I am a home user basically looking for something other than Windows and cannot afford another Computer; Do alot of internet search,E-mail,watch video(streaming as well as DVD). Is Linux an alternative or is it more along the lines of business OS?

If those are all your needs then Linux will be absolutely fine for you.

Welcome to LQ

Cooly! Thanks for the info and the Welcome.

Linux will do those things, and a lot more. You also need to be the type of person ready to learn. Linux is not as plug and play as winders. This board is a tremdous source of information and support.

So, if you like a challenge, don't mind learning, it does take some time, I would suggest about six months to a year to get a good understanding of your linux system, then install it.

You can keep a windoze system and have linux also. One day you will realize you don't need winbloze at all. The only time I boot windoze these days is to fix a problem on someone elses system.

Try a few different distro's. On the surface some are easier to install and configure than others, underneath they're all more or less the same.
Easy: Ubuntu
A bit more difficult: Slackware
Do as suggested by Camorri, if you've got the space, dual-boot.

Most people like to start with: Mandriva, Ubuntu, PCLinuxOS, or Freespire.

Dual-booting is a good way to start because it will slowly help you to leave Windows. When you realize you only boot Windows once or twice a week, you are probably ready for a full switch. Also, I would set my boot loader to boot directly into Linux to help you get used to it.

Take a look at my signature to take a test or search for a distro. (test recommended-not very long either)

I recommend you try out FreeBSD.

With a name like "INTROUBLE" this a very scary suggestion.(LOL)

dont listen to him ... ^_^

by all means try freebsd since you are kind of "new" to everything else except windows systems ... makes no difference if you choose freebsd , solaris or linux as your next one as a desktop user ...


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Hello.
If you want to do want you listed, than Linux is a perfect choice! Like camorri said, you will need some time to get familiar to this OS, but soon you will realize, that Linux has all the features that window$ has, and even more. The only thing you will not do with Linux, is to play games. This is not the OS of gamers. There are some games, but most of them are quite simple. And finally I will suggest a distro too, like others did: It is SimplyMEPIS http://www.mepis.org/. You don't have to install it to try, and if you like it, you can install it very easily. As the name says, it is intended to be simple.
And Welcome to LQ!

I would recommend a Stage 1 Gentoo install...on a 333 MHz PII with 64 MB of RAM...

Just kidding! (I nearly left Linux after that incident (Gentoo is a tad complex for Linux beginners)...it was my first Gentoo install, too...)

The advice everyone is giving is good stuff. Get a bit of knowledge behind you, and test out as many distros as you can. www.distrowatch.com has a listing of nearly everything you could want, and www.linuxquestions.org (here) is a great place for help...so post here if you get stuck on something...

ok , i'm also a desktop user(those purer ones) ...

i have tried linux , bsd and solaris ... and sometime i wish i tried solaris first then freebsd/linux ... solaris seems to have a whole new set of tools for itself ... that can make you lazy to "learn" after you have tried bsd/linux ...

anyway ... you will still need linux if you want to "replicate" your previous windows as much as possible ...

further more , if you try other common nix systems together , there arent much excuses left for you to go back into windows anymore for your home desktops ... and thats is important ...


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you need to be willing to spend time looking for 'your' distro. I personally have found Debian to be the best thing for me. The 'advanced' class of Linux tends to be Slackware, Gentoo and Debian. I have used some BSDs and do not recommend them to beginners. If you want a powerful system, check out the three I mentioned before when you have used Linux a while. I am getting two more HDDs and hope to try out Gentoo and Slackware to run all three.

Everyone is different, look at choosing a distro like choosing a dog. Pick the breed you like, the color you like, the physical features, and the attitude you want. Its a companion, when you spend time with Linux, its not just a computer, its a personal, well adjusted tool designed to your liking.

Me likes! Good job on that recommendation!

My personal favorite so far has been Fedora, but I'm still going through the distros myself!

Yeah, Ubuntu's a friendly Golden Retriever, Slackware's a Doberman, Gentoo's a Pit Bull.