{"id":9423,"date":"2022-05-28T20:00:43","date_gmt":"2022-05-28T20:00:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/garfnet.org.uk\/cms\/?p=9423"},"modified":"2025-08-18T21:02:35","modified_gmt":"2025-08-18T21:02:35","slug":"i-want-to-move-to-linux-so-where-do-i-start","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/garfnet.org.uk\/cms\/2022\/05\/28\/i-want-to-move-to-linux-so-where-do-i-start\/","title":{"rendered":"I want to move to Linux, so where do I start?"},"content":{"rendered":"

“I want to move to Linux, so where do I start?<\/em>” or variants thereof, is one of those frequently asked questions that often land in my in-box and on various fora. Such questions usually come from disgruntled Microsoft Windows users who are fed up with the cost, the privacy breaches, the malware infections and the upgrade failures that MS Windows users still have to put up with. So where do you start?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Firstly, you need to understand that GNU\/Linux is not<\/strong> Windows. In addition to its UNIX base rather than DOS, the philosophy behind it is entirely different. It is part of a larger FOSS ecosystem. FOSS means f<\/span>ree o<\/span>pen s<\/span>ource s<\/span>oftware. To get your head around what this philosophy actually means in practical terms, you may wish to put the expression “free as in freedom” into a web search engine of your choice.<\/p>\n

It is also perfectly possible that GNU\/Linux may not be for you. You may not wish to make the intellectual effort needed to make the switch. You may have Windows specific software for your job that does not play nicely in GNU\/Linux. Or you may struggle with the notion that free, open source software can actually be better<\/em> than expensive proprietary stuff. In which case, the rest of this feature will be of little interest to you.<\/p>\n

For everyone else, I have gathered together a series of articles that attempt to document our transition to GNU\/Linux.<\/p>\n

Firstly, a bit of history<\/h2>\n

This covers our first non-dual-boot GNU\/Linux-only business computers. This is a  good place to start, if you are interested in what finally made us join the Penguinistas<\/em>. Please bear in mind that the first three links below refer to our very early GNU\/Linux days back in 2007. GNU\/Linux has come a long way since then.<\/p>\n

Vista woes might lead us to better things<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n