Linux that installs easily right next to your Microsoft Windows

Instant Linux Links Page		First, About Linux      Linux is a free operating system that is always improving by way of building on the work of others. Thousands around the globe have made their hard work free to the world through the Internet. Gnu/Linux is the cumulative result. Linux provides emancipation from a kind of taxation for the language that your computer uses to communicate. To pay for "Windows" is like paying for the language you use on a daily basis to live, work, and play. Can you imagine having to buy a license to use the English language??? And then pay again each time a new dictionary came out?      A free operating system is a very good thing for you, the compute user. It assures you of a future with an always improving operating system for your computer. However, there is a price to pay as the world moves away from proprietary operating systems. Linux is currently advancing towards desktop ease from its horribly complex to use though very powerful unix origins. But it has not attained true desktop ease yet (then neither has Windows in some ways, or are you forgetting how much you had to learn to think like Windows). However, Linux won't fatally crash on you like Windows, and you won't have to reboot every time you make a change to network settings. Linux is endlessly flexible if you want to take the time to learn programming. Tools to do programming in many computer languages are freely available in Linux. They will not cost you hundreds of dollars like in other operating systems.   About Instant Linux        Instant Linux is an evolving project to make Linux more accessible. It has ambitious goals for features that may never be realized and thus Instant Linux is not yet its own distribution (a distribution is a package consisting of the GNU/Linux operating system and handling features plus free application programs ). In the mean time, the Instant Linux Manager Program (a component of Instant Linux that is completed) can automatically download and install other Linux distributions into your Microsoft Windows 95 or 98 environment (Windows NT and ME are not supported yet, but ME may be soon). The Linux distribution that you choose to download with the Instant Linux Manager Program will sit peacefully next to your Windows installation. The installation may be removed at any time by simply deleting a single directory folder plus one icon in your Start Button menu. No muss, no fuss.        In short, The Instant Linux Manager Program provides a great way for Windows users to take a Linux distribution for a spin without risks. You will not need to repartition your hard disk like a normal Linux distribution requires since your Instant Linux managed distribution will run right on your current Windows partition. Running a distribution from a windows partition does slow the distribution down, but not very noticeably if you have at least a Pentium running at 300 Mhz and 64 MB ram. Future features of the Instant Linux Manager Program will make it so that Linux improvements can be instantly added to your Linux installation as "versions". Versions can be applied or removed at boot up. You can have a collection of "versions" and any one may be selected at each startup. Seasoned computer users may see this as very useful. If you have ever suddenly realized that the new programs or upgrades that you installed the other day are not what you want here and now (while you try to get some critical task done), "versioning" can save the day.      All of the distributions that you can choose to install using the Instant Linux Manager Program provide Netscape, Gimp (a full featured paint program like Photoshop) OR a simple paint program, every type of Internet communication method popular today, MP3 and CD music players, and many, many other tools including the web and email serving capabilities Linux is famous for. The largest distribution that you can choose to install, named DemoLinux, provides the additions of Star Office (a compete Office suite), Linuxconf (a setup and administration program that can be accessed through a web browser), POV-Ray (a 3D rendering program), speaker's language selection, and finally a "normal" install button that can move your DemoLinux installation into a full speed Linux partition should you desire at a later date to take the plunge and partition your hard drive.     Installation of the largest distribution requires that you have 700 MB of free space on a hard drive in your system and at least a Pentium 120 with 64 MB of ram. (it will run with less memory, but quite slowly) Since its download is so large, it can only be attained through Internet access faster than a telephone modem. The smaller distribution that you can choose to download, named Peanut Linux, has less applications and the windowing manager is not as cool as DemoLinux's, but it is a very capable distribution and will not take more than a few hours to download with a telephone modem. It requires that you have 220 MB of free space on a hard drive and at least a Pentium 120 with 64 MB of ram.  That's it. We hope you will try Linux using the Instant Linux Manager Program which will make starting your adventure much easier!   Links to the home sites of the Linux distributions that Instant Linux can install
		Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds. Microsoft Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.