What is Linux?

i have a Dell Dimension 3000 running Windows XP home edition, how do i get linux, what does it do, what is better about it?

 

You can download almost all Linux distrobutions for free over the internet from various sites, in .iso format. So you just burn it to a disc, put that disc in your main optical drive, and then reboot your computer. It should boot straight from the disc to begin with, but if not you just need to tell your systems BIOS to boot from your CD-ROM.

After that, most new popular distro's have become as easy to install as Windows XP, so you should be able to figure it out. =)

edit:
If Linux is something you just want to check out and play with and the Dell is your only system you should download a 'live' version of linux, meaning that it runs straight off the disc and there's no installing the actual operating system to your hard drive. I like Knoppix (http://www.knoppix.com/) the best.

Good luck.

 

And Creaky, you'll be happy to know that I drove 40 miles yesterday to go buy some Verbatim to replace the Memorex disc's.

 

can i get a link, i tried googling the download and got nothing, and i wanna permanently change my offline Gateway to linux.

 

For a total Linux n00b I would reccomend trying out KNOPPIX, or another live cd distro (I have quite a bit of linux experience and I still use Mepis, which is another live distro), they work well and are usually optimized for usability. If live isn't the route you want to take, try SuSE, Debian, or Yoper. Good luck with linux .

 

Sorry, my friend said it was ok to advertise in a sig..

 

I'm too broke for that . Is there a way to at least make it known I have a site, without exactly advertising it?

 

Alright.. I guess I'll just deal with it then.. Thanks for the info. See ya around the forums .