If you’ve been surfing the web on a Windows machine for any length of time you are surely familiar with all the problems associated with system crashes and viruses, not to mention a sluggish Internet experience. Well, there is an easy and inexpensive (as in FREE) way to avoid those problems and make your web browser work faster and smoother to boot! All you have to do is give Windows the ole heave-ho and install Linux!
The Linux operating system has been around for years. In fact, you probably don’t know it but you already use it virtually every time you get on the Internet because the majority of websites in existance today run on Linux-based servers. The reasons for that are many, but the most important ones are its speed and security. Linux is a very well written and extremely efficient operating system that is quite good at utilizing a server’s hardware resources. And while a Linux system isn’t immune to viruses, they simply aren’t an issue like they are with Windows based machines.
The same advantages that make Linux the operating system of choice for servers also make it an excellent choice for laptops and desktop PCs. I have seen computers that struggle just to transition from one web page to another run as smooth as water out of a faucet after replacing Windows with Linux.
The bottom line is this: If you use your computer primarily for surfing the Internet and checking email, you owe it to yourself to give Linux a try. There are a number of Linux “distros” available for free download from the web, but the one I recommend is Ubuntu Linux. Ubuntu comes with an outstanding installer that handles most of the details for you, and it comes bundled with the excellent Firefox web browser and Mozilla Thunderbird email client. Installation on most computers is a snap, and you can even run it from the CD to see if you like it before actually installing it to your hard drive.
Better yet, if you simply must have Windows on your machine to run specific programs that you just can’t do without, you can instruct the installer to set up a dual-boot system with which you can boot up either into Linux or Windows at the touch of a key! That’s what I call having your cake and eating it too!
You can download the latest version of Ubuntu Linux for free right here. Simply download the .ISO file to your desktop, then right-click on the icon and click “Burn Disc Image” to create a Linux installation CD or DVD.
In order to use the installation disc you’ll need to make sure that your computer is set to boot from the optical media drive first and the hard drive second. You can change the boot sequence be entering the BIOS setup utility. This is accomplished by pressing a specific key on your keyboard when the computer is first turned on. The key in question will vary from computer to computer, but if you watch your screen closely after you first turn it on you’ll see a message telling you which key to press to enter the BIOS setup.
Conclusion: Switching from Windows to Linux will give an older computer a bit more pep and turn a newer one into a speed demon – and you won’t have to worry about viruses any longer! Don’t believe me? Just give it a try.
About the author: James Gallimore is a Linux expert who lives in Santa Clara, California with his wife, his three amazing children and four enormous Great Danes!