One of the biggest reasons stopping people from trying the Linux operating system is concern about installing it, especially if it turns out that Linux does not support a particular device that works with Windows.

Buying a PC with Linux already installed avoids these problems - Shuttle's LinuXPC SD3002Q is the first we have seen from the company that has the operating system instead of Windows.

The case is in the typical small and good-looking Shuttle style. It uses an Intel Core2 Duo E4400 processor with 1GB of memory. Even though these specifications are lower than an average Windows computer, and there is no separate graphics card, there are no performance worries, mainly because Linux tends to have lower requirements than Windows.

There is a 250GB hard disk, so storage is unlikely to ever be a problem even if you have large collections of music or video. A multi-format DVD drive takes care of backup facilities.

The selection of sockets and connections is impressive: there are four USB sockets at the back with another two on the front panel. There are sockets for Firewire and network access and both VGA and DVI connections for monitors. There is no wireless networking built into this computer, though (wireless is not well supported in Linux), so users will have to rely on wires or pay for an add-on wireless adapter.

One key advantage of Linux is that it comes with plenty of software installed, in comparison with the more limited options supplied with Windows. Openoffice and Firefox will be familiar to Windows users, although Openoffice has had a makeover and looks a little more polished than the standard version we're used to.

Linux is available in many versions (known as distributions) and this computer is supplied with the Opensuse edition. This is just as capable as the better known Ubuntu distribution with some differences. The most visible change is that it looks more like Windows - an advantage for newcomers - and that extra software can be installed from the supplied DVD rather than online.

It works with much Windows hardware: for instance digital cameras are automatically detected when connected to the computer, with the option to import the photos using the installed Digikam software.

Media playback - music and video files - is generally fine, but Linux isn't as versatile as Windows in this respect. The most glaring problem is that it is not possible to play DVD movies as standard. While it's possible, and not very hard, to modify the Linux installation so that it can play them, this isn't strictly legal, which is something of a drawback.

Using Linux allows this model to be cheaper than most Shuttles, and the operating system works well, representing very good value for those who want to make the move away from Windows.

Vista compatible: No