Are you thinking of trying out Linux? Fed up of everyday battles with Virus and Antivirus? Wanna give this open sourced free software a try? Well then this post is exclusively for you.An insight into what you shall find here.

1. Which one to select?
2. What more do I need?
3. What should I know?
4. What about my Windows?

So let’s get started.

Do you know there are some advantages that Windows has over Linux? First thing is you very well know what is the latest Windows version out there in the market. So you don’t have to think of which Windows will suit you best (of course some did have that problem, when Vista came with all of it’s different flavours). In Linux there are a lot of options, which makes it an advantage and also a disadvantage.

For those who experiment and are bored of their system they can always try out a new distro (that’s what the various flavours of linux are called). But for newbies it is a dilemma.

So I shall suggest the one distro that I have been suggesting my friends and who also are finding it comfortable with linux. Linux Mint is my suggestion to you. It is based on the user friendly and #1 distro, Ubuntu (as per distro watch website).

You can read about why I suggest Linux Mint at my blog. Most important reason is most codecs are preinstalled and hence gives you a wonderful linux experience. Also it has some looks similar to Windows so it shall be helpful for Windows users to use it.

Now let’s talk about the softwares required. For playing your music files we have RhythmBox and for your Movies and DVD’s we have MPlayer preinstalled with all codecs! Just works out of the box. You might have to install the graphics drivers and also the Wireless drivers. Most things work out of the box! That’s what I like about Mint!

Softwares I consider necessary

I installed Mint on my laptop and based on whatever I needed I made this list.

1. Guake - This is a really quit replacement for the gnome-terminal. This one by default can be run by pressing F12 and makes it easier to invoke the terminal. Give it a try. Am sure you will love it!
2. Emacs - I love this text editor more than vim. I use it to do most text editing and open it within the terminal using the command :

emacs -nw filename

3. g++ - Required if you are of the coding genre.
4. XAMPP for Linux - This package bundles up Apache, PHP, MySQL and PHPMyAdmin and helps you set up your own server in minutes. It also installs a FTP server. A good alternative to manually installing Apache, PHP, MySQL and PhpMyAdmin and then configuring it. Read about the manual way here.
5. Cheese - For using your webcam!
6. NMap and Wireshark - Install these if you know you will use them the way they should be used.
7. NFS - No not Need for Speed. I mean here Network File System which is useful for fast sharing of file between networks
8. smbfs - Samba File System for mounting Windows based networks and sharing files between them.
9. Computer Temp - This is a taskbar applet and shall show your system temperature. Useful for Laptop users.
10. SmartMonTools - This helps you monitor your hard disk and ensure it’s long life.
11. Amarok - Another music player. A replacement for RhythmBox. Both these softwares are worth using.
12. VLC - You should be knowing all about it.
13. Beagle - Indexed searching of your files.
14. Eclipse - Integrated Development Environment
15. NetBeans - Another Integrated Development Environment with support for Java based Softwares.

This is a short list. There are many more software’s that shall capture your interests. Software’s like Compiz Fusion and Gnome Do are preinstalled. Read about how to set Compiz Fusion here.

The most cool thing about using linux is using the terminal. Gives you a geeky cool look and friends look with awe when i use the terminal with ease. You can learn how to use the terminal for everything you want to do from the valuable lessons at linuxcommand.org.

The best thing about Linux Mint for Windows users is that it exclusively is customized for new users to feel at home. Installation is a breeze and it detects existing Windows partition and helps you in dual booting your system with your existing version of Windows and the new Linux Mint!

There is also a detailed ebook which shall guide you through the installation process and for your experimentation with Linux hereon!

Download Linux Mint Now! The Choice is Yours!