In short, the word Linux is just another descriptive name, like Windows, OS X, etc. The end result is much the same — people use a mouse and keyboard to perform tasks using a computer.

Important to understand is a Linux based system is not a Windows clone. Linux is its own operating system. Linux is not Windows. Under normal conditions, Windows programs and apps cannot be installed into Linux based systems.

Distro is short-hand for distribution. Linux based systems come in hundreds of different flavors known as distributions. Most distros are built on a common foundation but each distro introduces something unique. Generally, distros cannot be mixed and matched, much like car parts seldom can be mixed and matched, but the overall system works much the same from distro to distro.

Linux based systems support a variety of different desktop environments. Windows has only one desktop environment. The term “desktop environment” is a metaphor for how the user interacts with the computer, by simulating a desktop. Desktop environments vary widely in design although the end result is always the same: pointing and clicking a mouse or using a keyboard to achieve results.

This freedom of choice contrasts with the Windows ecosystem, where the differences are which features are enabled or purposely crippled in order to create a tiered pricing system.

Initially this wide variety of choice seems confusing to new users, yet people face the same variety of choices in just about every other area of products and commodities.

Fast-Air customers need worry about this wide variety of choice. Currently the Fast-Air staff is supporting the Ubuntu MATE distro.

All of the computer operating systems using the Linux kernel are free/libre operating systems. The expression “free/libre software” refers to usage and not price, although the price of free/libre software often is only the cost of downloading and creating a CD, DVD, or bootable USB flash drive. The English language does not have a good way to express the word free in the specific context of liberty. Hence, the French word libre is used in conjunction with the word free to emphasize liberty more than price.

Free/libre software means each user has:

1. The freedom to run the program for any purpose.
2. The freedom to study and change how the program works.
3. The freedom to redistribute unmodified copies to help others.
4. The freedom to distribute modified copies to others.

These four freedoms or liberties allow every user to benefit from all changes, thereby providing a better world for all. Nothing prevents people from charging fees for distributing, installing, or modifying the software; or helping or supporting other people use the software; but the software itself is free to be used by all people.

These freedoms are maintained by the nature of the license associated with the software, called the General Purpose License. This license accompanies all software or is readily available at the location where the software is stored online. Millions of people participate in supporting, testing, and using free/libre software. Free/libre software is one of the largest collaborative projects in human history.

The history of the Linux kernel and free/libre software is intriguing and entertaining and is easily available on the web.

Some do, some don’t. A better question is how do these people benefit by sharing their software? Benefits are not always measured in terms of monetary units. These software developers benefit because they use the software themselves. Every day. Their contributions help other people but help themselves directly too. In other words, everybody benefits. Because free/libre software is based upon the idea of a community of people sharing, these communities function and operate somewhat like families. Whereas proprietary closed commercial software benefits some people, free/libre software is available to help and benefit anybody who uses that software.

This is a philosophy that has been commonly shared throughout human history. Software is a form of knowledge and sharing that knowledge benefits all people. There are financial benefits. Many people creating free/libre software ask for help through donations. Many users of the software do indeed donate funds to help further development. One of the significant attractions to free/libre software is, unlike proprietary software, developers are not interested in creating “vendor lock-in.” Any person possessing the skills is free to modify the software.

Generally safer. The underlying source code for all free/libre software is freely available for all people to study, inspect, and modify. That means bugs and security problems are resolved faster than with proprietary software. Because the source code is free to study, intentional shenanigans or malicious intent is difficult.

Typically free/libre software is not designed to collect private data, does not collect and send personal information anywhere, does not unknowingly tamper with or modify hardware, does not use “back doors” to allow people to snoop on users, and does not “phone home” like certain types of proprietary software. This type of philosophy and attitude allows users to sleep well at night knowing their computers and data are safe.

The same type of software found with Windows and Macs. Certain types of specialty or vertical software might or might not be as easily available, but for the majority of home and small business users, the same type of software is available. Be realistic in accepting that often specialty or vertical software will cost money and is not free in price like most free/libre software.

Yes. Many providers supply Live CDs, DVDs, and USB flash drives. Insert the medium into your computer, reboot, and run the entire operating system from the device. Be realistic when testing this way: with older hardware these options are slower, and nobody should expect a CD, DVD, or USB flash drive to run as fast as a hard drive. Many Live CDs and DVDs are available on USB flash drives, which improves speed a bit. Regardless, being able to test an entire operating system without installing to a hard drive is rather amazing. None of the information or data on your hard drive is touched or changed.

