Even the mainstream media is filled with references to the Linux operating system these days. Its promoters claim it's a Windows-killer. There's no question that the reliability, flexibility and efficiency of Linux are excellent, and that it costs much less than Windows. You can even get it free of charge, legally.

Linux is an operating system for computers based on Intel processors and other chips that use the Intel instruction set (such as AMD and Cyrix processors). Linux is a variant of Unix, and can be outfitted with a variety of command-line and graphical interfaces. Developed in an ongoing process by a worldwide community of volunteer programmers, Linux can be downloaded free of charge from the Internet (though companies such as Red Hat and Caldera sell Linux CD-ROMs and support services).

Is it time for you to switch?

As always, it depends upon your needs. If you're looking for an operating system to use on a network file server, print server, Web server, router, or firewall, Linux may be just the ticket. Linux excels at fire-and-forget network applications that you set up once and then (you hope) never worry about again. It's reliable--even under conditions of heavy load--and reasonably easy to make secure. If you're the kind of person who's concerned with such applications, you probably already know about Linux's suitability.

A question of personality: Whether to use Linux as your desktop environment for everyday work is more of a toss-up. Linux--particularly the latest release of Red Hat Linux, version 7.2--is certainly capable of performing routine tasks. You'll have no trouble finding very good word processors, spreadsheet programs, e-mail clients, Web browsers and other productivity applications for Linux. The top productivity suites will even export files that Microsoft Office programs can read, so you can swap files with Office users. But capability and convenience are not the same thing. Using Linux on your desktop requires a special personality.

Here's a quick quiz to gauge your compatibility with desktop Linux:

• Do you like to solve technical puzzles?
• Do you tinker with mechanical devices?
• Do you own and enjoy using tools?
• Have you experimented with computer programming?
• Do you enjoy reading technical publications and have opinions about their quality?
• Do you believe Windows gives you too little control over your computer's behaviour?
• Do you want better performance from your computer than Windows seems able to deliver?

If you answered yes to most of these questions, you'd probably be well served using Linux as your desktop operating system. You're the sort of person who enjoys a technical challenge and is willing--indeed, eager--to acquire some extra skills and solve the occasional puzzle in order to achieve greater control over your machine and higher computing performance.

Tailored for tinkerers: Solving problems in Linux is much more fun than solving problems in Windows. Linux was (and continues to be) developed as an extensible, adaptable framework that's meant to be tinkered with. You're not supposed to fool with Windows' innards much, even when you need to fix a conflict or add a new capability. If you're willing to experiment and develop some special technical skills (books exist to help you), you'll find Linux a lot of fun.

The situation is roughly analogous to the difference between automatic and manual transmissions in cars. A stick shift driver needs to be more skilled than the driver of a car equipped with an automatic transmission. Learning to use a manual transmission can be daunting--but the experienced stick shift driver has more control over a car's behaviour and can usually extract greater performance from a given engine.

Compatibility issues: Hardware makes a fine example for a comparison of Linux and Windows. It's more troublesome to select hardware for Linux boxes than for Windows machines. If you run Windows, you can expect your operating system to support pretty much any piece of hardware you want, since the Windows market is huge and hardware makers want to sell to it.

On the other hand, if you run Linux and want to buy a new video card, sound card or joystick, you must make sure that the device you want has Linux support. Although it takes an extra step, verifying this isn't hard--all you have to do is check some hardware compatibility lists published on Linux-related Web sites or contact the manufacturer of the hardware you want. If you really want to install a device that's not supported, you can write and use your own hardware driver, then publish it for others to use.

Linux does support many major peripheral devices--just not as many as Windows. Universal Serial Bus (USB) and the devices that use it are big exceptions, though. Linux doesn't support USB yet.

Then again, maybe not: On the other hand, if you like to just do your job and get off the computer as soon as possible, Linux isn't yet for you. Windows is a good operating system, well-suited to solving most people's problems with reasonable performance. If you're nervous about diving into an operating system that leaves so much up to you, don't. Stick with Windows, get your work done and don't worry about it.