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I have been a Windows user since Windows 95, wow I did not know I was getting that old.
With that said I have been for the most part a happy Windows user. During my single days I was an avid gamer
and Windows served me very well. Now I have a family and most of my PC time is non game related. It is funny
how your PC use changes over time. Around 2001 I was introduced to a strange new OS called Linux. I don't
recall the version or distro but I have a friend who worked for the government who's job was to set up and maintain
servers. The excitement with which my friend explained this fast free OS was something to behold.
In my opinion Linux was not ready for the casual computer user in 2001. At the time I was not up to the task of
learning a new OS and I sure didn't write code like my friend. I did however digg the open source community
cooperation idea of the Linux world. So like any interested geek I kept my eyes on Linux and the Linux community.

Fast forward to 2008 a lot has changed in the computer world. Now I run Vista, the only gaming I do is on the
Xbox 360 and my 10 year old has her own blog. Linux my friends has also changed over the last Seven years.
The change and growth has been very positive. Seven years ago the idea of a major PC manufacturer like Dell
selling Linux loaded systems was unheard of. Now you have companies like ASUS selling little Linux machines
like the Eee PC by the truck loads. Windows has also changed and for the most part the change has been
positive. But now my Windows machine requires a minimum of 2 GB of ram to run well. Also my hard drive space
needs to be much larger to accommodate the larger Vista OS.

While I am not entirely disappointed with Vista I am not the happy Microsoft customer I used to be.
Don't get me wrong Vista dishes out some great eye candy but looks as we all soon find out aren't everything. Let
me just say that for various reasons I have been searching for something besides a Windows OS for the past six
months. Most software in the PC world revolves around Windows most of the software I use for work is Windows
software and the tablet PCs I own work great with Vista. So why consider something else? Because for the first
time in my mind there is something available that will run as good as or better than Windows, cost little to nothing
and will work on older hardware as well as current hardware.

Am I proclaiming that 2008 is the year of Linux; no I haven't been using Linux that long. In fact I am a Linux newbie.
What I am saying is that my current experience with Linux is a good one. I am writing this article on an HP Tablet
PC loaded with Windows Vista and Fedora 8 Linux. I am using the free KWord program that came with Fedora 8
for the word processing. At no cost to me I have at least three very good word processing choices built into
Fedora Linux. With Vista I have Microsoft Word which I paid for. Sorry Mac users the free part knocks you out as
well.

Before I get too lengthy with this story I want to break down a few things for people like myself who are interested
in Linux but are not sure where to start. First you must decide which distribution is right for you. There are several
distros to choose from. Just Google Linux and you will see how big the Linux user community is. I tried Ubuntu
Linux as well as Mandriva Linux first. The way I tried them was with a Live CD. The Live CD lets you run Linux on
your system without changing or loading anything on your system. I wound up with Fedora 8 because it had no
issues with my screen. For some reasons the other two would black out on my screen. Perhaps the video driver
on a tablet is different. Fedora worked on the live CD the first time I tried it.

After seeing what worked and what did not work with the live CD I decided to load Linux for the first time. Its worth
noting that the only thing that did not work was my built in wi-fi and the touch screen.
With my anticipation for a loading error or perhaps a major crash and burn I watched as Fedora started the install
process from the Live Cd. The process for me was straight forward, first you get to the drive partition step of the
install. Stop! please, I beg you, read and follow directions for setting up your Vista hard drive before you begin the
install. Step number one is easy enough but follow this link HERE on what to do before you install Linux on your
hard drive. Now back to the Fedora install, I used the default Fedora settings for the selected drive partition. After
selecting a few other options such as US or non US keyboard etc. Linux was on its way to living with Windows
Vista. The entire install took about 20 minutes which is amazing compared to the time a full Windows XP or Vista
install takes. To my amazement there was not even a blip of an issue with the install.

I removed the Live CD and rebooted for the first time. I was greeted with a message giving me a choice between
Linux and Vista. Note: you hit any key to get the choice and the Vista option shows up as (other OS). I chose Linux
and watched as the boot process started. I must admit it gave me a feeling of being a kid all over again. Like I am
seeing something for the first time and things might be different from here on out. I know that sounds crazy but it is
so true.

The boot time was equal to that of a fresh XP install perhaps a bit shorter but I haven't timed either one. I was
greeted with a screen to choose my user name and root password. After a few other options I hit enter and was
ready for the big finale. Within seconds I saw the birth of a whole new desktop. The desktop was foreign but
familiar at the same time, Fedora 8 loads by default the KDE desktop. Another option is the Gnome desktop and
you are welcome to load and use both if your so desire. Its called Linux freedom folks and that's just for starters. I
was thrilled that things seemed fine my PC didn't crash and burn and with another reboot I was able to load back
into Vista with no problems.

