It may be time to give Linux another try

By JAMES DERK
If you have an old PC lying around (or even a brand new one), this may be the time to give Linux another try.

Yes, I know, you expect Linux, the free operating system developed by volunteers all over the world, to be nerdy and hard to use.

And, when compared to Windows, it used to be. But several new distributions of Linux make it painfully easy to get up and running on Linux without spending a dime.

My new favorite of these is Ubuntu, a great product with a catchy name. However, it is an appropriate name for what it is. "Ubuntu" is an African word meaning "humanity to others" and this is one software company that follows that word.

The Ubuntu philosophy is this: "that software should be available free of charge, that software tools should be usable by people in their local language and despite any disabilities, and that people should have the freedom to customize and alter their software in whatever way they see fit."

Try that with Windows.

Normally Linux distributions are free for the download or available on CD for a fee. Ubuntu has broken that mold by offering free CDs of its operating system (even a handful for you to give out) just for the asking.

A plus side of Linux, as you may know, is it is less of a resource hog than Windows. A school with a bunch of early Pentiums on a shelf could reform them with Ubuntu in an hour and put them back in service and be pleasantly surprised with the performance and ease of use.

Gone are the days of rummaging around the Web for a driver for your Soundblaster card and all of that. This install was one of the most trouble-free I have had. The positive was the operating system was peppy on a Pentium Pro 200 and 128 megs of RAM.

So what's the benefit of Linux? Nerds already know; it's a more stable and secure operating system than Windows at this point. And, because it is sort of based on Unix, there are tens of thousands of developers out there just writing applications for it for free (including a very nice Office suite.)

Once you install Ubuntu you will see a whole slew of applications already installed for you, ranging from OpenOffice, to Firefox to the Gimp graphics editor. It's basically ready to go.

It's available free in more than 40 languages. It offers free updates (much like Windows Update or the Mac, where you can download them automatically.

The downside? You may find things work slightly differently than you are used to with Windows or a Mac. But then anyone can catch on quickly.

And, best of all, no more buying software.

Not sure it is for you? Put the CD in your drive and run it right from the CD, not changing anything on your current computer. It's an excellent way to test drive Linux and not make any commitment at all.

In all, a great product.

Give it a try at www.ubuntu.com

WEEKLY WEB WONDER: If you work at a school or have kids you can get a customized version of Ubuntu called "EduBuntu" personalized for kids. See it at www.edubuntu.org

(James Derk is co-owner of CyberDads, a computer repair company, and a computer columnist for Scripps Howard News Service. His e-mail address is jim(at)cyberdads.com.)