The pros and cons of free software - Part 2

Having installed the operating system and rebooted the computer, it's now ready for use. So how does using Linux compare to using Windows? Linux is command-based. That means that in order to do things you have to type commands in at a prompt, in the same way as older PCs using MS-DOS.

Thankfully, like Windows, Linux has moved into the modern age and you can now do nearly everything using a mouse. Some things, such as setting up a firewall will require you to learn commands, so that's something to bear in mind.

Cosmetically, it looks familiar. There is a taskbar along the bottom of the screen, which contains buttons for running applications. There is a row of four numbered buttons on the right of the taskbar, representing different 'virtual screens'.

This is a Linux concept in which you can have four Desktops with different things on them. You might have a word processor on one, email on another, and so on. Of course, you can only see one at a time. You click on the appropriate button to view a different one.

As in Windows, there's a System Tray to the right of that, with a clock and a few icons for small utilities that are running. There's a button in the bottom left of the screen that acts like the Start button: click on it to see a menu of programs and documents, as well as set-up options. The mouse works in much the same way as in Windows: left-clicking is the main action, double-clicking opens things and right-clicking works the menus.

You might be confused by the lack of a 'My Computer' icon. This is partly because of the way Linux works. Instead of being able to see the whole computer, normal users (as opposed to administrators) are only able to see their own user area. This is where all your documents are stored and, in theory, is the only place most users will need to worry about.

Added extras
Even with the operating system installed, the computer still isn't much use without any programs to run on it. Fortunately, the installation we have just completed also includes some common applications. Perhaps the most important of these - certainly the one where most of us spend a lot of our time on the computer - is the office applications suite.

On a Windows computer this is usually Microsoft Works or Microsoft Office. The open source equivalent is OpenOffice. If your installation doesn't include it, you can download it free from here and more information about it can be found at the OpenOffice website here.

Like Microsoft Office, OpenOffice consists of several different applications. The equivalent of Microsoft Word is called OpenOffice Writer. On firing it up, you'll find that it is remarkably similar to Word and the toolbars, menus and buttons are all in the places you would expect to find them.

It provides all the basic features of a word processor. It's simple to enter text, change the format of text, paragraphs and margins, and create headers and footers, as well as load, save and print documents. It will, of course, support Microsoft Word documents as well as those saved in its own format. Even advanced features, such as mail merge, are available and Writer uses a wizard to take you through the process in just the same way as Word.

OpenOffice Calc is the equivalent of Excel and offers the same basic spreedsheet functions. The more advanced menu options, such as filters and goal seeking, are also included, as is support for macros. It will read and write Microsoft Excel files as well as its own.

There is presentation software called OpenOffice Impress, which is similar to PowerPoint. There is the usual wizard to talk you through creating a presentation, with slides and boxes for you to fill in with your own text. One problem with Impress is the lack of templates; you will have to create your own if you want a consistent look to your presentations. Other than that, most of the features found in PowerPoint can be found here too.

Unlike Microsoft Office, OpenOffice includes a drawing program, which you can use to put together simple charts and diagrams. What's missing is an equivalent of Outlook, although there are plenty of third-party email clients that will do the job (albeit without the advanced group working features of Outlook).

There is also no database program. Access is not widely used by home users, but those who do use it will find OpenOffice lacking in this department.

Help is at hand
OpenOffice's help section is surprisingly good, covering all the topics you would expect and even some of the more complex features of the software. Should you require more help, direct your web browser to the OpenOffice website where you will find tutorials, answers to questions and a support forum.

It's also worth searching the internet for answers. If you get an error message, try entering it into a search engine inside a pair of double-quotes to search for the exact phrase.

Although you cannot run Windows software on a Linux computer, you can still read most of the files you would be able to view on a normal PC. Linux can read and write text files, graphics files, popular audio and video formats.

OpenOffice will happily work with all of the relevant Microsoft Office formats and on the web you'll be able to find a converter or a reader for most other formats that are not covered here. Try typing the file extension you want to view, with the word 'converter' into a search engine like Google.

Web tools
Mandrake includes a web browser called Konqueror. This is quite basic and you would be encouraged to install Mozilla Firefox, a highly customisable and user-friendly browser, which you can download here.

