hi, i am jus looking for some general info on linux. i am currently running win98se on a p2 w/ 128megs of ram. ive heard that linux will help my system run more smoothly. i was just wondering what risks i face with d/l it (like what devices, programs, and drivers wont work an what not). also is it as easy as formating my hd to switch bac to win98 if im not satisfied? another question, i heard you can d/l linux off the net. can someone give me the link? thanks for your time, Darnone

Yea, you can download linux off the net, but "linux" alone is not the OS. Many Organizations/Companies/Individials/(whatever) provide "complete systems" which include Linux (which is only the kernel), and the basic programs, graphical suites, office suites etc... Some of the friendly and easy to install distributions are: Mandrake - http://www.mandrakesoft.com Fedora - http://fedora.redhat.com If you just want to try a Linux based system, you can download "Knoppix" which runs from CD, so you won't have to parition (or do anything else), just pop in the cd. You can get it at http://www.knoppix.org You can also install it to harddisk if you want to. I really recommend it.

just to try it out and/or see if everything works ok then one of the run-from-cd or run-from-memory flavors are the way to go http://www.knoppix.org runs from cd with kde and some other wm http://www.goosee.com/puppy/cd-puppy.htm puppy is a small dl and runs from memory http://www.gnoppix.org/ runs from cd with gnome 2.4 http://morphix.sourceforge.net/modules/news/ runs from cd has different iso with kde, xfce, gnome, etc.. http://featherlinux.berlios.de/ runs from cd, small dl, small install most of the run-from-cd flavors can easily be transferred to your hard drive once you decide you are happy with it my2cents

Hi Fes if something happens you can always o a WIN clean install. You shoul start to check out some Linux mags like Linux Format or Linux User or Linux Magazine, as they frequently offer, on their CDs, not only software but full linux distributions. Very recently Linux User came with Red Hat 9, Linux Magazine gave away SUSE 8.2 Pro an some time ago Linux Format came with Mandrake 9. Note that when you get this stuff they come with a huge load of software packages, from graphics to dtp, burners, games, internet stuff, etc. I,m kind a new to linux too but I think Linux Rocks.