From where do you get Linux?

One of the questions that some beginners do worry about is "from where do I get Linux?" After all most people received their current operating system preinstalled on their computers or purchased a boxed copy of Windows at a retailer such as best buy or office depot. You can still do that with Linux, however there are also cheaper options.

1) purchasing a computer with Linux preinstalled

If your intention was to purchase a new computer at the same time you switched to Linux it possible to get Linux the same way that you got Windows: preinstalled on your new computer. Although Linux computer are not easy to find in brick and mortar shops, you do have a lot of choices online. Amazon sells an acceptable range of computers and netbooks pre-installed with Linux in the US. This gives you the advantage of dealing with a large retailer that you are probably familiar with, but you probably won't get much Linux support or advice from Amazon, and their range is limited.

If you would rather shop from a place that is specialized in Linux computers, there are a few online retailers that can provide you with computers designed for Linux. In the US Zareason has an excellent reputation for its Ubuntu computers, they even sell them with special Ubuntu keyboards on which the Windows key has been replaced by an Ubuntu Logo. If you live in Europe you should check out UK based EfficientPC.co.uk : they have a decent selection of computer that can be provided with several flavors of Ubuntu or even dual booting with Windows. They ship in the whole EU and have decent shipping charges. Finally, Dell is selling some models of computers pre-installed with Ubuntu, but only in some countries. Their Linux page is sometimes hard to find though.

2) Purchasing a boxed Linux distribution

It is possible to get boxed versions of Linux in shops just like there are versions of Windows. You should be able to find Ubuntu CDs at Best Buy and on Amazon. These are much cheaper than Windows installation CDs however, as the boxed edition of Ubuntu only costs $20. The advantage of a boxed edition is that often a few days of professional phone support are included with the purchase to help you get started.

3) Getting Linux with a book or magazine

Since Linux is free the books that teach you about Linux often include the whole distribution on a CD. The advantage is that if you intend to learn to administer Linux by reading that book you are sure that you will work with the version that the book was written for. The inconvenient is that often the books are one or two Linux releases out of date, so you do not get to use the latest and greatest version of your chosen distribution. Another option is to purchase a magazine about Linux that includes a distribution on the cover CD. These are relatively easy to find in most bookstores and newsagents and an easy way to get Linux if you are" not comfortable with online shopping. Often these magazines do not include large tutorials on how to install the distribution, so expect to rely on websites, blogs and forums for assistance.

4) Downloading Linux for free.

Most distributions allow you to download their product for free as a CD or DVD image. A CD image is a file that you can burn on a blank recordable CD to create a bootable Linux CD like the one you would find in a boxed edition of Linux or with a book. You can find the latest releases of Ubuntu here, and the Linux Mint images are here. The advantages of this method is that you always get the latest version of your chosen distribution and it does not cost anything beside the blank CD. The inconvenient is that you need a broadband connection, you will need to rely on online help for assistance (though Linux Mint provides you with a downloadable manual in pdf format) and that you need to know how to burn the downloaded image to a blank CD. Do not worry though, as burning a Linux image will be the topic of next week's post.