Sick of being a Microsoft pawn: How do I switch to an open source OS?

I'm sick of being a Microsoft pawn. If I know little about open source operating systems, where would be a good place to start learning about them? What are the pros/cons of switching from Windows? Which of the open source operating systems will be easiest for someone transferring from a Windows environment? Which will allow me to play the most games?

Thanks for any and all advice. 

I'd recommend starting with Ubuntu.

http://www.ubuntu.com/

They have a great support forum.

http://ubuntuforums.org/ 

I moved this to the correct forum for you based on your post in Ask the Mods.Krall

Most would consider Linux a good open-source alternative to Windows for general purpose usage. And by that I mean, for web browsing, email, photo/video editing, web development..and so on..but the one clear area where Linux is lagging behind is in the games department.

Realize that once you switch away from Windows, the list of games that you can play on your Linux-based machine will dwindle dramatically. There are software available that will allow you to run Windows within Linux on a "virtual" machine..but, as you can imagine, the performance will not be as good as running Windows natively.

Having said that..if your primary purpose for your computer is to play games, unfortunately you will have to stick with Micrsooft and Windows for a little while. For virtually everything else you can get a good Linux alternative to use, so you could dual-boot Linux and Windows.

[QUOTE="Krall"]I moved this to the correct forum for you based on your post in Ask the Mods.DirkVDV01

I may be old but my draw is fast :P

Anyway put down your 'killing spree' stick and help the lad out, this is your area of expertise :)

Well I use Gentoo Linux

and I use Cedega to play WOW and Guild Wars

the only thing hard is to install it

Did Apple ever release their OS for PCs or is it still only that Macs can run either that or XP/Vista?

Keep in mind I don't want any links on how to do this on the down low, I'm just asking a curious question about an OS I know nothing about ;) 

Did Apple ever release their OS for PCs or is it still only that Macs can run either that or XP/Vista? Keep in mind I don't want any links on how to do this on the down low, I'm just asking a curious question about an OS I know nothing about ;) Krall

So far the suggestions are:

• Ubuntu
• Kubuntu
• Gentoo Linux
• Cedega
• XSOS 3
• Beryl

I've visited the ubuntu forums (briefly), and was a bit overwhelmed. Where is a good place to get an introduction for someone with very little Unix background?

Thanks everyone! 

I would actually disagree with the recommendation of using Knoppix.  Ubuntu offers the ability to boot your system from the CD to a live operating system just as Knoppix would and then you also benefit from the ultra user-friendliness that Ubuntu is known for.

ubuntu won't even run on my current machine. It just throws up all over when I try to run it.

Runs fine on my oldie, though. 

Get a Mac, is what I did. I use OSX for everything and then I installed xp on a separate partition for gaming, you can also run linux on a mac :)akruan

Get a Mac, is what I did. I use OSX for everything and then I installed xp on a separate partition for gaming, you can also run linux on a mac :)akruan

[QUOTE="akruan"]Get a Mac, is what I did. I use OSX for everything and then I installed xp on a separate partition for gaming, you can also run linux on a mac :)codezer0

Yes, too expand some more, OS X is the best operating system around and this is coming from someone who just bought a Mac a few months ago. Don't get me wrong, running Windows is essential if you are a gamer and I've been a PC addict all my life. And I'm not trying to sound like a fanboy but you do get the best of both worlds, Linux is good but it doesn't have the support that there is outthere for windows or mac and frankly hopes for linux don't look too good, there are too many distributions out there(I guess that's the pro) But Macs these days run both OS X and Windows natively. That means you can use Final Cut Pro to edit video and play Counter Strike after. It truly is the best of all words.  

[QUOTE="akruan"]Get a Mac, is what I did. I use OSX for everything and then I installed xp on a separate partition for gaming, you can also run linux on a mac :)theragu40

Oh, well if he wants something free then Linux is the way to go.

Completely out of curiosity, what do you have against the Ubuntu Live CD, Dirk?theragu40

[QUOTE="theragu40"]Completely out of curiosity, what do you have against the Ubuntu Live CD, Dirk?DirkVDV01

I like Ubuntu but it will not run on my hardware at all, though SUSE does the job.K_r_a_u_s_e_r

I think I'm going to try Xubuntu. My computer is old (Athlon Thunderbird 1Ghz), so I'm hoping this will run quickly and efficiently, while providing access to all the major functions I'll need.

I'm crossing my fingers! Thanks for all the help everyone, and let me know if you have any further suggestions for an opensource n00b, or apprehensions regarding Xubuntu!