What is Linux?

Linux is an Operating System (OS). An operating system is an environment that lets you interact with your computer, run programs, access files etc. The operating system is installed on your hard disk. New computers almost always comes with a Microsoft Windows OS preinstalled. If you want to run Linux you have three choises: Remove the Microsoft OS and install Linux, repartition your hard drive and run both Windows and Linux from the same hard disk, or buy a second hard disk and install Linux on it. Please be aware that if you repartition you disk you will have to also install Windows again, as all data on the disk is lost. If you choose alternativ 2 or 3 you will choose witch OS to run at boot time. And you should back up your data before repartitioning your disk!!

What is the best distribution of Linux for a beginner?

There are several Linux distributions available, so which one should the beginner choose? Linux installation becomes easier for each new version of the distributions. Red Hat is the most common distribution, and you will find lots of software readily available for it. However, Red Hat does not have the easiest installation procedure.

SuSE is another popular distribution, especially in Europe. SuSE is easier to install, it has a very user friendly graphical installation tool. SuSE also includes a bunch of sotware on the distribution CDs (or DVD). This will save time downloading applications! SuSE is also very quick to adopt new versions of applications, libraries etc. so if you want to be on the cutting edge of Linux development SuSE is a good choice.

Corel has the easiest installation procedure of them all. So if overcoming the installation is your greatest concern this should be your choice. Corel has also included filemanagers and tools that looks and feels like their MS Windows counterparts.

Conclusion: If you are an experienced computer user and want to be able to download and install as many applications as possible from the Internet whitout too much hassle Red Hat is for you! If you want as much software as possible to be available on the distribution CDs/DVD you should go for SuSE. And if you want the installation of Linux to be as easy as possible, you should go for Corel.

How much does it cost?

As a Linux newbie you are probarbly used to splash out hughe amounts of money on Microsoft Windows OS, updates and software... Linux is free!! But if you want it free you will have to download it from the Internet. Downloading the complete Linux distributions will take A LOT of time! You will be better off buying the distribution you want. A Linux distribution with documentation typically costs approx 30$ to 70$. Personal editions which includes what you need for a personal workstation will be in the lower end of this price range. These prices include support for a couple of months and documentation. If you just want the CDs without support and documentation the will cost you just a few dollars.

Keep in mind that the distributions normally contains lots of software that you would have to pay for on Windows. Compilers, Office suites, databases etc.

What kind of PC do I need to run Linux?

Getting the drivers you need for your PC is one of the biggest hurdles to overcome for Linux newbies. Linux supports less hardware than Microsoft Windows, but if you have a reasonably new PC you should be OK. The Linux driver support situations is gradually becoming better and finding drivers for the most common graphics cards, sound cards etc. should be no problem. The most problematic devices to get drivers to are often win modems and windows printers. If you are concerned about 3D graphics performance you should go for a graphics card based on chips from nVIDIA. They provide Linux drivers for their accelrated 3D cards, so you should have Quake III up and running in no time :-) Several PC suppliers can deliver PCs with Linux preinstalled, in which case you don't have to think about hardware compability at all.