A look at linux
Microsoft dominates the market when it comes to operating systems, from the very first windows 1.0 in 1985 to the latest Windows Vista, Microsoft has about 90% of the market share
Apple computers have made quite a comeback over the last decade and now many more users are switching to Apple Macs for their increased stability and security over Microsoft Windows. Vista, in the meantime, has had a lot of problems since its launch, so much so that Microsoft have brought forward the release date of the OS that is to supersede vista by 2 years to the Autumn of 2009. There are also a few problems emerging in the Apple Mac camp with security updates and patches taking far to long to be released leaving many Mac users with potentially vulnerable systems. Its a common misconception that Apple computers cant get viruses and malware, and while its true that there are way less viruses in the wild aimed at Macs, that number is increasing.
Linux - another alternative
The Linux operating system is nothing new, its been around since 1991 when it was first written by Linus Torvalds and other contributers and is based on the UNIX operating system that began its life in the 1960's.
Linux has always been favored by the technically minded, and as such wasn't a very friendly system for those just starting to use computers and in this respect Microsoft and Apple lead the way. However over the last few years Linux has seen an explosion in the number of distributions, contributors and users, helped along by system integrators and builders such as Dell, offering Linux as an alternative to Windows on certain product lines. Today Linux IS very user friendly and to a complete novice would probably be just as easy to learn as windows or apple would be.
Friendly Linux
Linux has now become very user friendly and those coming from a Windows or Apple background will find the interface quite familiar. There is a 'Start' type menu menu system where you will find your programs and navigational functions and the desktop environment is similar. Where Linux differs is the applications that run on it such as text editors. In the Microsoft world MS Office is the standard for creating documents, spreadsheets and presentation and in the Linux world there is a counterpart called Open Office (this can also run on a windows platform) and has a very similar look and feel to Office. In fact there is a linux alternative to nearly all software used by windows. One of the main benefits to a linux platform is that the operating system and application software is all free, distributed under the GPL license. This is a strong cost benefit especially to organizations running multiple workstations.
Linux is also very popular on mini notebooks andsub laptops.
Linux distributions
Linux comes in many guises and while they all share the same core, known as the Kernel, they differ from one to another in respect to look and feel and the applications that come with it. Some 'distros' may be suited to multimedia and graphics, while others more suitable to act as web and mail servers. One of the most popular distros at the present time is 'Ubuntu' and is available for download from their website: www.ubuntu.com Ubuntu is also being shipped by Dell pre-installed on certain product lines as an alternative to Windows.
This distribution is probably the simplest to use for the Linux novice and it can be trialled on a windows platform by downloading and burning to a cd. Ubuntu is then run directly of the cd (Live CD) without affecting your windows installation. This is a great way to test drive linux and to see if its for you.
Other operating system
There are other alternatives to Windows, Apple and Linux including BSD and Solaris. More on these later.