Windows. The most common operating system in the world, and although many would argue it’s the best, it’s also often broken, slow, and ridiculously expensive. But that’s logical, right? It’s not like there’s a high-quality, open-source and therefore free OS just waiting to be installed on your computer, is there?

Well, there is, and it goes by the umbrella title of Linux. There are many different variations – Ubuntu Linux is one example – and all of them allow you to do almost everything you can do in windows. What’s the difference? Well, here’s a few:

1) Price. Seriously, it’s free – there’s no ads, nothing like that at all – all your Windows upgrade money can go straight to your holiday fund or PartyPoker now – just look up the version of Linux that most appeals to you, and download and install it. Done. Not a single dent in your bank balance.

2) Community. This is a community-built series of projects, and not only will you see parts of your OS getting updated every day, but you’ll also notice that for almost everything you want to do, there’s a free way to do it. The amount of time and effort the open-source community put into helping you get the most out of your hardware is admirable. If you can help out, even better – it’s always good to give back.

3) A faster-running computer. No, really – there’s no Linux bloatware, nothing running in the background, nothing comes “packaged” with your computer. You’re given a fresh Linux install with some basic software, and then left to get on with things, which means a faster, better, more reliable computer than you’ve ever had before.

If you’re not convinced at this point, why not go and try it out? It’s free, after all…