In these times of financial turmoil, one must find as many ways to save money as possible. One of the most important areas of life people may spend a big chunk of their money on is with their computer. That is why finding ways to lessen bills relating to using your computer(s) can become evident so quickly. By following my tips below you can find yourself immediately starting to see the costs of your PC use drop dramatically.
First, and most important is to use Linux. Linux is a free, and open source competitor to Microsoft®, and Linux is the “kernel”, or fundamental coding of the Operating System, which is utilized through one of hundreds of different Linux distributions, or distros. The details may seem complicated to a lifetime Windows user, but a bit of research can make it all plain in no time. Distrowatch.com is a great place to start looking at all the different, exciting types of distros that are out there to pick from. The freedom to choose and setup just the Linux system makes it very exciting too, if you want to have the control, and not have a big corporation somewhere tell you what you can and can’t do with your own computer. That’s another very important advantage of Linux- It is not “owned” by any single organization, so you have the freedom to do what you want.
First of all, lets compare the initial costs of putting the latest Linux distro on a new computer, or the latest Windows, which is currently Windows 7. We will use Ubuntu as the Linux distro since it is the most popular, but would could use any Linux example, now couldn’t we?
From Ubuntu.com
$0.00
Now Windows:
From Microsoft.com
$199.99 to $319.99
As you can see, right off the bat you are hundreds of dollars ahead just by choosing Linux as your operating system!
Let’s choose one more example. This time, since we already have our operating system selected, we need an office suite, right? Well, Microsoft® has a very popular one, ubiquitously known as “Microsoft Office”. Well, don’t fret Linux users, you can’t use that app, but we have one that is quite compatible, and some would argue better, Sun’s Open Office. Let’s compare prices:
From Openoffice.org
$0.00
Now Microsoft Office:
From Microsoft.com
$149.95 to $679.95
As you can, we can save lots of money in the basics by taking the Linux route, versus the mainstream-friendly Windows path.
Grand total for a full-featured operating system, and robust office-suite:
