25 Linux tips for Windows switchers, Aug 31, 2009

Don't see what all the Windows 7 fuss is about and thinking of jumping ship to Linux? The experience of switching to Linux needn't be a traumatic one.

The great thing about Linux distro development, when compared with OS X or Vista, is that the whole process is transparent. You can see at any stage what the developers are planning, and even download the latest build of your favourite distribution.

Give a man Ubuntu, and he'll learn Ubuntu. Give a man SUSE, and he'll learn SUSE. But give a man Slackware, and he'll learn Linux. Well, so the old internet maxim goes, but while it's normally used with a touch of humour, there's a great deal of truth in it too.

Go back to basics with these old-school file managers.

Before you embark on a distro adventure, it's worth giving some thought to the kind of Linux user you are.

At the time of writing, there are three hundred and twenty three distributions being tracked on distrowatch.com.

Word has reached our ears that some people have been buying Linux-powered netbooks, then taking them back to the shop because they can't install Windows software on them. Folly!

Reviewed are six fully-featured apps to help keep track of your newsgroups.

Many Linux fans get a great deal of camaraderie and satisfaction from attending their local meetings, as well as support, website portals, forums, mailing lists and IRC channels, all of which help to glue the local Linux community together.

We'll come right out and say this – Linux breaks. There, we've got that off our chests. No matter how much we might like our chosen distro, there is no denying that things can go wrong, or that it might not even be right in the first place.