If you are thinking of switching to Linux or trying it out, there are some things that you need to know about as a newbie to Linux.
It's not quite as simple as downloading Linux and installing it to your machine.
There are many different projects and things that you should know about to make your Linux experience better.
Different Distributions: A distribution is a version of Linux.
There are thousands of applications.
Some groups of people take certain ones and package them together with certain settings.
They do this so that everything is confirmed to work together in a logical format.
There are hundreds of distributions, but be sure to check out Ubuntu, openSUSE, Fedora, Arch, and Slackware.
Each of these is a little different with different interfaces and applications.
Different Graphical User Interfaces - GUIs: There are different interfaces that you will see in different distributions.
The most popular are KDE and Gnome.
There are also ones for slower, older computers like XFCE and Fluxbox.
Try out each one of these until you find what you really want and enjoy using.
To a new user each one will look like a different operating system.
In reality it is just a difference in the way you interact with programs and applications.
Different Settings: You are going to be used to doing things a certain way if you have used a Mac or Windows.
At first it's going to be frustrating when you know how to do something on your old system but have not been able to figure it out with Linux yet.
Take your time.
Be prepared to learn.
Linux is different than other operating systems.
Be prepared to learn.
If you approach Linux with the idea that you are exploring and learning new things, it can be fun.
If you expect it to be perfect the first time you use it, be prepared for frustration.