Tired of paying for high priced software like Windows and other platforms that don’t allow you to have any say in what your computer looks like? Most computer users can agree that, while Windows functions may be very practical, they do not allow us users to have any sort of freedom with the writing of the software. Even worse, they monopolize the market and force us to use programs like Microsoft Word, Excel, or Powerpoint. Well, we don’t have to take this lying down!

Free and open source software, like Linux, allow computer users to control what sorts of programs are on their computers, as well as what the computer’s desktop and structure looks like. Although all of this is subject to change depending on the speed of the graphics card a user has in the computer, nearly anything a software engineer imagines can be done in a Linux like program. Some examples of these programs include the following:

1. Ubuntu – one of the most popular Linux type platforms that is the smoothest and allows users the most freedom with their computer. All of the programs that are included are free of charge, and most popular programs, like “Dropbox”, work with this type of Linux.

2. Fendora – another very popular Linux platform that promotes a sense of community between its users. Some users who have perfected a version of Fendora that they believe highly comparable to popular platforms like Windows, can share their configurations with other users within the community.

Regardless of whether you choose Ubuntu, Fendora, or a different version of Linux, the main message behind the Linux movement is that computers are simple tools and should be free of the strings that come attached to many of the popular software platforms.