Linux and Windows: The Best of Both Worlds

Linux - the popular open source operating system - is growing in popularity as a desktop operating system. Should you switch from Windows to Linux? Maybe you don't have to. I'll show you some techniques that allow you to keep running Windows on your PC, yet still run Linux too.

Why try Linux? Some people want a new operating system but don't want to switch to Vista, and other people just enjoy using an open source operating system (perhaps because it is free). People switch to Linux for many reasons. If you make a living as a Web developer or in any related field, Linux is a "must have" on your resume. If you are a software developer, you'll find a wealth of tools aimed at developers. Linux systems tend to be easier to secure against malicious attacks and viruses, too. However, some people don't

Linux used to have a reputation as a toy for geeks and nerds. Modern Linux distributions, however, are easy to use and install and have a wealth of applications available (and most of them are free). But getting started with Linux can be intimidating. You don't want to damage your PC and if you don't like Linux - or can't live without a particular Windows program, what can you do?

As an example, consider my situation. As a professional software developer, I love Linux. But I still need to run a few Windows programs (notably the program that prints postage on my PC). Of course, a lot of the world uses Windows programs like Microsoft Office and other similar programs.

While you can get replacements for these on Linux, sometimes there is no substitute for the real thing. So every time I try to switch completely to Linux, I wind up eventually going back to Windows. That's why I've experimented with several techniques for using Windows and Linux so that I don't have to choose.

There are several ways to run Linux on a PC that usually runs Windows. Perhaps the easiest way is to download a "boot CD" or "boot DVD" that allowsmost modern PCs to boot Linux directly off the CD orDVD. You'll download a .ISO image file (for instance, ubuntu.com or knoppix.org) and use your CD burning program to burn a CD with the data. These systems will create a RAM disk so performance is surprisingly good.

You can even mount your hard drives and access them inmany cases. If you like using a boot CD,many offer a method to install the same version ofLinux to your hard drive from the same disk. Ofcourse, that likely requires you to partition your hard drive (not for the faint of heart).

If you don't want to partition your hard drive, there are several other options. For example, Wubi (wubi-installer.org) is an installer for Ubuntu Linux which installs Linux into a standard Windows file instead of a disk partition. You simply reboot your computer and you can pick Ubuntu or Windows without any major changes to your hard drive. The process is designed to be simple and foolproof.

However, if you have a fairly recent computer with plenty of memory (a gigabyte or more) you should consider running some form of virtualization. This allows you to run Linux at the same time as Windows. You can still run your Windows programs at the same time as Linux. Products like VirtualBox (virtualbox.org, which is open source) do a great job of providing a virtual computer inside your real computer and you can run and install Linux in that virtual computer.

There are several commercial products that have free options including VirtualPC (microsoft.com) from Microsoft and the popular VmWare (the VmWare player is free and supports several flavors of Linux; see vmware.com). Many of these programs have Linux installations that are ready to go, which makes it a snap to start up a new Linux installation.

Is there a downside to running a virtual computer? The performance of these products will not be as good as when running on your real PC, although but some are quite good, especially on modern PCs. However, for most applications, this won't be a problem. Just don't expect to play heavy duty 3D games inside the virtual computer.

One way to get better performance is to use the coLinux kernel which is a special Linux kernel that runs directly under Windows (see colinux.org). This is similar to using virtualization - Linux runs under Windows -- but is very efficient compared to full virtualization. Installing coLinux directly isn't for the faint of heart, but there are several distributions that use coLinux and are easy to install.

In particular, AndLinux (andlinux.org) offers an easy way to install Linux on top of Windows. There is something eerie about looking at KDevelop for Linux running next to Microsoft Outlook. AndLinux, however, isn't a full Linux desktop. Instead it is made for running Linux applications that look like they are running on your desktop - which may be even better than having a virtual Linux desktop.

If you want to use coLinux and you want the full Linux experience, there are several distributions that install a full Linux with coLinux. For examples see colinux.wikia.com. One distribution worthy of special mention is Topologilinux (topologilinux.com). This distribution is unique because it lets you run Linux inside Windows and then - if you need better performance - reboot using the same copy of Linux (without Windows), However, Topologilinux isn't as simple to use as some other Linux distributions, so you might want to start with an easier option first.

If you've ever wanted to learn Linux for work, school, or just to enjoy a free and open operating system, you can use any of these methods to dip your toe in the water. Once you've learned to love Linux (and I"m sure you will), and you realize you don't need any Windows programs anymore, you can take the full plunge and install Linux to run your computer full time. Of course, you can run virtual Windows under Linux too, but that's a story for another day!