Learning something new for me is a thrill especially if it is tech related. Working with Linux is like being a kid in a
candy store. There are so many things to try, and some of it is just plain sweet. If you are not new to computers
you should have no problems finding what you need for everday task. Things are grouped in a (window like
fashion) with drop downs and the like. I will mention that when you load from the Live CD there is a rather large
update of programs to install. All told it took about an hour to complete. If you download the DVD it will have the
entire Fedora system and several other programs as well.

There are so many things to compare and discuss between Linux and Windows that I can't do it all in one article,
so I have decided to make this part one of the story. In part two I will describe some roadblocks I faced and direct
comparisons between the new PC room mate's. Stay tuned for part two as I list all I can think of to help you decide
if you should go the way of the Penguin.

I will start part two of the story with a screen shot of Fedora 8 Linux using the default KDE desktop.
Notice that just like Vista, The KDE desktop is very easy to customize.

One of the first things noticed with any operating system is appearance. Linux with most distributions
does a very good job with eye candy. There are several programs to choose from to add widgets and
the like to your desktop. Some programs like Compiz Fusion are very powerful desktop tools that allow
effects like 3D cube windows and wobbly windows, even fire effects can be added. While there are
several programs to add effects to XP or Vista most of them are not free. System monitors are also
widely available for the desktop. The monitors show everything from CPU load to hard drive free space.
So far I have found more ways to customize Linux than I have time for.

What Works in Fedora & What Doesn't

While it is natural that everything on my tablet works with Vista, Linux is a different story. The driver
support in Linux is not where it should be. That is not the fault of the Linux OS the simple fact is that
some hardware OEM's do not build in support for Linux. After installing Fedora 8, I realized right away
that my WiFi was not working. My Wifi chipset is Broadcom; you can read many forum posts which
describe the problems with Linux and Broadcom. Several forums describe ways to fix the problem but I
was not successful due to my limited Linux experience. Instead I purchased the Linksys WUSB54GC
USB Wifi stick for about $30.00. I just plugged it in and it works, no drivers needed.

My touch screen does not work but it seems it is something that could be made to work with some effort
on my part. The sound card was detected as well as the Bluetooth module. I did have to configure
Bluetooth to work with my mouse and Moto Q Smartphone. The configuration was not a straight forward
as Vista but most people will have no problems figuring out what to do. The volume control was not
loaded on the task bar by default but that was an easy fix. Some of the hardware buttons work and some
don't. Volume and brightness work great while the media launch buttons do not. DVD/CD burning works
out of the box with the default KDE program. Lightscribe is also supported but you will have to download
and install the program. My HP tablet supports screen rotation in Vista as well as hand writing
reconigition. I have read about a few programs for Linux that could work for both but they are not very
polished at present. For now I can live with the few features that are absent when booted into Linux.

Work & Play

For word processing and most work related task there are several included or easy to install programs
for Linux. The KDE desktop has its own office suite and the Open Office package is growing in
popularity and performs well. KDE includes a program called Kontact that is very close to Outlook.
Kontact reminds me of Outlook 2003 in function but it lacks the polish of Outlook 2007. Most people
could easily learn and implement the office packages in Linux/KDE without much frustration. I think most
people would praise the function of the office programs considering that they are free.
I am a longtime user of Microsoft Office and I like Outlook 2007 alot. If time and effort was put into the
KDE Kontact application to give it a polished feel and a few functions were added it would easily
replace Outlook 2007.

Games are not a strong point for Linux. There are a few Windows games that can be played using a
program called Wine. If I were still a heavy gamer I would not consider Linux yet. I say yet because
according to a few reviews at Linux Outlaws some games are arriving on store shelves with Linux
support out of the box. If you like the standard card games and Tetris type clones then you can get your
fill for free with Linux. Hummm............ perhaps Bubble Blaster is more my speed now anyway.

While I could continue with numerous details and comparisons between MS Windows and Linux I
think the best thing to do is to download a Live CD from one of the many Linux distributions and give
it a try yourself. I think I should also note that there are many Linux distributions that are worth trying.
For the past two weeks I have been doing what is called distro hopping. I wound up with Fedora 8
due to the fact that it works the best with my hardware. Visit www.distrowatch.com for a complete list
of current Linux distributions.

Will I give up Vista and switch to Linux? Well for now I will continue to stay dual booted. For general
web surfing and media functions Linux is great! Linux is almost immune to the virus's that plague MS
Windows and there are a multitude of DVD/CD programs for Linux that are very good. If you like to
edit photos or draw then make sure you take a look at GIMP for Linux. I will continue to distro hop
and grow with Linux and I will predict that you will see more and more of the OS used in the
mainstream PC and mobile marketplace. With cloud computing, free operating systems that work
well, and open office programs aplenty I would be on guard if I were Microsoft.

Regards,

Rob