Why choose linux and what are you're options:

Choosing a linux distribution may depend on the hardware that one is working with. One may need an operating system for performing a specific task. The reason for such a diverse amount of linux distributions is to provide us with a large array of distributions from general use to specialized operating systems for specific situations. One really cool thing about the diverse amount of linux distributions is that the linux community has something to offer everyone and, in turn, everyone potentially can have something to offer the every-growing linux community. Because linux is open source and anyone can create their own linux distribution and this enables us to create specialized operating systems such as niche distributions. Niche distros are simply distributions targeted at specific niches and/or communities. Another good reason for developing your own linux distribution is to create a linux with localized interface. One of the biggest barriers in the information age is indeed the language barrier. Some linux distributions can be used for special applications such as smartphones, pocket pcs, and even home gaming consoles and some are specifically designed for those specific applications. Perhaps you are interested in choosing a linux distribution well suited for older hardware for the sole purpose of optimizing older hardware. Maybe you'd like to offer hosting or host your own website from your home computer. There are linux distributions used as an easy solution for creating and configuring a dedicated server and there are even distros specifically designed for security funcions. The choice is quite large.

When choosing a distribution, one should understand that many of today's Linux distributions are based on something. SLAX is a Slackware-based distro that has several of it's own SLAX-based distros. Knoppix and Ubuntu are both Debian-based distributions that have their own Knoppix-and Ubuntu-based distros. Slackware was based on Softlanding Linux System,(SLS) which is one of the earliest linux distributions, dating back to 1992. SLS was the most popular Linux distribution in the early 90s. It dominated the market until it was modified, renamed " Slackware" and release in the Summer of 93. A decision was made that SLS needed to be optimized and cleaned up a bit and that the executable file format should be changed from a.out to ELF (Executable and Linking Format - formerly "Extensible Linking Format" - the common standard file format in today's Linux). Incidently, Debian was also concieved from such ideas. Debian was also released in 93.

Some of the greatest concerns of those procrastinating are whether or not you will be able to work with linux or will linux be too complicated for you, how much time will you have to invest to learn how to use linux and will you be able to make use of linux. in my opinion and also in my experience, no one can answer those questions, but you. Some questions may want to ask yourself are: How useful is Windows to you? How much is your time worth? What kinds of applications do you use? What's the current price of Vista? IS it worth it? How many problems have you had with Windows in the previous years? Why did you choose Windows in the first place? You might as well start using Linux some day because it's free and constantly developing. Many of the applications used on linux surpass the capability of applications used in Windows and Linux is more stable and secure.

Read up on Linux Distributions and spontaneously find a distribution that appeals to you for one reason or another. Reinstall windows and during the installation create two or even three partitions. Install a couple distros on the remaining two partitions and use it instead of windows. Worst case scenerio, you can always go back to windows and windows will still be there. Try out linux on a live CD which doesn't even need to be installed on a computer system's hard drive. Live distros can boot directly from a CD-ROM even from a USB drive, or optionally can be installed on a local hard drive. The use of Linux LiveCDs, gives a user new to Linux the chance to experiment with a non-Windows operating system, without the risk of changing or re-configuring the user's existing system. Analyze the machines, you have at your disposal and find a distro, for which you machine meets the minimimum system requirements. if you have an older computer just lying around, choose a distro and install it. One really easy way for Microsoft Windows users to try out Linux is to use Topologilinux, which is specifically designed to run from within Microsoft Windows, Topologilinux can be installed without any changes to the user's hard disk, so if you are a Windows user, trying out linux, could be as difficult as popping in CD. With Topologilinux you won't be able to fully experience Linux, but at least it's something you can use to get a general idea and play around a bit.

If you're looking for an operating system to install on an older machine with hardware restrictions such as a relatively slow processor, little diskspace or a small ammount of RAM, there are a number of distros to choose from. Some of the more popular distros that are used for optimizing older machines include Vektor, Damn Small Linux, Puppy Linux and SLAX. Another good example that you may have already heard of is Xubuntu. Xubuntu, an official derivative of the Ubuntu Linux distribution, is specifically designed for users with less-powerful computers or those who seek a highly efficient desktop environment on faster systems. It will run on machines with as low as 64 MB of RAM, but for an installation, you will need you need 192 MB of RAM and 1.5 GB of free space on your hard disk. It is also indended to be fast and easy to use. It has all the software needed in order to browse the web, watch films and listen to music. It also includes applications such as Gimp for Image editing and the Abiword word processor and it uses the Xfce desktop environment which is well known in the linux community for its ability to run a fast and modern desktop environment on relatively modest hardware, while still delivering a user-friendly interface. There so-called "niche distributions" for specific communities and distributions specifically designed to be used in schools or simply for educational purposes. Good examples of niche distributions geared toward specific communities include Impi Linux, a South African based distribution that targets users in Africa and two Ubuntu based distros which are oriented towards the Christian community. They bundle Bible-oriented applications and theological dictionaries in their main distributions called Ichthux and Ubuntu Christian Edition. These two forks of the Ubuntu operating system have recently made serious attempts at marketing Linux to Christian clergy and organizations. Ubuntu Christian Edition, or simply "Ubuntu CE," was first announced on 24 July, 2006 as a distribution designed for Christians. The distro also includes a graphical tool to adjust the parental control settings specifically developed for Ubuntu Christian Edition and features fully integrated web content parental controls powered by DansGuardian, an entirely command line and web-based content control system distributed under the GPL, and written in C++, meant to be used in conjunction with a web proxy such as Squid, which satisfies the requirements of Children's Internet Protection Act in the United States. The most current Ubuntu CE is directly based on Ubuntu 7.04 "Feisty Fawn." It includes several popular Bible Study Programs such as GnomeSword and BibleMemorizer, the Firefox Web Browser with the Bible Fox Theme and extra Christian extensions such as the WhatWouldJesusDownload Toolbar (Firefox). It even comes with a daily Bible verse desktop feature using gDesklets. There are also many distrobutions that focus on support in languages other than English like ALT Linux, which provides support for Cyrillic languages and Asianux, a distribution focused on Chinese, Japanese and Korean support.

