Linux
For home and office application, the use of a Linux OS is actually recommended, and this section will give you an overview of the pros and cons of this type of OS.
Most people are using Microsoft operation systems From windows 98 to Windows XP and now Vista. However in a home environment that will not see a lot of gaming it is simply not the best solution. Since you are thinking of building a PC you might want to check Linux too. During the past few years the linux community did a fantastic job in putting a nice graphic interface on linux to render it user friendly. Linux was dismissed in the past because of the very poor graphical interface and also because of an unfriendly user installation, that being of the past linux and it qualities are finally ready for home use.
If you are not gaming and only use your computer for internet and similar purposes, then you do not need Windows. Actually for that kind of application windows is simply inferior. The main problem with Windows is security. The last few years have seen the development of high speed internet and with it virus Trojan and other spyware. To counter this an antivirus and a couple of anti- spyware (to cover more threats) are necessary, but not always sufficient as menaces mutate so quickly that you will end up infected at some point. With Linux, there are no such problems…there is almost no spyware or viruses on Linux. Also, Linux is also more secure than windows out of the box.
Of course don’t take our word for it, try it. You can go on any major distribution website (ubuntu; Fedora; mandriva; etc…) and download a live cd that will allow the system to run directly from that cd with anything being installed, just boot from the cd to have the Linux system. All of them also have an option to install the system on the hard drive if you like it.
If you do not have access to the internet to download it or to a friend with internet, there are a lot of magazines with a Linux CD enclosed. Running a live cd is a simple as putting it in , selecting cd-rom at boot, and it is ready to use. Ubuntu has an icon on your desktop to install it on your hard drive. With a live CD, you cannot save data except if you have a Linux or fat32 partition on your hard drive refer to the live cd manual.
