There will come a time in your life, when you will have a computer with a dated OS (operating system) and that computer won't be that old or dated . Or maybe you got an extra computer given to you by someone and the computer has a problematic OS in which you need to reinstall a OS to get the computer functional again but you don't have to restore discs. Or you are in my situation-- I own a few PowerPC based Mac computers in which Apple made obsolete by abandoning the PowerPC Processor platform to focus on Intel based Macs. But any computer could be made obsolete once the computer can't run the latest OS from either Apple or Microsoft, i.e. my brother owns a Black MacBook early 2008 model with 4 GB Ram, 250GB Hard drive, with Intel x3100 integrated graphics running Mac OSX 10.6.8 Snow Leopard but he can't run Mac OSX 10.8 Mountain Lion though, so his computer is considered obsolete. This is where Linux comes into play.
Linux isn't a single product. More specifically Linux is a kernel, the core of a OS (open source operating system.) Collectively, Linus is a free OS and its code is open source-- meaning anyone can contribute and modify and improve the source code. It is open and can be configured anyway you like with a variety of GUI (graphical user interface) such as Gnome, KDE, LXDE, and Unity UIs just to name a few.
Linux is available for many CPU architectures such as x86 intel, amd, PowerPC and Arm based computers. So you can run Linux from a regular intel PC to a Rasberry PI Arm based mini computer to the Playstation 3.
Linux is free and can be freely distributed to others. If Apple or Microsoft leaves your computers behind, why not breathe new life into the machine by installing Linux? There are many Linux distros to choose from to fit your needs. Linux is never obsolete and is a modern OS and gets constant updates and upgrades. There Debian Linux, Ubuntu Linux, Lubuntu Linux, Kubuntu Linux, Red Hat Linux, Yellow Dog Linux, Mint Linux, MintPPC Linux, etc. They vary, some are Mac like and some are Windows like, so the learning curve isn't too steep. You could burn to a CD a test run disc, known as a "Live CD" to try it out to see if you like it and if you do, you can install from the Live CD. So if you got a computer that needs a reinstall and you don't want to shell out cash for a OS, why not consider Linux as an alternative?
Linux is backed by major corporations such as Intel, IBM, Google, Red Hat, Oracle, just to name a few. Adobe supports Flash player on intel based Linux systems. Valve, a famous gaming company is bringing Steam gaming to Linux soon. They brought Steam to the Mac a few years ago too. They are doing this because they seem the potential in Linux. This is a sign that Linux is becoming more and more mainstream. If you didn't know, there is a lot of software for Linux, freeware and payware commerical products.
Ubuntu is currently to poster boy for Linux. Ubuntu is the most famous of all the Linux distros out there and it has a Ubuntu software center-- kind of like the Mac App Store or the iOS App Store and installing an app in Ubuntu software center is easy and straight forward like the Mac/iOS App Store. Linux isn't just for computer geeks or command line junkies anymore but is ready for prime time mainstream audience and is easy to use via GUI. Like what I said earlier, the learning curve isn't steep but easy because some Linux distros are Mac like and some are Windows like.
If you are on an Intel based computer, you can use the WINE compatibility layer to run windows apps natively in Linux or use virtualization software to run Windows within Linux but a copy of Windows is required for virtualization. I recommend Ubuntu Linux for Intel based machines with some moderate cpu power. My brother's Asus netbook has Ubuntu 12.04 on it running on a class 10 32GB SDHC card by Patriot and it works pretty well (see my earlier blog post on using and sdhc class 10 card as a boot drive for Ubuntu for more details.) My brother uses VLC to play DVDs and Rhythmbox to play music files. To play these, you need to install the restricted extras package.
My sister's iMac G3 runs MintPPC Linux 11 and I recommend MintPPC Linux to PowerPC Mac owners because this distro is tweaked for PowerPC G3, G4, and G5 and it is fast and speedy!
There is currently MintPPC 9 and the newer MintPPC 11. If you want a more mature OS, use MintPPC 9, if you want the lastest and greatest, use MintPPC11.
I am going to install MintPPC 11 Linux on my PowerMac G4 Dual 450Mhz in the near future on my external hard drive so I could dabble more with Linux on my own machine. This Mac currently runs Mac OSX 10.5.8 Leopard (in which I installed via Leopard Assist.) I also got to install a file to make MintPPC multi-processor aware so it could see and utilize both CPUs. I consult the forums at MintPPC 's home website for reference and help and it is a great resource. I recommend plugging in the ethernet cable instead of doing wireless when installing MintPPC Linux. I am going to make this my side project for the end of summer. I will keep you all posted. This PowerMac uses a Nvidia Geforce 4MX video card which might be problematic, so I am going to do more research and look into this before diving head on. I have to warn PowerPC owners though-- Linux on PowerPC computers are less supported than Intel based computers. i.e. Flash player is available for intel but not PPC Linux computers. However the web is transitiioning from Flash video to Html 5 video and even youtube has Html 5 trial you could join to watch their videos in Html 5 instead. Also there are scripts you can install in your browser to have video on the web playback in Html 5.
I love Linux and it is the future of computing! Don't get me wrong though, I am still a Mac user and the Mac can coexist with Linux just fine. Apple Inc. will always be around for premium computing but for a free alternative to Mac or Windows, there is Linux. It is always good to have choices.
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