No, I am not talking about exploring outer space or visiting alien planets. What I am referring to is the world of open source software, and more specifically, Linux.
I had previously rejected Linux as being a viable replacement for an everyday desktop operation system, but now that I have been using it for a while, I realize just how wrong I was. Windows fanboys will claim that the average user won't like Linux because the average user does not want to use a command line. Or because it doesn't run their favorite programs. The thing is, the average user doesn't have to use a command line, and Linux doesn't have to run their favorite programs.
While it was true that early Linux versions were heavy on command line usage, this is not the case today. The command line, also known as a terminal, while still available, is not longer necessary. Power users can still feel geeky as ever, as the terminal is still a powerful tool. However, the average user will be able to accomplish everyday tasks without ever looking at a terminal.
Most user feel right at home with the computer they have, because it has all the programs that they like. True it may be that Linux won't run all of those programs, but it certainly can run some fine alternatives to them. An average home user of a PC might run the following programs during the course of the day: An Internet browser, an e-mail program, a photo editor, a document or spreadsheet editor, and a media player. Linux has great software replacements to accomplish all of these tasks. Both Firefox and Chrome are available as browsers on Linux. Thunderbird and Evolution are two exceptional email clients also available on Linux. Photo editing and many similar things can be easily accomplished with a wealth of programs, such as GIMP and InkScape. The Open Office suite has all of the functionality of the full Microsoft Office suite, and can open and save to MS office formats. Did I mention it doesn't have a sucky interface like Office 2010? Ubuntu Linux comes with all of these things built in, plus many more. If that isn't enough to get you started, go to the software center do download more programs. Installing software in Linux is more like installing apps on you phone than programs on a PC. Just click install, and it does all the rest for you. In case you were wondering, most of these programs are available on Windows and Mac too.
If any of this sounds interesting, I encourage you to try out Linux. The best part is there is no need to modify your computer in order to try it. Simply download the disk image, burn it, and boot from it. I recommend Ubuntu, as it is the most widespread and well supported distribution. They have instructions on how to create the disks as well, so I won't explain it here. And while Linux isn't right for everybody, in most situations it can be everything that Windows never was.
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