This is aimed at general PC users and gurus alike. If your interested in a free, easy to use (and very cool) alternative to Windows, Ubuntu Linux is a very popular choice. In my opinion the ease of installation is now even easier than installing Windows considering you don’t have to enter in a license key.

Steps to install:
1. Download Ubuntu Desktop Edition
2. Burn .iso to cd.
3. Place CD in tray and restart computer. Ubuntu will boot from the CD.
4. On the desktop is an “install” icon… click it. Follow the wizard.

Then your good to go. That’s it.. it’s that simple.
Click “read more” to see what you get with Ubuntu

It installs by default a few pieces of software: Full office functionality (MS spreadsheets, MS .doc, MS powerpoint) with the openoffice.org software, Email client, Firefox browser, along with others that you should be able to choose during installation.

The fact is, I’m actually surprised how easy it is to use Linux now. Before all of the Linux distributions got a handle on the installation process, Linux was slightly overwhelming to install and use. The OS has now gotten so user friendly that Dell is now offering PCs with Ubuntu already installed.

If your planning on putting it on a hard drive with Windows already installed, again it’s quite easy. You can partition your hard drive and make space for Ubuntu. In the installation process you have the choice to install a boot loader called Grub that lets you select between Windows and Ubuntu when starting up your computer.

Planning on installing it on a second hard drive? No problem.

Here’s an example of the Compiz Fusion window manager that will be installed along with Ubuntu 7.10. Other features include 3d desktop switching, wobbly windows, particle effects, and more. Being a fan of the Windows OS, I can honestly say that these features far outshine Vistas window manager. The fact that it’s free is just icing on the cake.

This article is not intended to make you an expert in Linux usage. It’s solely to give the novice user confidence that they can now use Linux with no problem. Here’s a couple things about Ubuntu that you will notice:

There are multiple ways to install software on Linux. Here’s the preferred way:

• Ubuntu uses a top level “package manager” that handles this with ease. It’s called Synaptic Package Manager. This will keep track of the versions of software similar to the way Windows does with the Update Manager.
  
• Packages to install come in either .deb or .rpm files. These are analogous to the .msi Windows installer files. So when you find some cool software, just download the packaged version of it rather than the other forms (which I won’t go into here)
  
• Compressed files are usually found with the extension .tar.gz which is analogous to .zip files. Extracting these is usually an easy click of the mouse button Zip files also work here as well.

Hopefully, this is enough to convince some people that Linux is no longer just for the experts. Just ask away if you have any questions on installation, configuring or just plain “how do I ____ on Ubuntu”.