What Price Freedom?
Four steps to freedom
- Get a version of Linux/UNIX:
- Download "Fedora" from Red Hat or another online source
- Buy one of the Linux media sets for $9 from http://www.cheapbytes.com
- Go to your local bookstore and buy a book with a CD set in the back
- Boot from the boot CD, add a partition to your disk drive for Linux, and a partition for swap space
- Partitioning is dividing your disk space into pieces
- Several tools exist, including the GUI one in RedHat Linux
- You will usually divide your disc into 3 partitions:
- Windows
- Linux
- Linux swap space
- Swap space partition should be twice your installed RAM
- For more information: Linux Partition HOWTO
- Continue the boot/install process, clicking "yes" at various points
- When in doubt, use the default setting
- Voila! Inside 1 hour you now have a dual-boot PC, and are free from the Redmond Monopoly!
Further Information
- Red Hat Linux x86 Installation Guide
- The One-Page Linux Manual: HTML, PDF
Half Steps
If you only want to experiment with Linux/UNIX, try Cygwin. It installs a Linux-like command-line environment for Windows. However, it does not install the nice GUI tools and desktop you get with the regular Linux installation. Think of it as a half-step along the road to freedom from the Redmond Monopoly.