With Anderson Silva's article [What is a Linux user?](
https://opensource.com/article/19/6/what-linux-user), it became clear that these days, it's as likely a person has used Linux in some way as it is that they've used Windows, as long as your definition of "using Linux" is sufficiently broad. Still, if you don't have enough Linux usage in your life, now is a great time to try Linux in a way you've never tried before.
Try one or try them all, here are 10 ways to get started with Linux.
0. Join a free shell
====================
There are a lot of people running Linux out there with more Linux servers than they know what to do with (keep in mind that a "Linux server" can be anything from the latest super computer to a discarded 12 year old laptop). To put excess computers to good use, many administrators open their spare boxes up for free shell accounts.
If you want to log time in a Linux terminal so you can learn commands, shell scripting, Python, and the basics of web development, a free shell account is an easy, no-cost way to get started. Here's a short list of the ones I've logged into, and some of which I maintain active accounts on:
- [freeshell.de](
https://freeshell.de) is a public access Linux system that's been online since 2002. You get SSH access so you can experiment in a Linux shell, IPv6, OpenSSL, and you can request a MySQL database.
- [](
https://blinkenshell.org/wiki/Start>blinkenshell.org</ulink> provides a Linux shell so users can learn UNIX, use IRC, host simple websites, and share files.
It's been online since 2006.
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<para>
<ulink url=)/sdf.lonestar.org"\>sdf.lonestar.org\</ulink\> is a system established in 1987 to offer free NetBSD accounts. NetBSD isn't Linux, of course, but it's open source UNIX and so offers a similar experience. It has several homebrewed applications, as well, so it straddles the line between old school BBS and plain old free shell.
Free shell accounts are subject to much abuse, so the more you demonstrate trustworthiness and willingness to participate in the goings on of the collective, the better your experience. You can often gain access (through a special request or a small donation to demonstrate good will) to database engines, compilers, and access to advance programming languages. You can also ask for additional software or libraries to be installed, subject to administrator approval.
Usability
---------
Public access shell accounts are a great way to try out a real Linux system. The fact that you don't get root access means you get to learn local software management, and also that you don't have to mow your own lawn or fix leaky faucets. You can do just enough real-live activities to make these viable for getting real work done, although they're not reliable enough to be mission critical.
1. WSL 2
========
Believe it or not, Microsoft started shipping Linux with Windows as of June 2019, meaning you can run Linux applications from within Windows as the second iteration of the [Windows Subsystem for Linux](
https://devblogs.microsoft.com/commandline/wsl-2-is-now-available-in-windows-insiders/) (WSL 2). While it's primarily aimed at developers, if you're a Windows user, then WSL 2 is nevertheless a Linux environment from the comfort of a familiar desktop without any virtualization taking up extra resources. This is Linux running as a process on your Windows machine. At the time of this writing, it's still a new initiative, and so it's subject to change and it's still a work in progress. If you try to push it too far too soon, you're likely to encounter a bug or two, but if you're just looking to get started with Linux, learn some commands, and get a feel for getting serious work done in a text-based environment, then WSL 2 may be exactly what you need.
Usability
---------
WSL doesn't yet what a clear pathway or even purpose, but it provides a Linux environment on your Windows machine. Using it, you get root access, and you can run Linux distributions and applications, so it's an easy and seamless way to learn. However, even though WSL *is Linux*, it's not exactly a typical Linux experience. It's Linux provided by Windows, and that's not what you're likely to encounter in the real world. WSL is a development and educational tool, but if it's available to you, then you should use it.
2. Bootable Thumbdrive
======================
Carry Linux, installed to a USB thumbdrive, everywhere you go, and then boot any computer you encounter from that thumbdrive. You get a personalized Linux desktop, and you don't have to worry about the data on the host computer you've booted from. The computer doesn't touch your Linux OS, and your Linux OS doesn't affect the computer. It's ideal for public computers at hotel business centers, libraries, schools, or just to give yourself an excuse to boot into Linux from time to time.
Unlike many other quick hacks to get to a Linux shell, this method offers you a full and robust Linux system, complete with a desktop, access to whatever software you need, and persistent data storage.
