq Alpha and Sun SPARC CPUs. Red Hat Linux offers superior flexibility in installation, better hardware recognition, and a wealth of easy-to-use system administration tools.
Red Hat Linux incorporates some of the features based on the upcoming 2.4-series of the Linux kernel— The current version of Red Hat (version 7) is based on the latest stable version of the Linux kernel and incorporates many improvements included with the newer kernel, such as Universal Serial Bus support for mice, keyboards, and selected scanners.
Red Hat Package Manager— Red Hat's Package Manager (RPM) is the leading software management tool for Linux. This means that after you load Red Hat, you'll never have to load it again in order to update the system or its software. The rpm command is a sophisticated tool that includes intelligent file handling across package upgrades, shared file handling, documentation searching support, and package installation via FTP. You can install, uninstall, query, verify, and upgrade individual RPM packages.
"Pristine Sources"— Red Hat's commitment to providing clean, untouched sources, as well as patches and a control file, define the state of the art in building and packaging software. This method easily, effectively, and clearly separates and documents changes made to the software author's source code used in a software package included with a Red Hat distribution. Benefits include proper credit for bug fixes and the ability to track software versions and modifications.
Graphic administration tools— Tools such as linuxconf, Disk Druid, and others mark Red Hat Linux as the distribution of choice for easy-to-use administration tools. Red Hat Linux can be entirely managed from a graphical interface.
Security— Red Hat leads the industry in providing the most up-to-date security features and fixes.
Community— Red Hat, Inc. develops many software tools and improvements for its Linux distribution, then turns around and returns the source code to the world via the GPL. This shows that Red Hat, unlike many other companies still grappling with the Open Source paradigm, definitely "gets it," and is firmly committed to the Open Source ethics of the worldwide online community.
Documentation— Red Hat provides a user and installation guide in several formats, available in electronic form on its official and free CD-ROMs, or for free download from http://www.redhat.com/support/manuals/. Online help is present throughout the Linux installation process or through help buttons when using graphic administration tools.
Standards— Red Hat tracks both UNIX and Linux standards. Red Hat conforms to the Linux filesystem standard (FSSTND).
Support— Red Hat, Inc. provides official product support for registered buyers of its official copies through http://www.redhat.com/apps/support/. Users of free versions (such as the one included with this book), although not eligible for registered support, can still get help with links to tips, FAQs, HOWTO documents, timely changes, errata, and other bug fixes. Updates are available to anyone through http://www.redhat.com/apps/support/updates.html.
Testing— Red Hat depends on the open development model Linus started with. Thousands of people working around the world are testing applications and providing solutions for today's business and personal needs.

As you can see, Red Hat, Inc. goes beyond the normal Linux distributor, and provides an up-to-date Linux system with tools, documentation, and standardization.

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