I expect that a lot of you reading this have, at some point or other, heard or read about something called Linux.

Linux (properly pronounced “LIH-nux,” not “LIE-nux”) is an operating system written by a Finnish fellow by the name of Linus (LIH-nus) Torvalds, and is short for LINus’s UniX.

All computers use an operating system, or OS; it is how the computer communicates with the user. The majority of people are most familiar with an OS known as Microsoft Windows; Apple users are probably using some version of OSX (or OS-X, Operating System X[10]). Linux is a different way to use the computer.

Unlike OSX (which is pretty much Apple-specific), or MS Windows, Linux is a FREE – as in no cost – alternative. Yes, that’s right: there is absolutely no charge for Linux. Nor is there any charge for the vast majority of the software (enough to fill a DVD, with plenty left over). You can install Linux and the software on as many computers as you want, whenever and wherever you want, for as long as you want. There’s no registration, no CD key, no licensing, none of that. No installation or usage limits or restrictions of any kind - period.

How good can free software be? Pretty darn good, for the things that most people need and want: word processors, graphics editing, web browsers, e-mail, spreadsheets, databases, media players, personal finance and so on. Some of you may already be using free software such as Firefox (www.mozilla.org) or Open Office (www.openoffice.org), and I’d bet that you’ve found them to be as good or better than their for-pay equivalents.

How is anyone making any money on this, you ask? For the most part, no one is. While some of the larger applications (programs) offer paid technical support as a way for the company to make money, nearly everything else was created by someone who had a need for a program that did a particular function, and then shared the results of their efforts. Others write programs purely for the pleasure of creating something that a lot of other people will find useful.

How stable is Linux? Extremely. I, personally, have computers running Linux that haven’t been rebooted for over 2 YEARS, and yet they’re still updated regularly, and as up to date as they can be. Roughly half of the computers that make up the Internet (such as the ones at Amazon) use Linux because of how stable and secure it is. As for the issue of security... it’s worth noting that there aren’t any anti-virus applications for Linux. There are some antivirus applications that run ON Linux, but they’re aimed toward dealing with any Microsoft files that the Linux system has to deal with.

Similarly, Linux doesn’t have the problem with malware that Windows has: the basic security model for Linux is the complete opposite of what Windows uses. For years, a default Windows installation was that the user operated the computer in an administrative mode; essentially allowing anything that happened to affect the entire computer. Linux installs in a completely different way: It sets up an administrative account that is allowed to do things that affect the entire system, but also sets up individual USER accounts that are much more restricted. Of course, users can still install software and make other changes, but they’ll know that they’re doing something serious.

Why haven’t you heard more about Linux? That one is pretty easy to answer: being free software, Linux doesn’t have any big company paying for advertising to “get the word out.” I mean, we’ve all seen the Windows and Apple Mac ads - those companies have entire PR departments, while Linux depends on satisfied users telling other people about it.

With no big company behind it, you might wonder how you can get support or help when you have a problem. The solution there is to simply go online and do an Internet search on what the problem is; chances are that some other Linux users have run into it before, and can provide the answer. Granted, it isn’t as personal as talking to “Bob” in Bombay, but then, you don’t have to pay for anything, either.

What about all your files: your letters, emails, Internet bookmarks, pictures, and all that? Simple: Linux reads and writes pretty much EVERYTHING. You won’t lose any of your letters to Aunt Tilly, you won’t lose the pictures from that vacation to Hawaii, none of it. Additionally, with the software for Linux being free, updates are free, too - and you don’t have to worry about a new version of a program making everything you’ve already done obsolete, unlike each new version of Windows programs.

How easy can Linux be to use? Pretty much as easy as Windows. Sure, some things look and work a little differently, but the basics are still the same: the mouse, dragging, dropping, and even many of the keyboard shortcuts.

Some of you may have seen someone using Linux in the command-line (like the old MS-DOS) mode, and figured it was too geeky. Actually, nearly all the Linux distributions (or “distros” - kind of like the branding of Windows) use a Graphical User Interface (GUI); it’s just that those of us that are a bit more nerdish find it easier to use the command line for some things.

Does Linux need high-end hardware? Not at all. In fact, Linux works BETTER than Windows on older hardware: Linux doesn’t require anywhere near the computer resources that Windows does. One of my computers is an old 800 MHz Pentium II with 512M of memory, and it runs the latest of one of Linux’s distros like a champ – even better than it ran Windows 2000, in fact.

I’m not going to pull your leg, though: Linux isn’t for everybody. Linux support for the latest-and-greatest hardware isn’t always very good, and Linux won’t run many of the newer games; many manufacturers simply aren’t interested in supporting Linux.

Also, if you absolutely HAVE to use a particular program (such as Photoshop, instead of the free alternative called GIMP), you can’t use Linux. But if you’re open to doing things a bit differently, and using something other than what you’re used to, there’s a pretty darn good chance that Linux will meet your needs. If you do choose to install Linux, it will offer to keep your existing Windows installation so that you can “dual boot” (choose which OS to run when the computer starts), making it easier for you to make the changeover.

I have a standing offer that I will mail a “live” (everything runs off the disk, without doing ANYTHING to your existing Windows stuff) CD to anyone who wants to give Linux a try. Simply send me a postal address (via my e-mail address, dkmerriman@gmail.com), and I’ll send you the disk – I’m not asking for any kind of contribution or compensation. All I ask is that you be patient, in case I get a lot of requests.