The popular distributions or destroys include Red Hat Linux Mandrake Linux, Corel Linux SUSE Linux and Debian . it’s just like having different flavors of ice cream. True to the spirit of open source, if you download the distro from the company’s Website, it is free for use. But the distros are usally quite huge. If you are getting the distorts from the company, be ready to pay up a tiny bit. Companies compile the packages, make installation hassle free, bundle applications, add a manual, and extend any support you need. So they charge a fee for all this.

One note here though: the free in Linux stands for freedom of choice, to redistribute, to install a feature, freedom to modify the source code. That’s the spirit of Linux being free.

Linux better than other OS

Linux users won’t even bat an eyelid before they say an emphasis comes from a deep dislike of Microsoft’s practice of changing the earth for software. But a lot of it comes from the fact they are ready to swear upon-that Linux is more stable. There are no blue screens and no viruses to speak of. Linux has a better security support for multi-users, lets you set up a stable server, internet gateways etc, and still lets it-self to be used as a desktop workstation. Add to that it being free, and they argue that you don’t lose anything by giving it a try. You get free support on the Net quickly on any query you may have. And you don’t even have to wipe out your Windows. Just get Linux on a different hard disk partition and free to switch between the OSs as you please .

Myths about Linux

Installation:

Linux is hard to install, isn’t it? Not really. Most people haven’t ever installed Windows on their computers either-since it comes preloaded. Linux is as easy-some say easier-to install compared to Windows. You can install it through a graphical user interface like Windows. But what really stumps most people in installing Linux on a second partition on their hard disk, when they want to be able to use both operating systems.

A partition is a way of organizing space on your hard disk by creating virtual sections that are separate from each other. Most computers that are running Windows or MS DOS have one large chunk of space holding the OS. This space is the C drive. If you have a large hard disk, it’s likely that it has been divided up into smaller bits called partitions to help you organize your data better. These partitions are usually called D:, E: etc. you could have Linux on any of these.