Yet you do not have to go through that kind of effort. A demo computer is available in the Fast-Air office. Please feel welcome to sit and tinker with the computer.

Computers are one of the most complex tools ever invented and used by humans. In that respect no computer is truly user-friendly because that complexity is beyond the ability of most people to learn all aspects of computers.

Being user-friendly is actually a matter of perception and familiarity. All computer programs become more user-friendly as the user becomes more familiar with the program. For many people the computer interface, the desktop, is user-friendly to a certain degree, until something goes wrong or breaks, or the user cannot easily learn to perform certain tasks. Then no computer system is user-friendly, not Windows, Macs, or Linux based systems.

That said, the same principles of design apply to Linux based desktops. If you can point-and-click a mouse or use a keyboard then you are already familiar with the basic concepts of using a computer desktop.

Only if you want to. Typing commands rather than pointing and clicking is available in Windows and Macs too, but you probably never did.

Depends. People can get geeky with Windows or Macs too. Each user decides how to use a computer operating system. If all you want to do is browse the web, fetch email, and perform a few other typical computer tasks, then rest easy as you won’t have to become a geek.

Computer security is always provided in layers. A fundamental reason Linux based systems generally are more secure is the system design. Linux based systems are modeled after Unix systems. Unix was invented in 1969, when computer hardware was expensive and scarce. The only usable model in those days was to build a central mainframe and add “dumb” workstations. Personal computers did not exist then and would not become popular until about 1981. This mainframe design meant that all Unix systems were multi-user. That meant the design necessarily required that normal users could not and should not modify the entire system. Users could modify files only in their user account. Only certain people with administrative privileges could modify and update the operating system.

Linux based systems work the same way. That is, during normal everyday usage, users are unable to modify many underlying system files. Don’t worry, users easily obtain administrative privileges to update the system as necessary, just not like in Windows where these privileges are available all the time. This underlying design means that various forms of malware — which is almost non-existent in Linux based systems, cannot easily attack the underlying operating system. Further, with typical home users, various computer software services are not run, which means there is no back door access into a computer when those services are not running. Linux based systems also come with firewall capabilities built into the system. When a user decides to run a system with certain computer services, this firewall technology ensures additional security. Linux based systems also use file and directory permissions to prevent usage and tampering.

This overall layered design means other people cannot easily gain access into Linux based computers.

From another perspective, because Linux based systems rarely are subject to various forms of malware, disruptions from such breakage are rare. Further, when people discover potential security problems with free/libre software, software developers often correct the problem within hours rather than days, weeks, or never as is common with various proprietary programs. Updated versions typically are available within 24 to 48 hours.

With that said, please remember that bad user habits can render any computer system insecure.

By the way, this multi-user design means your computer can be used by all family members with each person having a separate account. That too is another layer of security.

Yes and no. The graphical desktops are similar and function much the same. The underlying operating systems are different. Most users deal only with the desktop and seldom or never deal with the underlying operating system.

As already mentioned, a Linux based system is not a Windows clone. Linux is its own operating system. Linux is not Windows. Under normal conditions, Windows programs and apps cannot be installed into Linux based systems.

From a usability perspective Linux and Windows are similar. One usability aspect that is different is how users obtain new programs or update existing software. With Windows, users obtain new programs just about anywhere, a process that contributes significantly to installing malware. With Linux based systems the location of programs, called packages, is centrally located and all packages are reviewed for security. When using a Linux based system, users will become familiar with a software tool called a package manager to search, download, and install these new programs.

Tying into the overall security model of a Linux system, installing software requires administrative privileges. That only means typing a password. Windows has long had this same capability, but few home users ever enabled this feature. Conversely, business and enterprise users have long used this feature in Windows to limit software installations and overall user access.

Oh no. Our preferred and normal option is to install Linux to a second hard drive. Another option is the Windows partition on your hard drive is resized to make room. Then both systems exist on the same hard drive. Either way you can boot into either system but normally you can’t run both systems concurrently. Sounds rather complicated, but you won’t notice any difference except that you can boot into two different operating systems.

No. Although there are a couple of dozen known software viruses of Linux based systems, that is like spitting into the ocean compared to the number of viruses available to Windows computers. Anti-virus software is available for Linux based systems, but most of the people who install that software also support Windows systems in an enterprise network. Home users and small business users using Linux based systems don’t need to run that kind of software.

Anti-spyware software also is not needed. There are no known software programs intended for Linux based systems that tries to steal user data or information. With Linux based systems, such users do not need to worry about viruses and other forms of malware. This is one of the significant attractions of Linux based computer systems. People sleep better at night knowing their computers and data are safe.

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