Get smart! Save 12K on your next laptop

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Got your attention didn't I? The fact is, when most of us buy a computer at the store, we pay not just for the electronic hardware, but also for the Operating System (OS) software that makes the hardware work. Most of us use the Windows OS, and a genuine, latest version of Windows 7 costs upto twelve grand.

What if you got an OS, that does everything Windows can. For Free. Tempting? But of course - most of us don't buy genuine software. Slip five hundred rupees to your friendly neighborhood computerwala and he'll come home and install a pirated version of Windows for you, won't he?

Yes. But tech gurus say such pirated copies come pre-packaged with all sorts of computer viruses. And of course, once you're on the net - it's full of viruses designed with lots of love, to wreck PCs that run on Windows. Now, what if you could get a Free OS, that's almost completely Virus Free?

That sweetens the deal, doesn't it? But then you'll ask. What's the catch? Will it REALLY do all my Windows computer can? Can it send e-mail? Yes. Can I make text documents like I do in Word? Yes. Can I make Spreadsheets and Presentations for the office? Yes. Can I log on to Facebook and Orkut and talk to friends on the Messenger? Yes.

Wow! So what's this miracle OS called? Now - that's where the explanations start. Unknown to you and me, software geeks the world over have been spending hours and hours of their personal free time, making Operating Systems that won't enslave you to any one "COMPANY".

Really smart people don't like to be hemmed in. They don't like being told what they can or can't do, what they can or cannot buy, what they can or cannot use. And they really, really love challenges.

So while Microsoft and Google and Apple were busy convincing lesser mortals like me that they were absolutely essential to my existence in the digital world, these geeks wrote their own software, to command their PCs. And since a lot of them believe that computers can change the world for the better, they've released these software for free on the web. Anyone who's interested can just download.

Nice fairytale no? I was always a sucker for these happy storylines. Like always, there are big "catches" in this lovey-dovey spiel. And I'll get to them later. But basically, if I've you're still reading, you might want to type "Linux" or "Open Source " into Wikipedia and see what you get.

To cut a long story short, there are lots of free OSs developed under the Linux movement. And I've been told "Ubuntu" is among the most user-friendly. The latest version is Ubuntu 9.10 also called Karmic Koala (Don't ask me why!). I've downloaded and used it for about two months. But there are lots of die hard fans of the older version called Ubuntu 9.04 (aka Jaunty Jackalope!). So you can check that out too if you like.

I've never installed a computer Operating System in my life, though the web's full of nerds who can do that that and a lot more to their Pcs. So I had to call the office systems engineer to install Karmic Koala for me. Since I never latch onto new technologies as easily as others around me, I asked him to do a dual boot. When I switch on my computer, it asks me if I want it to start using Windows XP, or Ubuntu. (If I found Ubuntu too geeky to handle, at least I'd get my work done using Windows!)

Actually, it wasn't that hard to use at all! Like I said earlier - it let me save text documents, do spell checks, open spreadsheets and attachments office colleagues sent me, send emails - everything! I had to ask the engineer to set up the printer for me, of course. And I still haven't figured to save my files directly on the office network, I save them all on the computers hard disk instead. But those were minor problems.

To be honest - it took about three or four days to get used to the different "look' of my computer screen (though I personally liked it almost at first go). And to learn how to dig out all the new files I was saving. But still, it was fun.

The trouble started when I tried to watch YouTube videos. The Video "Window" would just show up as a big grey window. Not just in YouTube, but on any website that displays Flash animations or Quicktime videos. This time the systems engineers wouldn't help me, they said they needed to refresh their Ubuntu knowledge too and that would take time.

I'm a complete Operating System novice, so I spent the better part of a day trawling Google to find a solution to the problem. Videos play on my desktop now - but I'm still trying to find the audio settings. And learning how to download videos should be another long haul.

Don't get me wrong. There are tons and tons of helpful websites out there, where Ubuntu fans offer you help on solving your computer problems. The problem is, there's so many of them, it takes time to find the right fix for your PC.

I've had just this minor problem so far - but I've read about people who can't get their computer mouse, or printer, or screen to work. They all find a solution ultimately - but not everyone will have the patience or the time to tinker with this.

Fair enough. If you don't enjoy tinkering with the PC, your office engineers should be able to do it for you. But they don't - because only ten percent of the world uses software like Ubuntu. Why waste time on a novelty. When you can just install Windows and be done with it!

Actually - that's where we're wrong. Your office and mine, is spending a fortune licensing genuine Windows software from Microsoft. Every terminal they install it on, means an extra hole in their pocket. Think of how much they'd save if they switched their PCs to Ubuntu!. Cost savings during recession anyone?

Or take government schools in remote towns. They're using hand me down PCs you probably sold to the kabadiwala years ago. Those computers can't handle a heavy Operating System like Windows XP, Vista or 7. And the principals can't afford to pay Microsoft every time they get a new PC. Linux based OSs like Ubuntu are quite light - they'll work on computers our parents used twenty years back. And they're free!

The government's been talking about taking computers to every Panchayat. About digitizing land records for every village, distributing salaries to manual laborers through computer kiosks. Doing all that with Microsoft operated computers is going to cost a fortune. And that money's going to come from the tax you and I pay. Switch to Open Source - and it's all free!

Make no mistake - software like Ubuntu have their flaws. They take time getting used to. Might need special programs to work seamlessly with stuff the rest of the world uses. And they might crash and lose data occasionally. Maybe. But aren't problems like that the challenges that software geeks love to meet head on? And isn't India chock a block with software engineers? Hmmm?