Linux

[society]

I've heard about Linux and did some research on it. I would like to try it but I'm not sure I understood everything about it. Please tell me in in a simple explaination about it and a site where I can download a free version. I saw a few sites offering it free but I want to get you all thoughts and input first. I am using XP home edition. Thanks.

[Ethel]

I suggest you go to your local library where they may have 'linux for dummies' - an excellent guide with the OS on a dvd.
If you are not as tight fisted as me, you can buy it:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Linux-Dummies-sup-%C2% AE/dp/0470116498/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=gat eway&qid=1200862538&sr=8-1

I believe you can boot up from that disk, so you can have a look at Linux before installing it on your pc,

Or you can download it from here:

http://www.linux.org/

The linux forum on that site is first rate

[society]

This site explained everything in my language. ;-)
Thanks Ethel!

[fo3nix]

Eek no!

Source of confusion -- do you mean Linux the kernel, or Linux the operating system (better called GNU/Linux)?

The link to linux.org that Ethel supplies is for the kernel. This won't be much use to you.

That book focuses on Fedora Core 6 -- just one distribution (distro) to choose from.

Here's the idea -- instead of using Microsoft of Apple or someone for your operating system software, why not use lots of software from different people who make it free software (not free in price, but free in freedom). Meaning that anyone can do anything to it -- alter it and redistribute (share) it in any way they like.

Because of this, there is obviously different ways of packaging up all this different software. You may want to use some system with some image editor, or some other word processing software, etc. Therefore, there are lots of different distributions.

Some good ones include Gentoo, Fedora, and Ubuntu.

Ubuntu has become very popular in the last year or so, gaining more support than other distributions. It's totally free to download and comes as a liveCD. This means that you can stick it in your computer and boot from it, to try out Ubuntu, without even touching your hard drive. Take out the disc and restart, and you're back to Windows without even knowing you'd ever tried Ubuntu.

http://www.ubuntu.com/

Because of its popularity, you'll find much good advice in the forums on their website, and some good books too, specifically tailored to Ubuntu.

A book like "Linux for Dummies" will not be good since it's tailored to some other distro, which will work in different ways and in any case will now be out of date.

[society]

Thanks fo3nix! I've since registered with Ubuntu and will be ordering the CD.

Oh, and I was referring to the operating system. Cheers!

[fo3nix]

Your library may stock books on it too. Amazon has loads of them.

Here's one of the best:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Official-Ubuntu-Book-B enjamin-Mako/dp/0132354136/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie= UTF8&s=books&qid=1201081708&sr=8-1

(If you know what you're doing, then it's easy to download the CD yourself and burn it to a disc -- and a lot faster than ordering a free CD.)