| The majority of computer users have Microsoft | | | | Office... install the free OpenOffice.org which is MS |
| Windows operating system on their computers. It is | | | | Office compatible. If you don't want to "lose" your |
| true that Microsoft dominates the market... but have | | | | Windows, you can either create a multi-boot system, |
| you considered other operating systems? This isn't a | | | | allowing you to swap between Windows and Linux, or |
| plug for any particular operating system but if you are | | | | you can use a virtual machine host like VMWare and |
| considering purchasing a new computer because the | | | | run Linux under Windows or vice-versa. If you are |
| old one has slowed to a crawl or you are fed up with | | | | experimenting use the free VMWare server do a few |
| virus or malware issues then think about swapping | | | | installs tweak settings and get comfortable with |
| operating systems. | | | | swapping OS's. |
| Ok... so it seems daunting... but in fact it really isn't. Back | | | | These free "alternative" operating systems allow you |
| in the day when Linux was young you were really | | | | to utilize older hardware and alleviate many of the |
| super cool if you could figure out how to install the | | | | hassles associated with virus plagued MS Windows. |
| stinkin' thing. Now you can choose a variety of flavors | | | | That is not to say that Linux or other OS's are without |
| of Linux and the installs are typically easy plug-n-play | | | | flaw and susceptibility to virus but not to the extent |
| type installs. Linux has a tendency to be a much | | | | that Windows is... do a web search for Linux, BSD, |
| smaller install than Windows. I like the Ubuntu Linux... it is | | | | Unix, etc to get an understanding of how these |
| FREE and the install is typically trouble free. | | | | different operating systems work. If you do seriously |
| If you are used to Windows, you can setup Linux and | | | | consider installing Linux for the first time be sure to |
| the "KDE" (K-Desktop) or "Gnome" interfaces which | | | | search for issues related to your particular hardware |
| are fairly intuitive if you are used to Windows. As far | | | | as a precaution. Happy Computing! |
| as applications if you have been using Microsoft | | | | |