Sorry if this is posted elsewhere but I couldn't find it easily (I have to confess I didn't look too hard)...

I am thinking of rebuilding my Desktop as a Linux platform. One or two basic questions...

(1) If I do this will all my applications that I run under Windows still work?
(2) Can I get a Linux distribution free of charge?
(3) Can I try it out before I commit myself?

Regards...

You have to tell us what applications you are running before anyone can suggest anything. Most Windows apps have their Linux counterparts. Some exclusive apps don't run at all while some can be run via WINE (Wine is Not an Emulator). I would say if you want to learn Linux use the native apps.
Ofcouse you can, that's the whole point. You can download most distro free of charge but if you are looking for commerical support, you would have to pay.

Yes...try live-cd distro. They run entirely from CD and don't change a thing on your hard drive.

Tux,
Regards...

Question
1)You apps will work under windows and some may even work under linux using wine.I take it you will be doing a dual boot. Wine is not perfect so if you have to have a particular program look to see if it is in the wine database, or if linux has an equivalent.

Question
2)Almost all linux distro's are free of charge. you can download your distros www.distrowatch.com

Question
3)If you download a live disk then yes you can try it before you install it to hardware.


Good luck and Welcome to the wonderful world of Linux. You will enjoy linux. Just give it some time.

Thanks for the information guys...

I hope my Linux experience is a long and happy one