"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."
