Making the switch

This is what everyday users usually find better, mostly the same, or not as good, when they are switching from Windows to Linux.

What is better in Linux

• It's free

  

  Unlike Windows, GNU/Linux is free. Install it on all computers, give copies to your friends. You can even study it, transform it as you please, or build and sell your own distribution.

• Programs

  

  There are a wealth of free applications available at no cost under Linux. To edit professional documents, burn music CDs, rework photos, design a website, or organise music; there's no need for $200 software with restrictive licenses. The internal installer makes it incredibly easy to find, install and remove programs. It's also safe: you can forget the demo/trial crippled software, or harmful freeware polluting the web.

• No fighting

  

  Keeping your computer in shape over time needn't be a struggle. One year on, GNU/Linux runs just as fast as the first day. And it may bring your old PC back to life. Also, Linux lets you choose what you want and what you don't. If you had a hard time getting rid of MSN Messenger, Windows Update notifications, or Clippit the paperclip, you'll find it refreshing.

• Security

  

  Forget expensive and restrictive anti-virus, anti-spyware, anti-anything and anti-everything. Linux is very, very secure. It is often difficult for Windows users to believe that there are no spyware and almost no viruses under Linux — but it's true. Malicious programs have a hard time doing anything at all in a well-built system. Regular, easy software updates will keep regular users entirely safe.

• Support

  

  lots of support available Linux benefits from a great sense of community whose friendliness will surprise you. If you try to do something complicated but can't succeed, there are a lot of people around to help you out. Our page "Where to go next" features a good selection. The companies behind some main GNU/Linux distributions, such as Canonical and Red Hat, also provide very reliable commercial support.

What is mostly the same in Linux

Fundamentally, everyday users will find GNU/Linux similar in use to Windows or Mac OSX.

• General set-up

  

  If you still believe Linux is controlled with code and command-line, you should update your views! Just like Windows, Linux has to boot when you switch your computer on, and then you use programs in it to do different things. The taskbar and layout of applications will feel familiar to Windows or Mac OS users.

• Web browsing and common tasks

  

  The Web looks just the same when viewed with Linux (in fact you can browse the Web with the same program if you already use Firefox). And of course, you can go through your picture and music collection all the same. Files and folders are navigated with a file manager like Windows Explorer.

What is not as good in Linux

"Never tell the truth to people who are not worthy of it." — Mark Twain;

or:

"Tell the truth and run." — Yugoslavian proverb.

• Driver support

  

  Manufacturers of computer hardware don't always release drivers for Linux or provide volunteers with the information they need to make drivers (yet). So, some recent high-end graphics cards very sometimes don't have drivers available, but that is now rare — some are reverse-engineered from Windows drivers by volunteers. Some drivers are sometimes released free of charge, but under restrictive licenses. However, the vast majority of computers with standard hardware work out of the box with main Linux distributions. Common hardware such as USB keys or cameras rarely are a problem. And even the more problematic types of hardware, such as Nvidia and ATI 3D cards now work as well as they do in Windows.

• DVDs, restricted standards

  

  Many multimedia formats around us are proprietary and not openly specified; this means, broadly speaking, that Linux programmers have to figure out how to read them without any help from the format developers or Microsoft. Unfortunately, depending on where you live, such circumvention processes may be illegal (yes, even if you purchased your media entirely legally).

  Fortunately, Linux Software Engineers have fixed it so DVD's play fine on Linux. Many argue that The Digital Rights Management Act (DMCA) renders this illegal. There are millions of Linux users in the US alone and there is not one case of prosecution or even any awareness that Linux users do so...it's just the way it is until we get the laws changed, and we work on that daily. Your DVD's will play fine with the right codecs. Besides, unlike Microsoft Windows, no one can come snooping around your computer to know what you do anyway. That's the beauty of Linux.

• Gaming

  

  Hard-core computer gamers, you might find that the Linux gaming world is less professional and out-of-the-box than under Windows: The big gaming software developers seem to have little interest for the free software world, which means that many well-known titles do not work on Linux, or need special emulators to work. There is a very active Free Software game development community though, and they have produced quite a few high-quality and totally free games.

• Hibernating

  

  Because of the driver issues above, hibernating is not always reliable. The most common occurrence is the loss of WiFi connection after hibernating on laptops whose hardware drivers are not free.

Conclusion

Whether you are going to enjoy Linux depends mostly on what you expect from it.

• If you wish Linux to be just exactly like Windows, you will probably be disappointed. GNU/Linux is built by people who simply wish it to be different. In the free software community, members have different visions of what makes an ideal operating system. These differences lead to variety, which is what makes Linux so special and interesting.

• Your freedom matters. Thousands in communities and companies work to build software on which you may exert this freedom. Using GNU/Linux is the easiest way to do so fully.

• It's fun! Not having to worry about spyware, viruses, program registrations, demos that expire, or finding software that is really free as in freedom, makes using a computer suddenly very enjoyable.

We hope you'll switch soon. There's a large community waiting, and no one in it asking you to "sign up, purchase and register".