This article is about why you should switch over to Linux whats the big deal with Free and Open Source software.

First there were computers.And then came software to manipulate computers, to make them do cool things.In the 70′s, companies focused more on producing hardware. The software was usually written by a few geeks who made copies and passed them around.The companies were happy because they did not have to take the effort to write them. Software was free .

Then came IBM.They bundled software with hardware and asked the users to pay for both.Naturally the geek community was not pleased.During this time Microsoft started writing software for Apple and other companies. They reacted angrily when their software was copied.Bill Gates wrote this angry letter to the Software Hobbyists(Geeks) alleging that ,in essence, they were stealing software.

Richard Stallman(Geek God) quit his job at MIT and started work on the GNU project.The idea was to create an free Operating System, as most were in the 1960s and 1970s – free to study the source code of the software, free to share the software with other people, free to modify the behaviour of the software, and free to publish their modified versions of the software. GNU stands for GNU’s Not Unix.

Richard Stallman

The Unix Operating Sytem had many individual components which would interact with each other to provide the operating system. Stallman and and other interested programmers wrote code component by component and replaced it in the Unix system to check its behaviour.

Around the same time, Stallman started the Free Software Foundation and gave a Definition of Free Software. The four rules are:
* Freedom 0: The freedom to run the program for any purpose.
* Freedom 1: The freedom to study how the program works, and change it to make it do what you wish.
* Freedom 2: The freedom to redistribute copies so you can help your neighbor.
* Freedom 3: The freedom to improve the program, and release your improvements (and modified versions in general) to the public, so that the whole community benefits.

Richard Stallman also created a license for Open source Software called the GNU General Public License(GPL). When a product is licensed under GPL, derived works can only be distributed under the same license terms. GPL grants the recipients of a computer program the rights of the free software definition and uses copyleft to ensure the freedoms are preserved, even when the work is changed or added to.

Around 1990,The GNU project was almost complete. The only portion missing was the kernel – a crucial component which decides on how the memory and other resources of they system must be allocated.

Around the same time, Linus Torvalds was frustrated with an operating system called Minix . Minix , a clone of Unix, was written by Andrew S. Tanenbaum. It was licensed for educational purposes only. Linus wanted to have an Operating system which was free and could be used for commercial purposes.He started developing Linus Kernel and released it under GNU’s General Public License .

Linus Torvalds

Developers worked to fit Linux kernel into GNU to form GNU/Linux.And viola, The GNU/Linux Operating system was born.

Then came Linux Distributions, which improved upon basic GNU/Linux so much so that today even Noobs can use them.Buts thats another story.

Thanks for a patient read and please keep in mind, this was written to be noob friendly

Ubuntu is a complete desktop Linux operating system, freely available with both community and professional support. The Ubuntu community is built on the ideas enshrined in the Ubuntu Manifesto: that software should be available free of charge, that software tools should be usable by people in their local language and despite any disabilities, and that people should have the freedom to customize and alter their software in whatever way they see fit. 

• Ubuntu will always be free of charge, and there is no extra fee for the “enterprise edition”, we make our very best work available to everyone on the same Free terms.
• Ubuntu includes the very best in translations and accessibility infrastructure that the Free Software community has to offer, to make Ubuntu usable by as many people as possible.  
• Ubuntu is shipped in stable and regular release cycles; a new release will be shipped every six months. You can use the current stable release or the current development release. A release will be supported for 18 months.  
• Ubuntu is entirely committed to the principles of open source software development; we encourage people to use open source software, improve it and pass it on.   

 Ubuntu includes more than 1000 pieces of software, starting with the Linux kernel version 2.6 and Gnome 2.16, and covering every standard desktop application from word processing and spreadsheet applications to internet access applications, web server software, email software, programming languages and tools and of course several games. 

Why Ubuntu 10.04?

  “Gone are the muddy look and questionable color scheme that have defined Ubuntu’s default look for a long time. In their place is a Gnome KDE desktop that’s both smooth and striking, but more importantly inviting—its violet hues and far gentler undertones and looks as though it really deserves to compete with those big boys.”    -http://www.extremetech.com  

For more info visit:  

http://linux.gauravlive.com/ubuntu/ubuntu-10-04-lts-comes-with-impressive-feature-set/  

 http://www.ubuntu.com/cloud/why-ubuntu

Things you will need:

There are a lot of ways to install Ubuntu. I’ll Show you the easiest way.

• Ubuntu iso
• Wubi 

Getting Ubuntu:

Downloading from the internet:
Head over to http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/download and grab yourself a free copy of the latest Ubuntu release in iso format.  

• You will have to choose whether you want a Desktop (for most people) or Server Edition.
• You will also have to choose whether you want one for a 32 bit or 64 bit processor.

If you are unsure about the processor you have, go for the 32 bit edition.  

Request a free CD:
You can request a free CD of the latest release, but you’ll have to register and it will take a while to get delivered.  

What is Wubi?

 Wubi is an officially supported Ubuntu installer for Windows users that can bring you to the Linux world with a single click. Wubi allows you to install and uninstall Ubuntu as any other Windows application, in a simple and safe way. Are you curious about Linux and Ubuntu? Trying them out has never been easier!
It is good for transition from the Windows to Linux environment.

Getting Started:

• First Make sure that both the iso file and wubi are in the folder.

• Click on Wubi. You’ll see the Wubi installer dialog box.

• Now select the drive where you want to install Ubuntu. You’ll need at least 5gb of free space. It will be installed under X:\Ubuntu.
• Enter the username and password for your login.
• Now click on install
• Select reboot now and click on finish.

• Now your pc will reboot and you will see Ubuntu in the boot options.
• Ubuntu will install automatically. So go grab yourself a cup of coffee or feel free to read through the new features of Ubuntu 10.04.
• Your pc reboots once again.
• Voila! You are done. Its as simple as that

Now lets break those locked windows and let in some fresh air