Richard Farrar's Blog

Like many people, I’ve used Microsoft Windows operating systems exclusively for more years than I care to remember. Now, while I’m not about to abandon my comfort blanket entirely, I’ve decided it’s about time to poke my nose out from under the Microsoft blanket and explore the world of Linux; to see what all the fuss is about and if it’s something that I can put to good use.

For the average user, the only serious contender to a Microsoft based desktop PC for regular daily use is an Apple Mac computer with their proprietary operating system. However, if you already have standard PC hardware then Apple’s operating system isn’t really a viable option as it only runs on their hardware.

For the more adventurous however, a third, lesser known alternative exists that also runs on standard desktop PCs: Linux. While Linux is becoming a popular operating system for the new wave of notebook PCs, it’s probably better known as a server based operating system (servers running Linux form much of the backbone of the internet, particularly web servers).

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The Internet Monthly is a monthly podcast featuring 20 or so short Internet related articles, tips and tricks and a regular search engine of the month feature.

This month’s podcast looks at the page every Web site needs to stay legal, buying Windows 7 in the UK for much less than American users, how to support Britain’s most surprising land speed record attempt and a review of The Geek Atlas.

You can also find out about the future of ‘cloud computing’ and nine office suites you can try in the sky today, where to test drive tomorrow’s version of Google and top time-saving tools for Twitter.

This podcast is derived from a monthly newsletter published by Zen Internet and recorded and produced by Silicon Bay. The podcast is reproduced by kind permission of Zen Internet.

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