operating systems

[ajmmac]

just heard microsoft is colluding with the chinese gov't in allowing censorship on internet blog sites--anybody reccomend an alternative os and s/ware to ms windows--i cannot support a company willing to compromise freedom and democracy

[dodgyshirt]

Probably the most user-friendly Linux distro is Linspire, available here. It installs very easily and comes complete with virtually all the hardware drivers required by your PC.

A word of warning though, if you decide to go back to Windows, you will need to run Fdisk or similar to re-install it.

Also few, if any, of the anti-virus programmes are freely available for Linux

Alternatively you can install any flavour of Linux to dual-boot alongside Windows whilst you try it out.

[Bazlum]

Linux is the only real alternative to Windows on a PC. You will have to remember that none of the software you have will run on linux. I have used Mandrake a few times but you have to remember that there is no version of linux which is any where near as easy to install and configure and windows. I would only recomend linux if you think you are an advance computer user.

Also remember that there are stories about microsoft everyday talk about their 'big-brother' software and the major security risk and every user is going to be attacked by an issue. So far none of these have come to anything.

[stevie21]

Bill Gates could panfry and microwave young Chinese babies and it still wouldn't motivate me to inconvenience myself by uninstalling Windows.

If you don't want to support Microsoft then an option is to download a cracked version of XP and steal the software. Revolt !!