Without getting too technical, and you know that I can, I will explain how this works.

Named after Linus Torvalds ( not by himself personally), Linux excels in networking, processing and memory management. Have a slow PC or Mac? Perfect! The operating system is called a "Kernel" and is loosely similar to a corn cobb where code and programs are "plugged in". Right now Kernel 2.6.8 is the latest and greatest. The Graphical Interface (GUI) is seperate from the kernel and simply runs the commands in the background. KDE 3.2 is the most popular, but KDE 3.3 is gaining momentum. This is why it is often easier and faster to do something in Command Line instead of the graphical way. Because the entire system is modular and password protected, it is very difficult to break in and/or run unauthorized software (no spyware and a few virus'). But because it is open-source (free to modify and distribute) programs and interfaces are abundant and evolve rapidly. Being only 13 years old it now accounts for 30% of all commercial servers in the world!

I made mine look like osX - Panther... Dock and everything! Kinda spooky, isn't it? I have a dual boot configuration with WinXP where I can choose at the beginning which Operating System I want to use. But get this... I can see my Windows from Linux but I can't write to Windows. I can't see Linux in Windows so I set up a three partition system (XP on NTFS, Linux on Reiser and a middle partition using Fat32) so that it creates a "Pergatory" that I can see and use for storage from both sides.

"What about those application screenshots you were talking about"?

Kopete (Instant Messanger) and Writer (Word).

"Watching My Stories" with Kaffeine

Juk (Music player and editor) and the Menu.

The System Control Center and Volume.

The KDE Control Center.

"But I don't want to use GIMP to edit my photo's". Fine! Then use PHOTOSHOP. Yeah, mmhhhmmm, that's right.

So, where can you download this? Unlike Microsoft and Apple, you have choice. I recommend looking at your needs and examining the qualities of the competition. Paid distributions are available and usually worth the money. Here are some free versions because unfortunately I can't put the files up on the server for various reasons. The free versions will work incredibly well for more than basic needs.

*An ISO is an image of the information, like a ZIP file. By double-clicking on it (regardless of the operation system) it will burn the full contents onto blank media (CD-R or DVD-R). Make sure you have every disk needed for installation (1-4 CD's or just 1 DVD). DVD's are obviously going to be easier in the long run but the initial download will take longer than the CD sets (you can download 3 CD's at once instead of one DVD at a time). Also, if you lose your connection to the FTP, you may not be able to resume where you left off (a big hassle if you have 3/4 of a DVD instead of 3 out of 4 CD's).

* Some offer "Evaluation" or "Live" versions. This means that you can run the system from CD without installing any software. While this will take some time to download and also run slower, it can save you some headaches if you decide that you want a different version installed. Some computer hardware is totally functional under one distribution but not another, so this may be a good way to test it out.

Redhat Fedora - The most widely used and supported. RPM's (Red Hat Package Manager) are based on this standard. This is the company that said "Thank-You" to Linus by making him a millionaire when they went public.

Suse 9.1- (Prounounced "Soo-Sa' or "Soo-Zee"). A German firm recently purchased by Novell. Networking, database and server capabilities are outstanding. Look for more enhancements in the future. I really dislike the YaST (Yet another Software Tool) but it has good hardware support and it's really cheap ($30) when purchased.

Mandrake 10.1 Community - Right now it's my choice. Originally a modification of RedHat, this company does a lot of things very well and is widely supported. When I discovered they were French it all starting making sense. Don't ask. I'm running the Power Pack DVD and having a pretty easy go at it.

Gentoo - For the purist at heart, it's an excellent example of an individual taking matters into his own hands. Check out the screenshots!

Linspire - The psychopaths in Redmond sued Lindows because it resembled thier trademark, so the name was changed. Whatever. Linspire get's decent reviews, especially for installation time and when you want to buy a cheap PC.

There are many, many more (over 100 I think). But these are the heavy hitters.

For those times when you need something that is not NECESSARILY offered by the creator:

A news, forum and centralized repository for almost everything you need can be found at SourceForge. RPM's for all major distro's can be found at places like RPM-PBONE and RPMFIND. The main emulator site (for running Windows applications) is WineHQ. Also, check out FranksCorner for help. Find KDE themes, icons, screensavers and contests at KDE-LOOK.

But you'll have to tell me what you need so I direct or give it to you. Right now I have a bunch of Mandrake stuff that I got from the Penguin Liberation Front because filesharing (and the such) are "illegal". I am building a Redhat and Suse library with a little help from my friends.

Maybe I can convince Mr. & Mrs. Beer to give me more bandwith and anonymous FTP access. You would like that, wouldn't you? Maybe if I gave out a holla' to the best Texas energy company, Uchoice, that would make a difference.

It's all about choice, my friends. I'm out.