hi Meetic.
let me add a few pointer to the excellent one youve already recieved
Is switching to linux a good decision considering my ram is not too high- i do play games at times, but am not inclined to upgrade ram or anything for that matter.
here the question is why do you want to switch to linux. it could be for learning , or it could be for not using windows at all.
If its for learning then you have no problem. go with Mandriva/mandrake, or fedora, suse or ubuntu. Of all these mandriva and suse are the most user friendly. (imo) given that this is your first foray into linux.
If its for switching to linux completely then you need to make a list of your commonly used apps and find alternatives on the linux side. many times there are no alternatives or you have to compromise on some features. at other times the apps for linux are much more full featured and even free!
Device drivers are not so tweakable as windows drivers are- this is because the windows drivers are made by the manufacturer, and linux drivers are often reverse engineered ones which the manufacturer doesn't support. for example ppl with x1000 sries cards have lot of problems.
Regarding requirements for ram etc, linux loves ram and makes full use of it. the more you have the happier linux is! but it makes do just fine with 256 mb if thats all you have.
Youll be fine with KDE or even gnome - maybe a bit slow at times! but not much. but the features these offer beat windows by a very long shot!
As regards memory etc.
Is linux lighter on resources when compared to Win XP or Win 98
no
not the current ones. this is because windows has every thing integrated like explorer, is always running- internet explorer starts very fast, word starts faster than openoffice etc. on the other hand linux is made up of different programs from different people. for exmaple the display id handled by the Xserver - a fairly huge program that is slow compared to windows builtin desktop management. then KDE and Gnome - (like explorer) are separate programs. so is mozilla firefox and so on. so things maybe slower. definetly on a low or medium end system , win 98 will be much more responsive.
.I have heard that Redhat version is most widely used. Is it a freeware? Also how is it when compared to UBUNTU version of Linux (heard that UBUNTU is a bit more user friendly).
Redhat
was widely used. now ubuntu is the most used. however i would suggest you use suse. this is the mist polished distro right now. ubuntu one cd install is too minimal for people who dont have broadband. so the full range of software that is available for linux is not immedeatley enjoyable by the user.
or mandriva. stay away for now from debian , slackware or gentoo.
or try freespire. this is the most windows like!
What other probs can i be expected to face while using linux initially (apart from a bit complicated user interface).
remember one thing. you know windows very well. you used it for a long time. now linux is a different planet. things are called by different names, and you're allowed to fiddle with every thing. the language here is different c: is /dev/hda1 etc. you will have to learn all this and you'll find that this makes better sense.
now linux by its nature today, needs configuring by hand sometimes. sometimes things dont "Automagically work". this happens in windows also but the solution is often a reinstall! plus your vendor may support you.
with linux many times youre on your own with support only from the user community! which youll find is a great thing.
so anyway do try it.
ps: where are you located? if youre in bangalore i could lend you some of these linux distro cds for you to try.
regards
