Originally written: 9 Dec 2002. Updated: 10 June 2009. Links: Stop-motion tutorial | free bibliographic software
[NOTE #1: These pages are for regular people who use personal computers with commercial software for business and home, who are considering using Linux. If you already know Linux, Unix, or programming, don't bother with these pages unless you want to refer a non-technical friend to a place where they can read one person's first encounters with the Linux world.]
"Linux" is an operating system, meaning a whole software platform
that runs your computer. Programs (a.k.a. 'applications') run within an
operating system. The main commercial operating
systems are Windows and Mas OS X. Just as there have been many versions
of Windows (95, 98, 2000, ME, XP, Vista), there have been multiple
generations of Linux; the current kernel version is 2.6.
Linux--or more properly, GNU/Linux--is actually one of several similar
operating systems that have
been under development since 1969: the UNIX/Xenix/Minix/Linux/BSD/Mac
OS X family of operating systems, known collectively as the *NIX
family. *NIX platforms are all similar enough that software designed
for one platform can be 'ported over' to run on others fairly easily.
However, the underlying structure of *NIX operating systems are
different enough from the Microsoft Windows platform that it is
difficult to port software between the two environments. Furthermore,
the philosophical and legal differences between Microsoft and the whole
Open-Source community discourages cross-development. That said, some of
the most commonly-used *NIX applications used for office productivity,
email/contacts/scheduling, graphics, sound editing, and even GIS are
now being ported over to Windows. Naturally they are free, so you can
download and learn them before even trying out a Linux platform at all.
On another page I have listed common
equivalent software and links to places you can get it.
NOTE #2: THE BIG CAVEAT:
in my opinion as a GNU/Linux user, the grass is not greener over here;
it is just different grass. Free software is indeed free of licensing
fees and restrictions, but you still have to learn it. And that is the
main cost. Furthermore, you usually have to configure some stuff on
your system in Linux, and that requires research. I had to do that on
Windows as well, but some people I have met just use pre-configured
systems and never have to spend time messing with them. If you like to
use a pre-configured system but you don't like Windows, get a Mac. They
are extremely reliable and easy to use.
NOTE #3 MOST IMPORTANT! Before you get involved in setting up a whole new operating system, I strongly recommend that you try out the free software which is available to run in the commercial environment you are already using. Try at least Firefox and Open Office, and maybe Thunderbird, Evolution and GIMP. If you like the free/open-source software, then you have already learned it. Switching to a new operating system will be a smaller step.
Linux is one type of operating system in the *NIX family. However there are many ways the Linux kernel, device drivers, and related software widgets can be bundled. Various bundlings of Linux are distributed by different organizations, and therefore these different bundlings are called "distros." To save time here, I am going to recommend one of the most common distros available in 2009: Ubuntu. Download the image of the install CD, burn a copy (or two), and install it on a new 20 GB partition on your hard drive. Leave Windows and all its installed software on the larger original partition, so that you have a "dual-boot" machine. The Ubuntu system can read and write to your Windows partition, so you can keep using the Windows partition as the place to keep your files. If you want to bring over old emails, contacts, and calendars from Outlook or Thunderbird in Windows, you can access the files directly in Ubu and import them into Evolution or Thunderbird on the Linux side.
NOTE #4: problem-solving in Linux. As of 2000-2002, Linux could be painfully difficult to use. However an 'vanilla' distribution like Ubuntu is now as easy to install as Windows or Mac OS X, and thousands of people are constantly troubleshooting bugs. That means that Google is your best technical-support friend. You may need to get used to using Google with more precision, such as entering in a phrase exactly as written, marked off by double quotes. The more careful the question, the more likely you will score a direct hit with your search results.