Open Source Tuesday – “Linux”
Intro
After thinking of what to blog about today, I decided to do a theme for Tuesday’s and make it Open Source Tuesdays. If you do not know what Open Source is and would like to know more about it go to Opensource.org. Basically Open Source are free programs developed by a group of people that think all software should be open to the public. One of (if not) the largest community that makes and develops Open Source software is the Linux community. So I figured I would first talk about Linux, and what is it? how do you use it? and is it right for me?
Linux – What is it?
Honestly I could write all about it and what it does and how its made but other people have done that a ton of times so here are a couple of links.
That should be all you really would want to know about linux. But in a nut shell Linux is mainly used as a replacement OS (Operating System) for windows or mac. So instead of using Windows XP or Mac, you could use a Distro of Linux. What is a Distro? A distro is like a Brand or Flavor. Some people like chocolate ice cream some people like vanilla. Personally I like Kubuntu, its very easy and user friendly. Kubuntu is part of the Ubuntu family. The K and Kubuntu stands for KDE which is a desktop environment. I know your probably thinking what is that!?!? Its basically how your windows look, and how your menus are setup.
There are 2 big desktop environments, KDE and Gnome, I think KDE is more user friendly but some people think Gnome is, you will have to try and see what you think for yourself.
KDE 4.1
Gnome 2.22
So you will have to decide.
How do you use it?
Like windows xp you install Linux using a CD or DVD, with Linux you can download them online and burn the image to a CD. Before you download Linux you need to find the distro you want I suggest you go to Distrowatch.com you will find out about the different distros and where to download the CD images. After you have picked the distro you like (I still strongly recommend ubuntu) and have burned the CD you will need to restart your computer and boot to the CD and start the install of the distro. Sound complicated its really not that bad, but if you want a really easy way to try ubuntu or kubuntu, try wubi
Wubi runs in windows, downloads the CD, makes the partitions and basically sets up everything for you, and you can even uninstall it in windows!!! yeah… its that good! Seriously though this is an awesome tool for people that would like to give linux/ubuntu a try.
Other ways to try Linux are downloading a “Live CD” or DVD. Basically its a CD that does not use your hard drive everything runs on your CD drive and RAM. So you will not have to worry about data lose or messing anything up, only problems is that nothing is saved, after you reboot its back to the way it was before. But its a great way to try it out and get used to the interface without a large amount of time setting everything up.
Great site for finding Linux live CDs:
frozentech.com
Is it right for me?
Don’t know you will have to answer that yourself, all I can do is point you in the right direction. If you like trying new things, if you like free stuff, and don’t mind challenges, then you will probably like Linux.
First thing I would say to do is download wubi install ubuntu and try it out, and try to have fun! 
You should also check out eLive, its an amazing distro that fits on a CDR and uses a tiny amount of hard drive space and ram.. also it installs in less than 5 minutes! Check it out!
Jase, you must have a lightning fast computer. Pretty sure that when I installed elive it took a lot longer then five minutes.