Many times when people are looking to switch over or try Linux, they question which version or distribution is the best. There are quite a few different choices so it seems obvious that one must be the best. The reality is that there isn’t really a best version of Linux. There are different versions that meet different purposes.

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 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.

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.

Whenever you are using the Linux, in whatever distribution you like the most, you have a Home folder. This is an extremely important folder for everything that you do on that machine. Due to the way that Linux segments it’s file system, it’s important to keep track of what is in this home folder. Although it sounds like basic file management and as such can sound boring or repetitive, when things go wrong being aware of where you have saved what, can make all the difference.

First of all the home folder is much like your “My Documents” that you have in Windows. Your basic files that can include pictures, music, video, documents, and downloads will be saved into this folder. For each user on the computer, you will get your own folder that holds your own personal documents. This is important as this segmentation provides you with privacy, but more importantly, your own organizational system.

Linux Hosting or Windows Hosting?

One of the most difficult decisions any new comer will need to make is which web hosting platform would he or she wants their server to be on. Two of the most popular choices are Linux and Windows web servers. Before we can tell which web server is more appropriate for our website, it is worth-while to research some of the key functionalities, advantages and weaknesses of these 2 types of web hosting platforms in advance to facilitate the necessary selections.

Why Choose Linux?

All the major services you need to run an enterprise class website are available on Linux based systems for free. Linux, Apache, MySQL and PHP are being used together to provide the infrastructure behind some of the most traffic intensive sites on the internet.

PHP runs better on a Linux server than on a Windows server. Having said that, unless you are putting a heavy load on your PHP scripts, this will not be noticable.

In general, Linux hosting plans are at least 20% cheaper than Windows hosting plans. If you don’t need any of the features mentioned above, Linux hosting is a fine choice for your needs.

Why Choose Windows?

You will find that many of the popular script languages, such as ASP are not available with Linux. They work wonderfully for Windows though. If you are using ASP for your site, then you will need to use a Windows server. You will have access to databases, and you will find much more functionality with the different applications from Microsoft. It is easy to use, and you will find it easy to manage your site. For many, these are reasons enough to choose Windows over Linux.

To put it in simple terms, Linux website hosting is that form of hosting where a company gets the liberty to construct web sites by using the Linux operating System. Windows web hosting is reference to dedicated web serving and is aimed at the delivery of single purpose solutions for internet service providers apart from application developers and other web experts organizing web functionalities. New web masters and their novel websites that do not generate any revenue and contain static HTML pages most probably get hosted on the Linux server where as revenue generating websites find their way on the Windows Operating System that is more business centric and enterprise driven.