The system itself never changes. Any data you want to save gets written into a compressed file system, which is then applied as an overlay to the system when you boot. This flexibility allows you to choose whether to boot in persistent mode, saving all data back to the thumbdrive, or in an ephemeral mode, so that everything you do disappears once you power down. In other words, you can use this as a secure kiosk on an untrusted computer, or as your portable OS on computers you do trust.
There are many [thumbdrive](
https://opensource.com/article/19/6/tiny-linux-distros-you-have-try) distributions you can try, some with minimal desktop environments for low-powered computers and others meant with a full desktop. I'm partial to [Porteus](
http://porteus.org) Linux. I've literally carried it on my keychain every day for the past 8 years, using it as my primary computing platform during business travel as well as a utility disk should computer problems strike at work or home. It's a reliable and stable operating system that's fun and easy to use.
On Mac or Windows, download the [Fedora Media Writer](
https://getfedora.org/en/workstation/download/) to easily create a bootable thumbdrive of whatever portable distribution you download.
Usability
---------
Booting a "live Linux" from a USB thumbdrive provides a complete Linux distribution. While data storage is done a little differently from a system you install to a hard drive, everything else is exactly as you'd expect from a Linux desktop. There's little you can't do on a portable Linux OS, so install one on your keychain to unlock the full potential of every computer you encounter.
3. Online tour
==============
Somebody over at Ubuntu thought up the brilliant idea of hosting an Ubuntu GNOME desktop in the browser. To try it out for yourself, just open a web browser and navigate to [tour.ubuntu.com](
http://tour.ubuntu.com/en/#). You're asked to select which activity you want demonstrated, or you can skip individual lessons and click the Show yourself around button.
If you're new to the Linux desktop, you might find that showing yourself around is more familiar than you might expect. From the online tour, you're able to look around, see what applications are available, and generally see what a typical default Linux desktop is like. You're not able to adjust settings or launch another tour in Firefox (it was the first thing I tried, naturally), and while you can go through the motions of installing applications, you can't actually launch them. But if you've never used a Linux desktop before and you want to see what all the fuss is about, this is the whirlwind tour.
Usability
---------
An online tour is truly just a tour. If you've never seen a Linux desktop in action, this is an opportunity to get a glimpse of what it's like. Not intended for serious work, this is a valuable display for the enticement of passers-by.
4. Javascript
=============
Not so long ago, virtualization used to be computationally expensive, limiting it to users with premium hardware. Now virtualization has been optimized to the point that it can be performed by a Javascript engine, thanks to Fabrice Bellard, the creator of the excellent and open source [Qemu](
https://www.qemu.org) machine emulator and virtualizer.
The jslinux project was started in Bellard's spare time, for fun. It's still just a fun experimental project, but it's a technical marvel. Open a web browser to [bellard.org/jslinux/](
https://bellard.org/jslinux/) and you can boot a text-based Linux shell or a minimal graphical Linux environment. You can upload and download files to your jslinux host, or [theoretically] send your files to a network backup location because jslinux has access to the Internet through a VPN socket (although at capped speeds, dependent upon the VPN service).
Usability
---------
You won't be doing serious work on jslinux any time soon, and the environment is arguably too unique to learn broad lessons about how Linux normally works. If, however, you're bored of running Linux on a plain old PC and would like to try Linux on a truly distinctive platform, jslinux is in a class all its own.
5. Read about it
================
Not every Linux experience has to happen on the computer. Maybe you're the sort of person who likes to keep your distance, observe, and do your research before jumping into something new, or maybe you're just not clear yet on what "Linux" encompasses, or maybe you just love full immersion. There's a wealth of information about how Linux works, what it's like to run Linux, and what's happening in the Linux world.
The more you get familiar with the world of open source, the easier it is to understand the common lingo, and also to separate urban myth from actual experience. We publish [book lists](
https://opensource.com/article/19/1/tech-books-new-skils) from time to time, but one of my personal favourites is [The Charm of Linux](
http://www.lulu.com/shop/hazel-russman/the-charm-of-linux/paperback/product-21229401.html) by Hazel Russman. It's a tour through Linux from many different angles, written by an independent author purely out of excitement over having discovered Linux for herself.