It includes improvements such as keeping all your browsing to one window using tabs, lots of plug-ins plus extra security features. It has a companion email program called Thunderbird. Like Firefox, it's fast and secure, and it's not too different from what you will be used to under Windows (there are also Windows versions of these two programs, should you wish to try them out first on your current PC).

As for instant messaging, we recommend AIM (AOL Instant Messenger) for PCs running Windows. There is a Linux equivalent which provides the same functions. If you prefer, you can try Gaim, a third-party product that will talk to your friends on AIM, MSN Messenger, Yahoo! and others.

Both programs allow you to exchange messages with your friends, family and colleagues, and transfer files to other users. Both also look extremely similar to the Windows versions, so you should have no problem switching between the two.

The system comes with its own media player and programs for viewing sound, graphics and video, as well as utilities for CD burning and compression. For sound editing, you will find that Audacity is a good place to start. It can import Wav, Aiff, MP3, Ogg and Midi files, among others.

You can then manipulate them, cutting, splicing and mixing as you wish. Although it doesn't have some of the bells and whistles found in paid-for Windows programs, and the screen is not as well designed as those of its paid-for competitors, it's a very good tool.

The Gimp, which we have featured in the past as a PC product, was in fact originally designed for Linux, and is probably the best free option for image editing. It allows you to edit pictures in the same way as Photoshop or Paint Shop Pro.

Although the interface takes a bit of getting used to - it's arranged slightly differently to normal Windows programs - the image-editing features are much the same. You can crop, scale, cut and paste, as well as filter and add effects to your images with ease.

Keep your guard up
Although Linux viruses are rare, it is worth being protected. One free Linux antivirus program is BitDefender. It includes an on-demand scanner for you to examine suspect files or scan your entire PC, as well as reporting on anything it finds. It also comes with automatic updates over the internet.

You should be aware that it doesn't include the advanced features found in better known packages, such as hourly updates, or highly configurable scanning. Linux includes a firewall but it can be hard to set up, as it requires editing some text files with various settings.

Clearly, this is only a basic system, and if you want to run Linux on a daily basis you will have to find equivalents for all your Windows software. You could try using a program that attempts to run Windows programs on Linux computers, such as Wine or Win4Lin. But be warned: these require a powerful PC and in many cases, Windows software simply won't work at all under Linux.

Finding alternative software isn't as hard as it may sound. The community ethos of the open source movement means that there are free alternatives for most well known pieces of Windows software, and in many cases these are better than the original.

Easy does it
Linux is undoubtedly much easier to install and use than it ever has been. The graphical installers, programs that work like their Windows counterparts and good technical support, both online and offline, all mean that the experience is not the assault course it used to be.

That said, there are a few minor points that put the process just the wrong side of what the average user can reasonably be expected to do. It's straightforward to install on a fresh machine with new components, but anything non-standard could cause some problems; graphics cards, network cards, modems and particularly wireless networking are all potential hazards.

In most cases, installation works without any problems, but when there are problems, they can be stressful and hard to solve.

As for applications, OpenOffice does everything that most users will need. Power users might find there are still features lacking, but with Linux there is often a third-party plug-in to be found that will fill a hole. The other applications we looked at are likewise easy to use, and setting them up is not the hassle it once was.

All in all, Linux is worth experimenting with if you have an old PC lying around, or if you really want a clean break from Windows. If you are curious but want to keep Windows, why not try one of the CD-based versions (see below). Otherwise, Windows still looks like the winner - just.

Staying safe
Most of the software we have covered is available to download from the web for free. It can be hard, though, to know which software is safe and virus-free and which isn't when you are surfing the internet.

One alternative is to look out for magazine cover discs, such as those on our sister magazine Personal Computer World, that contain the software you want. Also, try to stick to known download sites, such as Computeractive's here.

A popular open source download site is SourceForge, which is a repository of projects in various stages of completion. If you download from a well-known website, it is far less likely that anything nasty will slip through with the software you're after, although, of course, errors do occur.

To be sure, make sure you check any downloaded files with your virus checker before you run them, and be sure you're running Ad-aware, Spybot or a similar program to combat the threat of spyware or adware from less than perfect websites.