Try Linux for free: Make your own install CD

PC World - Not so long ago, the only way to see whether Linux would run on a particular PC was to install the operating system on its hard drive. Times change. Nowadays, many so-called live CD versions of Linux boot and run solely from a CD-ROM. Ubuntu Linux, our 2005 World Class winner for Best Linux Distribution, has a live CD version available for download. You may be asking yourself, "How do I download a CD-ROM?"

Answer: Linux live CDs and installation CDs are often available for download as files with an .iso extension. Such files provide a snapshot "image" of a CD-ROM's file system. If you'd like to try Linux on a CD, grab an International Standards Organization (ISO) format file, feed it to your CD-burning software, and a few minutes later, you'll have a shiny -- and functional -- disc. (The command for burning an ISO format image to disc depends on the burning tool you use. If you have a recent version of Roxio Easy CD Creator, click File, Record CD from CD Image. With a recent version of Nero, select File, Burn Image.)

For just the cost of a blank disc and the time and bandwidth it takes to download one ISO image, you can determine whether an entirely free operating system floats your boat. Simply boot your computer using your Ubuntu live CD and have a good look around the operating system. Kick the tires all you want: Surf the Web, send e-mail, open a spreadsheet you brought home from the office, hatch your pet plan for world domination, whatever.

If you like what you see, or if you're interested in trying the real deal, consider setting your PC to dual-boot mode. When you turn your system on, you'll have a choice: Windows or Linux. On the Linux side, you'll enjoy the increased performance of a true installation, the ability to install additional software, a home directory to call your own and other features of the operating system.

If you prefer a distribution other than Ubuntu, here are two fully downloadable options. The Red Hat-sponsored Fedora Core will likely appeal to the geeks in the audience; but if interaction with Windows machines on your local network is key (or if you already know you favor KDE over the Gnome desktop), you may be better off downloading the Open Circulation edition of Xandros Desktop. Note that this version has only limited CD burning functions, and it can't burn DVDs at all; Xandros is a commercial product, so its