What advantages does Linux have over MS DOS/MS Windows besides it being free as in information and free as in beer? Will it recognize most modern hardware such as winmodems by Conexant? I have heard that it is difficult to install programs, is that true? I have used the MS OS's for over 12 years now. How hard would it be to learn the syntax and basic operation of Linux? Which Distibution do you sugest I try out?

Each distribution is very different in hardware support. Redhat has the least and Mandrake the most. I 'think' I saw a reference for a conexant HSF or HCF modem driver for linux, though I may be in error. Just checked my bookmarks, and it is BOTH. Here is the link: http://www.mbsi.ca/cnxtlindrv/ The primary drawback of linux is the sometimes difficulty of installing software. The other is getting your hardware fully compatible. Be prepared to think in the UNIX way of doing things. Distribution choices depend on where you live (country). If you can get Mandrake (desktop oriented) or redhat, or even SuSe linux, go for it. I use Mandrake Linux 8.1 Powerpack Edition and am waiting for 8.2 Powerpack to arrive. I don't like to waste time fooling with less than powerpack. Standard is pretty much barebones linux with kde and gnome. Powerpack comes with over 2,300 applications. You can also buy a book with redhat or another distro included on cdrom. One difference: / instead of \ for directory separators [grin]. Another is low cost and one purchase for multiple computers at same price as single. Commercial software availability is like the early days of pc/msdos. Bioware via Infograme is releasing Neverwinter Nights this summer with windows/mac/linux all on same cdrom set, so things are looking up. You can run windows software in linux with emulators like VMWare, Win4Lin, Wine, WineX (directx), though like any emulator, speed is half of native execution speed. Many things in linux are usually done via console (like dos prompt). Best thing is to get yourself Mandrake Powerpack for $69 + s&h + tax (whether you buy locally or mailorder), jump in and learn. One bit of advice: get a second hdd for linux (a 20 gig will do fine). The link for Mandrake is: http://www.linux-mandrake.com/en/ Primary linux resource: http://www.linux.org/ Link for Redhat linux: http://www.redhat.com/ Have fun learning! Charles

Compare to DOS: Linux is much powerful than the weak DOS. Since both has command line, linux is a dream according to dos. After a lot of time you will be able to handle your problems using cmd line and shell scripts. Compare to WIN: Linux also has a GUI, and more than one. You can choose wich you want. And there are thousands of programs to linux such as word processors, internet browsers, graphical progs, mp3 palyers, irc, mail etc. (and a lot more) So for example using KDE you won't see a lot of difference unless it's better than win's GUI, and doesn't freeze :P Installing programs is not so difficult with package managers -- each distribution usually has its own. But sometimes you have got difficulty, and you should solve the problem. Other way to install a program is to compile the source code of it. It's also not hard, because there is always a howto install written. And yes, we can say it's harder than window's prog install -- you have to do not just click with your mouse :) but not so hard... Hardware compatibility could be a problem, so it's important to see if your hardware is supported or not. Generally there is no problem. Nowadays there are drivers availabe to linux as well for many hardware. But configuring the hardware could be very difficult for the first time. There are docs to help, but it can take a lot of time. (It's a disadvantage, until you don't learn how to configure) Learning the syntax is a challenge, get a unix book or find one on-line. Always learn the commands only what you need. Nobody can learn everything about unix -- it's so huge. So linux is much better, but much harder to learn. (but it's worth while) And last of all, I suggest you to try suse linux out (ver7.3 if I remember right). It's easy to install, and quite easy to configure. But you should have a friend who can help you, otherwise you have to expend on time a lot. have fun :)

This page has a little hands-on tutorial about working with Linux commands if you'd like to see what's involved: http://linuxsurvival.com/