Switching to a new and very different operating system is quite an endeavour. Here are some things to consider beforehand.

There are many reasons why millions of people enjoy using GNU/Linux - they can be either of a technical, financial, ethical or philosophical nature depending on each person's personal views. Here's a list of some of the most common reasons for choosing GNU/Linux:

• Security - Viruses, spyware etc. are virtually non-existant issues.
• Maintanence - Forget about scanning for viruses and spyware, defragmenting, cleaning registry database, frequent rebooting etc.
• Stability - GNU/Linux is very stable. Individual apps might crash, but the operating system itself crashing is very rare.
• Software freedom/open source - You may run the software as you wish, study the source code, modify it, share it. No tricky End User License Agreements.
• Open standards - GNU/Linux and the applications for it, generally support open standards, making it possible to interoperate seamlessly with other platforms and helps you avoid vendor lock-in.
• Community - GNU/Linux has been described as a "world wide team sport".
• Economy - Most GNU/Linux-distributions can be downloaded gratis and the same goes for a huge amount of applications for it. Furthermore comparatively modest hardware requirements mean you won't need to upgrade your hardware often.
• Good conscience - Getting high quality gratis software legally, means less temptation to get unauthorized illegal copies of proprietary software. You also won't support a well-known monopolist with multiple convictions for abusing its dominant market position.
• One size doesn't fit all - There are many different GNU/Linux distributions from commercial as well as non-commercial vendors, running on many different types of computers, from mobile phones to PCs to super computers. There's a choice of several different desktop environments suiting different tastes and needs.
• Trying something new - Simply trying something new and different is in itself motivating for many people.

While there are many advantages of using GNU/Linux, it can also be challenging.

• You'll need to learn a new and different operating system, new applications, new terminology.
• You'll need to unlearn much of what you've learnt using other operating systems.
• You may miss familiar applications, typically Microsoft Office, Adobe Photoshop and most popular, big mainstream games.
• Not all hardware is supported.
• Friends, family and co-workers probably won't be able to help you with problems.

Since switching is not always easy, here's some advise:

• Have realistic expectations. Do not expect to master GNU/Linux within a week or two, like you've mastered your previous operating system after maybe 10 years of using it or more.
• Start by installing GNU/Linux on a secondary computer or in a dual boot setup with your previous OS or perhaps running in a virtual machine.
• Walk before you run. Start by learning the basics and solve any problems calmly one at a time.
• Don't be afraid to ask for help online.

If you start using applications available for GNU/Linux in your familiar environment, switching later will be that much easier. These are some examples of gratis applications available for both GNU/Linux and MS Windows for common tasks - most of them are available for Mac OSX too.

Free software		Non-free software
Firefox (web browser) Thunderbird (e-mail client) OpenOffice.org (office suite) Gimp (image editing) Pidgin (instant messaging) VLC (video player) KompoZer (HTML editor)	Vuze (bittorrent client) FileZilla (FTP client) Scribus (desktop publishing) Inkscape (vector graphics) Blender (3D animation) Abiword (simple word processor) Audacity (audio editing) QuteCom (VoIP)	Opera (web browser) RealPlayer (video and music) Skype (VoIP) Google Earth (maps) Picasa (photo album) Adobe Reader (PDF reader)

Many of the KDE applications (see later chapters), are also available for MS Windows and Mac OSX for early adopters. See:
http://windows.kde.org
http://mac.kde.org