What exactly is Linux? I know it's a type of OS, but what exactly does it do/what are it's features? I just want to know cause I'm getting really bored with XP and I'm shopping around for different options.

Linux is basically an open-source system.

There are thousands of different programs that can be downloaded and run for free

There are different types of desktop programs (equivelent to Windows Explorer) such as Gnome, KDE, fluxbox, etc.

If you're new to Linux check out Ubuntu

And remember all of its free!

I'm using it right now. Firefox and Opera are available here and there are many different program that can be used in place of the Windows equivalent.

Is it a complete system install? or does it run on top of XP?

No it is a complete operating system that can run alongside with XP (dual boot) or replace it. There are many different linux operating systems, called distro's or distributions, you should find one that does what you want. Popular ones are Fedora (former Red Hat), SuSE, Ubuntu, Debian (is for more experienced users).

Most linux distros include a large amount of software like browser, office suite, games, anything you need and more than you get with windows. Depending on the distro, installation can be a pain in the donkey or a breeze. Usually its really easy, you download it (legally, because its free) from a hyper fast FTP server, burn it to CD or DVD and boot with the disc in the drive. Then just follow the steps.

There's lots and lots of stuff you can do with Linux, anything you'll ever want is available for Linux and most often its free. Not everything is free though, SuSE for example isn't, and some software isn't free either such as ummm kBasic i think, but you don't need it and theres usually a free alternative.

Google for 'linux distro comparison', there must be tons of emAlso search on youtube for 'Beryl'. Stunning

Ge64 Wrote:Also search on youtube for 'Beryl'. Stunning

Aero eat your hear out! :loveheart:

Aero is a lame excuse for a marketing campaign

How do you do that dual-boot thing? Oh, and also, anyone know where a list of software that works on Linux is? 'Cause I have a bunch of programs like Poser 7 and Flash 8, and I don't want them all to become moot if I install it. Oh yeah, one more thing: do I have to have a lot of technical/programming knowledge to really enjoy it?

Oh, by the way, when I searched Youtube, I found a link from the Beryl video to this one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TaIUkwPybtM
This guy is f***ing retarded. "The search works exactly the same as OSX, but the search box is in a different spot! Totally original, see?" I mean, come on!!!

Another funny vid: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7twt3eDvSCc&NR=1

(This post was last modified: 24/04/2007 06:09 PM by Chroma.)

Do you know about partitioning? If you already have windows installed and you install linux to a different partition it should automaticly set up dual booting.

Theres way too much software that runs on linux to have a list... the thing is, some programs will not work (im not sure about adobe products) on linux, but there will be alternatives for linux that do the same. Also, when you use dual boot you can just go into windows if you need to use certain programs. And there is a thing called Wine that lets you run some windows software in linux but i don't know much about that.

Linux does work a bit different from windows. The basics like browsing, text editing, whatever are just like in windows but administration and more advanced stuff usually require some knowledge of how linux works. This includes installing drivers and sometimes software (if the software doesn't come with an installer or something). Fortunately, there is lots and lots of info on the internet so you just need to search for a tutorial if you don't know something. Many things will be done using the console, which is like the dos prompt in windows.

Prepare for some confusion and getting used to stuff, but some things are easier too. Some things are very different like the harddrive structure (in windows you get C: D: etc, in linux they are assigned a name. First your harddisks are categorised in \hd0, \hd1 etc, then the partitions like \hd0\boot, \hd0\data etc. CD will be \cd0. This is how linux manages devices, so your LAN card will be \eth0

You don't need any programming knowledge, and depending on what you want to do you may need some knowledge of linux which you will have to learn. Using programs is usually not a problem, but getting things to work requires some time if you havent ever done it before. However, once you know how, getting things done is much easier than in windows.

If I have a second internal HDD, can I install it on that and run a dual-boot?

Oh, yeah, sorry about all the questions, it's just that google's sites' answers are always the general blanket answers. Plus, you guys are really teaching me a lot about this stuff

:P

You can install it on a second harddisk, but you can install it on the same harddisk on a different partition too. Partitioning is dividing your harddisk into multiple 'partitions', or drives. so you get C:, D:, E: etc all on the same physical harddrive.