Okay, recently I’ve started to REALLY like Linux. (I’ve mentioned it before in my “Great Software, No Cost!” post.) If you forget what it is, Linux is an operating system just like Microsoft Windows and Mac OSX. Many people think that Linux is unstable, hard to understand, and just too complicated, this is not true. I have to say, it is hard to get Linux up and running from scratch, but people and companies have created distributions of Linux (See “Part III:How to Install Linux”) to make it easier and streamlined. Also, Linux is very different if you are a Windows user, not in interface, but as in the way it works and is organized.
First of all, a few really important concepts: Linux is FREE. Not just in price but as described by Wikipedia’s “Free Software” entry: “Free software is software that can be used, studied, and modified without restriction, and which can be copied and redistributed in modified or unmodified form either without restriction, or with restrictions only to ensure that end users have the same freedoms as the original authors.”
Second, Linux is a part of the GNU Project, a free software project. This project started in 1983 by Richard Stallman, a software freedom activist, hacker, and software developer. It consists of so many programs that for almost any non-free software, there is a free version. (Examples: Windows ==> Linux, Microsoft Office ==> OpenOffice.org, Adobe Photoshop ==> The GIMP)
Third, Linux is a collaborative project. People from around the world contribute time and effort making programs, fixing bugs, and making it better.
PART II: A LITTLE HISTORY.
Although Linux comes in many forms, it is all based on the Linux kernel, originally created by Linus Torvalds. In April 1991, Torvalds, who at the time was 21 years old, began working on an operating system based around a UNIX-like system, MINIX. Later, he annouced Linux in a Usenet posting to the newsgroup comp.os.minix. and said:
“Hello everybody out there using minix -
I’m doing a (free) operating system (just a hobby, won’t be big and professional like gnu) for 386(486) AT clones. This has been brewing since april, and is starting to get ready. I’d like any feedback on things people like/dislike in minix, as my OS resembles it somewhat (same physical layout of the file-system (due to practical reasons) among other things).
I’ve currently ported bash(1.08) and gcc(1.40), and things seem to work. This implies that I’ll get something practical within a few months, and I’d like to know what features most people would want. Any suggestions are welcome, but I won’t promise I’ll implement them 
Linus (torvalds@kruuna.helsinki.fi)
PS. Yes – it’s free of any minix code, and it has a multi-threaded fs. It is NOT portable (uses 386 task switching etc), and it probably never will support anything other than AT-harddisks, as that’s all I have 
.
– Linus Torvalds “
PART III: HOW TO GET IT!
Now, to the part you are probably most interested in: How to get it! As I said before, Linux comes in many different forms, created by people from around the world. Each of these forms are called distributions, or just distros. Basically what a distro is, is a bunch of software bunched together with the Linux kernel, and distributed to other people to use. According to Wikipedia: “There are currently over three hundred Linux distribution projects in active development, constantly revising and improving their respective distributions”. (See this timeline)
So which one do I choose? First of all, DON’T used Gentoo if you are a beginner at Linux. Gentoo requires you to build Linux almost from scratch (But it does give some extensive documentation, so you might be able to pull it off). As I said in my free software post, Ubuntu is a good live distro (A version of Linux that runs off a CD and doesn’t modify your hard drive), for just trying it out, but you can also install it. Another thing with Ubuntu, you can also install it in Windows using a program called Wubi (Get it here). Instead of repartitioning, or burning a live disk, you can install it like any other program and run it when starting your computer.
A fresh installation of Ubuntu 7.04 “Feisty Fawn”with GNOME (See Desktop Environments)
Next, OpenSUSE is another one of my favorite distros, it is created by the software giant Novell, which also creates a enterprise version of SUSE.
OpenSUSE 10.2 with KDE (See Desktop Environments)
Then there is Fedora Core, sponsored by another major software company, Red Hat, which creates Red Hat Linux. Also, Fedora has a Live CD version for you to test out.
Fedora Core 7 with GNOME (See Desktop Environments)
There are also a few other major distributions: Debian and Knoppix. Knoppix is a live CD version of Debian that is used for many purposes such as system rescue, and as an intro to Linux.
Debian Etch’s GNOME (See Desktop Environments) 2.14 desktop
Knoppix 5.1.1 with KDE (See Desktop Environments)
I know, and I still haven’t answered the question: Which distro do I choose? It really is your choice, they all are good versions to start using Linux! But some versions may be easier to start with, like Ubuntu and OpenSUSE.
PART III.II: DESKTOP ENVIRONMENTS.
Well, basically this is what interface you have when running Linux, there are two main ones, KDE and GNOME (As seen above).
The KDE explaination is as follows from Wikipedia: “KDE (K Desktop Environment) is a free software project which aims to be a powerful system for an easy-to-use desktop environment. The goal of the project is to provide basic desktop functions and applications for daily needs as well as tools and documentation for developers to write stand-alone applications for the system. In this regard the KDE project serves as an umbrella project for many standalone applications and smaller projects that are based on KDE technology, such as KOffice, KDevelop, Amarok and K3b.”
And the GNOME explaination: “GNOME frameworks, selecting is an international effort to build a complete desktop environment—the graphical user interface which sits on top of a computer operating system—entirely from free software. This goal includes creating software development application software for the desktop, and working on the programs which manage application launching, file handling, and window and task management.”
PART III.III: INSTALLING AND PARTITIONING LINUX
Okay, installing Linux. This may be the hardest part, especially if you are planning to keep your Windows/OSX system. First of all, you should try the live versions of Linux before actually installing it. Second, you need to BACK UP your system, if you are dedicating your system to Linux, when you install it, it will format your hard drive, erasing all your data and if you are planning to install Linux with Windows/OSX, things may go wrong, also resulting with your data being lost (but it won’t destroy your hard drive).
There are many guides out there that can help you go through this procedure. If you are installing from scratch, I recommend reading the manuals to each distro. If you are installing it side-by-side with Windows/OSX, or dual booting, you’ll need to partition your hard drive, or splitting it into parts. A good guide is at http://apcmag.com/6101/dualboot_windows_xp_and_ubuntu but this guide doesn’t say much about shrinking your Windows partition, to do this I recommend you to use a Gparted live cd to do it. Then you would make it smaller, creating at least 5 GB (maybe more for different distros) for Linux. After that you would install Linux into the “Unallocated Space”. A good guide to using Gparted is at http://gparted.sourceforge.net/larry/generalities/gparted.htm.
If all goes well, your computer will boot into Linux after completing the installation, and you will be able to play around in Linux! Best wishes to you, and good luck on your adventure with Linux!
Images courtesy of the English Wikipedia.
