Is Linux better than Windows - Try it and see!

What is Linux?

Almost everyone that has a computer has heard of Linux in the past few years. For most users, Linux is shrouded in technical mystery, an operating system that hackers and computer geniuses use. It's rumored to be secure, stable, and incredibly powerful, but the rumor also has it that you need to be a computer god to 'handle' it. Some of those rumors are true - Linux is powerful, stable, and secure, but it's no longer an arcane art to operate. In fact, nearly anyone can give Linux a try - and without altering their current Windows installation!

An Easy Test Run of Linux

There's a technology developed for Linux called a "Live CD" or "Live DVD". What this means is that you can download a CD or DVD "image" (which is a byte-for-byte copy of a cd) and write it to a CD or DVD. This allows you to boot up your computer from the CD or DVD - which will run Linux, bringing up a full desktop in many cases, so that you can play with the interface and applications.

Linux Offers Better Security than Windows

There are some very good reasons for you to try out Linux. First among them is security. At a "hacking contest" in 2008, called "Pwn to Own", security experts and hackers competed to win computers running Windows, Mac OSX, and Linux. All systems withstood the first day's attack, OS X fell on the second day, and Windows on the third. Linux alone remained 'unhacked'. Linux is extremely secure, and most distributions are configured properly "out of the box" to protect you from most network-based attacks - like those you face every time you log on to the Internet. Security might be the most important reason someone would want to try Linux.

Linux Prides itself on Stability

Stability is another good reason to give Linux a shot. If you're used to a system that locks up or crashes repeatedly, chances are you're in for a pleasant surprise with Linux. It's not all that uncommon for Linux systems to stay up for months, if not years. Because of the way the Linux kernel works, applications are better protected, and the kernel memory space (the memory used by the critical system components in linux) is very well protected from applications, so it's very hard for any program to "take down" the entire system.

Linux is Open Source and FREE

Another great reason to try out Linux is - it's free! There are no license fees or validation programs to pay or fight with, and if you change your processor you'll never be faced with the need to re-authorize your Linux system. This applies to most of the software, as well, from casual games, to browsers, to office suites like OpenOffice.org.

Almost anything you want to do with a computer, you can do with Linux, for free. Free instant messenger clients that support nearly all of the current instant messenger networks. Free vector drawing programs, free digital art programs that can be used to retouch photographs or draw pictures. There is even a free 3d rendering system for linux.

Linux Desktop Options

The best place for the less technical to go is ubuntu.com, but there are many other live distributions. Knoppix is a very popular Live distribution, and Slax is another. Ubuntu Linux has a very impressive interface for its live disks. You can download the most current release from their web site. It's going to be a full cd, so it will take a while, depending on your network speed. Then you must burn it to a blank CD. If you don't want to download it and burn it to disk, you can register to receive free Ubuntu disks. It takes a while, but you still get them free.

Once you've got the disk in hand, you put it in the CDROM drive and tell Windows to restart - the good old "Start -> shutdown - Shutdown the computer". After the system powers off, turn it back on - most systems will boot right up to the CDROM. You'll see the Ubuntu startup manager, and it will advise you to press enter to continue. A few minutes later, you've got the Ubuntu desktop!

It's worth noting that programs will be slow to load, because they're loading off of the CDROM, not the hard drive (which is much faster). But here you can play with the operating system and the programs that ship with the CD. If you've got the right video card, you can enable visual effects and see some very impressive GUI enhancements - along with some eye candy like "wiggly windows", where the window shakes like jelly when you move it. You'll find that you can surf the web, connect to your instant messenger service, answer email - nearly anything you do with Windows.

Enjoy this Virtual Testing Ground For the Linux OS

Play around for a while - You're safe. As long as you don't click on the icon that says "Install Ubuntu" - don't worry, clicking on it won't do anything but take you to the first screen that asks if you really want to do it, where you can say "no" - you won't damage your windows installation. When you're done playing, click on the "running man" icon in the upper right hand corner, and click on 'shut down the computer'. The system will eject the disk and ask you to press enter to continue. In a few minutes, you're back in Windows like nothing has happened. Chances are, though, that you'll stay in Linux for quite a while, once you get your hands on it!

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