It's not just for geeks anymore....

Not one to blow one particular OS horn as an alternative to Windows (I've been on a Mac rant lately), I thought I'd mention the release of the latest edition of Ubuntu (Linux) 7.10 or Gutsy Gibbon as it's known. This could be the easiest version to install yet. Although I have heard from the trenches that it still has a couple of potential hardware compatibility issues which may or may not affect too many people, if someone came to me and asked about an alternative to Windows, this would be my recommendation.

It's free. It's Linux. It has just about all the software you'll ever need and if it doesn't, there's a gigantic online repository of open source Linux software available, much of much is certified to run on Ubuntu trouble-free. At no cost. It comes with Firefox. It will dual boot with Windows if you'd like. If you just want to test drive it, the CD (which you can order for free or download and make yourself) is a Live CD. That means you can boot from it (bypassing Windows just for the current session) to take a look and nothing gets changed on your system until you decide to install it. Now it even copies your settings and files from Windows to try and make the conversion more painless. It's not everybody's cup of tea, but you might like it. You'll never know until you try.