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After deciding how my hard disk will be partitioned in Linux, I need to select a filesystem for those partitions. A filesystem is a system for organizing directories and files, generally in terms of how it is implemented in the disk operating system. In layman’s terms it is code that tells your operating system how data is stored, organized, and managed on a hard disk drive. Every operating system has a filesystem of some sort. In the Microsoft Windows world you’re fairly limited as to what filesystems are available to you. FAT, FAT32, NTFS, and eventually WinFS are really your only options. In Linux however, there are quite a few filesystems available. They all have their own unique advantages and disadvantages and can have application specific reasons for existence. In this article I’ll be discussing what I believe the four candidate filesystems are for my move to Linux. ...

After deciding to make the move to Linux, determining that my hardware is compatible with Linux, and after picking a Linux distro it’s time to decide how to partition my hard drive. Unlike Microsoft Windows where one partition is usually the case, Linux users agree that a few partitions should be made for certain paths that Linux uses. I’ve done some research on the Linux Directory Structure and that would be very helpful information to read before continuing if you’re not too familiar with Linux already. ...

After deciding to move to Linux and determining that my hardware is compatible with Linux, it’s time to pick a Linux distribution. Choosing the right distribution for you is exactly that. You have to choose the right distribution for YOU. There is no one size fits all Linux distro. You have to think about what you’re looking for in a Linux distro and essentially rule out the ones that won’t fit you. Lou Grinzo said it best. In an article on ZDNet on 11 Sep 2000 he wrote, “Picking the right version just takes planning.” This still holds true today. I’m trying to determine which Linux distro is going to work for me and the users in my household. Should I go with a major or minor distro? Should I pick an easy to use distro or a more pure Linux distro? What about support? What differentiates the distros? There are a few things I’m looking for specifically for my Windows replacement Linux distro. ...

Recently there has been a huge push by digital subscriber line (DSL) providers to take a bigger chunk of the broadband market away from cable internet service providers. This has become even more apparent in recently thanks to Verizon and SBC (and I’m sure others will follow suit) dropping their prices dramatically. This is good for broadband subscribers and people looking into broadband because the cost of high speed Internet services is coming down. DSL and cable broadband both have their advantages and disadvantages but DSL seems to be the one lacking in quite a few areas and their marketing shows it. ...

The first step when preparing for the move to Linux is to make sure that your hardware is compatible. It requires a great deal of research when you get very specific (as I did). For example, I have a Logitech QuickCam Express and I wanted to make sure it would work with the latest Linux kernel. Well initially one would say, “Well it’s USB 1.1 it should work in Linux, no problem.” My research took things one step further by looking to see if that actual model worked and what it would take (if anything) to make it work right and to see how well it actually worked. This research utilized all the resources I had available to me. Searches on Google, newsgroups, and other Linux oriented web sites were quite helpful. There was never really a lack of information. Here is the hardware that I’ll be using regularly in Linux: ...