Linux how to: Linux for everyday use

Lately, most Internet borne viruses had been very creative. One time, I was trying to copy a file from my flash drive to the office laptop when I saw a folder named "myKenneth." I thought, wow, somebody calls me hers (or his--shiver) and at the same time open the folder. It is empty.

Little did I know that it was a virus and the laptop was doomed for reformatting.

In my Linux powered PC, I can see this file but it does not seem to have any effect on the OS. So, is Linux viable for daily use? Here is my analysis.

I do not have any experience with other Linux OS (Ubuntu, Debian, or Red Hat) but I am having a good time with my Debian-based Bayanihan Linux 4 developed by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) of the Republic of the Philippines. And I can say, this OS is viable for daily use.

Security wise, this OS only allows GUI access to users. Administrators can also use it but only through another user's account only. This means no one can install anything unusual since they do not have any installation privileges. This means a rogue virus trying to install itself on the Linux powered PC cannot install itself. :)

For daily surfing, document writing, spreadsheet preparations, and presentation designing, Bayanihan Linux 4 is viable.

It features office applications like Writer, Calc, and Impress. Their Windows counterparts are Word, Excel, and Powerpoint, in this order. Other office applications are: KAddressBook (for addresses), Base (similar to MS Access), Scribus for desktop publishing, Draw for drawings, Math for mathematical needs, KMyMoney financial accounting software, and KOrganizer similar to MS Outlook.

The OS also has a multimedia player that can play basically anything from MP3s to AVIs to VCD movies. It, however, cannot play codecs for DVD players. Waaaaaahhh... :'(

This OS also has 14 graphics related applications, 8 multimedia applications (including the player mentioned above), games, educational applications, and more! It uses FireFox for internet access. FireFox support tabbing and allows users to open several sites in one window.

So, for all "simple" users, Linux is the best, free option you can get if you only need office, multimedia, and internet applications in your daily lives. It has a GUI for easy use. Most secure from alterations and, possibly, corruption of restricted files. And Vista looks almost like it.

And it works faster even with LimeWire in the background (my processor is AMD Athlon 1800+ that translates to Intel's Pentium 4 1.5 GHz)