Good examples of niche distributions designed to be used in schools for educational purposes are Edubuntu, Skolelinux, Guadalinex and ServerAtSchool. Edubuntu, part of The Ubuntu Project, was created in collaboration with teachers and technologists from across the globe solely for educational purposes aimed at the 6-18 years age group in 2005 with the primary goal of enabling an educator with limited technical knowledge and skills to set up a computer lab or an on-line learning environment in an hour or less and then effectively administering that environment. Edubuntu includes many education-specific applications such as GCompris, KDE Edutainment Suite, and Schooltool Calendar as well as the Linux Terminal Server Project. Edubuntu is only one of many Linux distributions which are designed for use in classrooms. ServerAtSchool is a server-only distribution (based on OpenNA Linux) designed for primary schools.

There are also a number of solutions that the linux community has to offer to multimedia oriented individuals performing tasks such as video audio editing. There are many linux distributions aimed at providing open source operation systems equipped with free software to professional and amateur individuals in specific career fields like Linux Mint, Dreamlinux, 64 Studio and DeMuDi. Musix, for example, is a Knoppix/Debian based distribution, intended for music production, graphic design, audio, video editing, and other tasks. There are many linux distributions geared toward multimedia and multimedia applications. When it comes to distributions with emphasis on multimedia, whether focused on multimedia production, internet, graphics, audio and video production, LiveCD multimedia or simply obtaining streaming media from the Internet, there are numerous niche distros that are specialized for practically all the needs of any individual involved in such work. There are also projects that are simply aimed at multimedia and entertainment such as Mythbuntu, an Ubuntu based distro designed to simplify the installation of MythTV on a home theater PC, KnoppMyth, which wraps Knoppix around MythTV to ease the building of Linux-powered DVRs and LinuxMCE, a distribution designed to allow a computer to act as a Home Theater PC.

Some linux distributions can be used for special applications such as smartphones, pocket pcs, and even home gaming consoles and some are specifically designed for those specific applications. There's Mobilinux by Montavista for smartphones. Montavista is an embedded systems distro by MontaVista Software. iPodLinux is embedded Linux firmware for the Apple iPod based on the ?CLinux kernel. For Xbox there's Xebian and Gentoox (an adaptation of Gentoo for the Xbox).

If you'd like to offer hosting or host your own website from your home computer there are numerous distibutions used to perform this task. MEPIS is a distro which focuses on ease of installation and is often used as an easy solution for creating and configuring a dedicated server and SLAMPP, a version of Slax is designed to be used on a home server and NASLite is a floppy-based Linux designed to turn an old computer into a simple Network Attached Storage device. There are even distros designed for security funcions. Such distros include EnGarde Secure Linux (a server-only distribution designed to be secure) to Old Laptop As Firewall, in my opinion, a very interesting distro is designed for the use of an old laptop to firewall a dial-up connection with one floppy. SmoothWall distribution is designed to fuction as a router firewall.

Perhaps you would simply like to switch over to Linux and have a modern or farely modern machine. One thing you'll have to decide on is whether you prefer the Gnome or KDE GUI. Take a look at examples of both. Try them out and decide, while still looking for others and trying others out on a seperate machine and/or partition. SUSE, Knoppix , Ubuntu and Vektor are some examples of more popular general use linux distros that are user friendly. Take a look at sites like Distrowatch.Com. According to the results documented on Distrowatch.Com, Distros like Sabayon, CentOS, Puppy, FreeBSD have been continuing to gain a lot of attention over the past six to twelve months and distros like PCLinuxOS, Ubuntu, Fedora, openSUSE and Mint seem to be the most popular choices among Linux users. collaborate and communicate with like-minded individuals. contact me. i'm a nice an easy going guy. we can look together and analyze different distros. the linux community is a community. more specifically, there are many linuix communities, try out different distros and try out the communities as well. find a community that appeals to you. What it all comes down to is, you will find something appealing to you.