With all the marketing hype behind Vista…pretty soon your parents or grand parents are going to ask you “Should I get the Veesta Windows?” If they’re kinda tech savy, and or the really, really need some Windows only applications then you probably want to tell them “yes” or “just wait until you buy a new computer”…but if they’re not tech savy, and they probably aren’t going to be buying a new computer anytime soon (and let’s face it…the computer they are on is 4 or 5 years old) then there is a much smart, safter, and all around better OS to tell them to use.

Linux.

In the early days of Linux you really needed to be tech savy to get into the OS…but that has changed, and now Linux is the best solution for the complete computer novice…why? I’m glad you asked….

1. Security - Linux will keep your family safe from malware, spyware, and viruses…simply because it isn’t Windows. You know your Grandma is going to open those forwards…in fact she probably spends an hour or so a day just doing that…and her computer is riddled with trojans, malware, and spyware. Her computer is probably a zombie helping to send out spam all over the world and she doesn’t even know it. Linux will save her time and frustration because of it’s security.

2. No Blue Screen of Death - Linux is highly resistant to system crashes and rarely needs rebooting. When your Grandmother’s system crashes, she probably thinks that the computer has been destroyed…at the very least, she’s inconvienced by having to restart the system. Linux will keep that from happening.

3. Price - Linux is the most cost efficient OS in the world. Why? Because it’s free…and not only is it free, it also (typically) comes with applications that would cost hundreds, if not thousands of dollars if you were purchasing their Windows counterparts. Almost every Linux distribution you can name comes with Open Office, which is all the wordprocessing, spreadsheets, and presentation software a home user is ever going to need….and again…FREE.

4. Ease of Use - That’s right…Linux is extremely easy to use….if you know Windows, you’ll be able to work easily in Linux…and with additional software like the CNR warehouse from the people behind Linspire, Grandma can install any program she wants to try without knowing thing one about installing software.

5. Runs Fast on Old Machines - Linux doesn’t hog system resources the way that new operating systems like Vista do. In fact, most older computers don’t have a chance of running Vista because they just don’t have enough power. Linux, however, can run very speedily (is that a word?) on older systems.



6. Linux plays well with others - Linux includes software to make it easy to network with Windows, Macs, and other Linux based computers.

7. Support is Everywhere - If you’re having a problem with Linux…help is as close as the nearest message board. While some “l33t” users may be hard to stomach, most Linux users are will and able to help newbies get in and fix any problems they run into. You’ll get help from Linux users a heck of a lot faster than you will from phone-based tech support.

There are more reasons to switch…in fact, if you looked online you could probably find hundreds of reasons to move over to Linux…but seriously, if you’re not sold by the 7 above, then you’re not going to be sold at all.