Welcome to Free Computing

Welcome to Free Computing.  The blog to help those with limited budgets have a working, usable computer that will accomplish most if not all of the common computing tasks.

The thought behind this blog came from helping people who desired to have a working computer but couldn't afford to buy a new one, or had seemingly unsolvable problems with the computer they owned.

I won't beat around the bush, the main topic here will be using Linux to resurrect or enhance your computer.  Can Linux solve every problem or do ANYTHING you need it to do?  Sadly - no.  But it comes very close.  :)

If there is a specialized application you need to run, or you absolutely must have a program designed for MS Windows only,  there is a chance it might work in Linux, but also a good chance it won't.

This blog is for those who do common things that most people want a computer for - Surf the web, watch movies, listen to music, make music or movies, play games, etc.  It is for those who are having a problem with a new or old computer, and are not able to pay for repairs, or don't want to buy or update.

It's also for those who have problems constantly attracting viruses and malware and who are now paying the price of slow start-ups, unexplained shut downs, and all the other problems that come with infections. Linux is NOT virus free, but compared with WIndows and even Mac, it is much more trouble free.  It is also for those who are tired of your machine being forced to update at the most inconvenient times.

There are probably a million reasons why using Linux could be beneficial for you, and probably a million more why you might be afraid to try it.  We will walk through many of those reasons with "how-to"s, demonstrations, and stories to help you decide if a change would help.

Although the main focus will be articles on how to install, customize, and use various Linux 'flavors', I'll also occasionally add some more complex topics to help you grow as you learn a less expensive, but just as powerful way to do what you need to do.  We’ll discuss the software available to do your tasks, I’ll review various programs from a user’s perspective and give honest thoughts about using Linux pointing out the good AND the bad points.

So to sum up this post,  we're going to learn what Linux is, how it can help you to do what you need for much less money, how is can help you resurrect an old machine you thought was beyond hope and how to do some things even easier than you could in other Operating Systems.  That said, let’s move on and get to the best part:  learning how to compute for free (or close to it)! Feel free to comment, ask questions and interact with the community as we begin our adventure.