I would like to know more about Linux.?

Question

Is Linux like Windows? Is it free? can I run all my favorite games with it? I use Windows Word and Internet Explorer, are there replacements for these programs with linux? I love Counter Strike Source and Warcraft 3, Can i continue to play these with linux, if not are there games that i can play? Is Linux easy to get used to for a full fledged windows user? I like to make movies with Windows Movie Maker, is there another program like it that i can use Linux.

Please answer these and Provide other info about Linux that You think might be useful

Answer 1

Well Linux and Windows can be made to appear very much alike. They are different operating systems entirely and are not the same under the surface. Both do have a GUI..meaning graphical user interface and clicking on the icons in either will launch a program. So in a few respects they are similar. There are also major major differences in how they work so in that respect they are not alike.

Yes many Linux distributions are free. Like Ubuntu
http://ubuntu.com one of the more well known ones at this time. very easy to use and install and its free.

Some of your games will work but most will not. As for Word and internet explorer there are equals within linux Firefox browser (much better than IE in most cases) is in many distributions. Open Office - also free -- also comes with many Linux installations or can be added It will read Word documents and write them.

http://www.linuxforums.org/forum/gaming-games-multimedia-entertainment/9727-counter-strike-linux.html
Says that Counter Srike runs well on linux.. since I am not a gamer I can't attest to this. Just do a search for Warcraft on linux. most internet based / browser based games will run on linux. --- PS I found this about Warcraft so yes by using "Wine" a linux add on it appears that it works
http://frankscorner.org/index.php?p=warcraft3

It takes a little time to learn linux just like it did when you started using windows. There is no automatic translation but if you approach it and want to learn its not hard. Just dont think what you did with Windows is how you run linux... its not!

Movie Maker has many options in Linux. there are many editors for Movies and nearly all of them are also "free".

I would say download Ubuntu,, burn it to a CD. Boot that CD and take a trial run at linux.. It will run off the CD and will not cause you to have to remove windows to see how it works and allow you to get a first hand experience.

I will say that putting linux in office environments where email. internet, and word processing are the main items used, most people have had only a few minor issues in making the switch. Most is just to get the hang of how to do it.

Answer 2

Can be like linux

free

won't play your windows games directly, but you can install windows in a virtual server (eg XEN or VMware) and switch to your favorite windows software games may be slower

Recent versions of linux are pretty easy to try - the come in live cd/dvd versions that let you run it on your pc without installing anything - look for ubuntu, suse open, mandriva open, fedora etc etc. I particularly like a version called pclinuxos

Answer 3

Linux is free to download, use, configure, alter and pass on to anyone else you want. The major distributions also come with about 1800 programmes all free of charge.

Outwardly Linux looks much like windows if you use the KDE desktop, but it does work differently to windows, the file system is different to windows, but once you get used to it you'll find it easier to use, & a hell of a lot more secure, no need for anti virus software & you won't come across any malware.

It is possible to a lot of windows software using an "emulator" programme like wine or Crossover office, but you really don't need to, Open Office is an office suite very nearly as good as Microsoft office, it will use MS office files & you can save open office files as microsoft files, check it out: http://www.openoffice.org/

Opera or Firefox or even the linux file manager, konqueror will easily replace replace IE in fact the first two are far better then IE. Check this out for Warcraft on Linux: http://www.google.com/search?client=opera&rls=en&q=warcraft+on+linux&sourceid=opera&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8
Linux can be a bit flaky with windows games but it is improving there is a programme called Cadega which is a comercial version of wine (costs a small monthly fee to use) which enables you to run a good selection of windows games:
http://www.google.com/search?client=opera&rls=en&q=cadega&sourceid=opera&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8
There is of course a lot of linux games which you could use as well.
There are video editing programmes and video players in linux, you will need to install the windows codecs to get them to play (again not too difficult)

As for Linux being easy to get used to, I think it is and once you have got used to the way it works, I think it's better. Like I said there isn't any trouble with virus', no need to defrag ever, no need to reboot after a programme install, it's free as are most programmes you use (even the comercial ones are very reasonably priced), Linux is also extremely configurable even the core of the OS.
If you try Linux I would strongly suggest opensuse:
http://software.opensuse.org/
it's easy to use and seems to have better hardware support than other distros, make sure you get the addon cd which has non open source programmes such as adobe reader etc. Also if you try it don't have preconceptions that it should be like windows, for example, to install a programme on windows you only have to double click an .exe file (could be malware) and it's installed or run, on linux there are several ways to install software and usually it involves the root (administrator) account, once you get used to this you'll realise it's a much safer way of doing things. The install of opensuse is really easy, I would suggest dual booting with windows until you get used to Linux, open suse will install dual boot just by following the install process, it will partition your hard drive, install a boot loader so you can choose which OS to boot into all with a minimum of user input.

Install guide to opensuse with screenshots:
http://news.softpedia.com/news/openSUSE-10-2-Installation-Guide-42068.shtml

Some usefull forum to answer any questions you have, just register.
http://www.justlinux.com
http://www.suseforums.net/index.php?&&CODE=autologin&fromreg=1
http://www.linuxforums.org/forum/index.php?sid=3356e7157554645d7654ae0c9edb0c36

If you want to try opensuse and need any help, email me.