"But where do you start? How do you keep your existing data? Which applications will work for me? Linux author Dee-Ann LeBlanc takes on all of these questions and many more in this complete guide to installing Linux for home users.
"How Can All of These be Linux?
"Congratulations, you've decided to make the switch from Windows to Linux! The first thing you'll discover when you try to get started is that it's not as simple as grabbing "Linux." Our own DistributionCentral is a great resource but can also be somewhat confusing as you try to sort through all of your options.
"Every operating system (Linux, OS X, Windows, etc.) has at its core, a kernel. This kernel is the operating system itself, and everything around it that allows us to easily interact with it is a program on top of that operating system. So, in order to be considered Linux, you have to be looking at the Linux kernel with other programs around it. A grouping of the Linux kernel, the software, and a handy installer is called a distribution."