Usability
---------
Nothing beats kicking back with a good book. This is definitely the least traditional method of experiencing Linux, but for people who love the "printed" word, it's both comforting and effective.
6. Raspberry Pi
===============
Get a [Raspberry Pi](
https://opensource.com/resources/raspberry-pi), and you're running Linux. It's that easy to get started with both Linux and low-powered computing. The great thing about the Pi, aside from it costing well under \$100, is that its [website](
https://www.raspberrypi.org/) is designed for education. You can learn all about what the Pi does, and while you're at it, all about what Linux can do for you.
Usability
---------
The Pi is, by design, a low-powered computer. That means you'll have to do less multitasking than you might be used to, but then again that's a convenient way to keep yourself from getting overwhelmed. The Raspberry Pi is a great way to learn Linux and all of the possibilities that comes along with it, and it's a fun way to discover the power of eco-friendly, small form factor, simplified computing. And be sure to check out Pi week every March here on opensource.com for [tips](
https://opensource.com/article/19/3/raspberry-pi-projects) and [tricks](
https://opensource.com/article/19/3/piflash) and [fun](
https://opensource.com/article/19/3/gamepad-raspberry-pi) [activities](
https://opensource.com/life/16/3/make-music-raspberry-pi-milkytracker).
7. Containers
=============
If you work near the back end of the mythical [Cloud](
https://opensource.com/resources/cloud), then you've heard about the container craze. You may not know that while you can run Docker and Kubernetes on Windows, Azure, Mac, and Linux, the containers themselves are Linux. Cloud computing apps and infrastructure are literally minimal Linux systems that run partly virtualized and partly on bare metal. If you launch a container, you are launching a miniature, hyper-specific Linux distribution.
Containers are [different](
https://opensource.com/article/19/6/how-ssh-running-container) than virtual machines or physical servers. They're not intended to be used as a general-purpose OS. However, if you find yourself developing in a container, then you might want to pause and have a look around. You'll get a glimpse of how a Linux system is structured, where important files are kept, and which commands are the most common. You can even try a container online at [linuxcontainers.org/lxd/try-it](
https://linuxcontainers.org/lxd/try-it/), and you can read all about how they work in my article about going [behind the scenes with Linux containers](
https://opensource.com/article/18/11/behind-scenes-linux-containers).
Usability
---------
Containers are, by design, specific to a single task, but they're Linux, so they're extremely flexible. You can use them as they're intended, or you can build a container out into a mostly complete system for your Linux experiments. It's not a desktop Linux experience, but it's a full Linux experience.
8. VirtualBox
=============
Virtualization is the easy way to trial an OS, and [VirtualBox](
https://virtualbox.org) is a great open source way to virtualize. VirtualBox runs on Windows and Mac, so you can install Linux as a virtual machine and use it almost as if it were just another application. If you're not accustomed to installing an operating system yourself, VirtualBox is also a very safe way to try Linux without risking accidentally installing an OS over your usual one.
Usability
---------
Running Linux as a virtual machine (VM) is convenient and easy, either as a trial run or as an alternative to dual booting or rebooting when you need a Linux environment. It's full-featured, and its use of virtual hardware means the host OS drives your peripherals. The only disadvantage to running Linux as a virtual machine is primarily psychological. If you intend to use Linux as your main OS, but then end up defaulting to the host OS instead for all but the most Linux-specific tasks, then the VM has failed you. Otherwise, a VM is a triumph of modern technology, and using Linux in VirtualBox provides you with all the best features Linux has to offer.
9. Install
==========
When in doubt, there's always the traditional route. If you really want to give Linux the attention it deserves, you can download Linux, burn the installer to a thumbdrive (or a DVD, if you prefer optical media) and install it onto your computer. Linux is open source, so it can be distributed by anyone who wants to take the time to bundle Linux, and all the bits and pieces that makes it usable, into what is commonly called a **distribution** (or "distro") for short. Ask any Linux user, and you're bound to get a different answer for which distribution is "best" (mostly because the term "best" is often left undefined). Most people admit, though, that in the end you should use the Linux distribution that works for you, meaning that you should test a few popular distros, and settle on the one that makes your computer behave as you expect it to behave. This is a pragmatic and functional approach. For example, should a distribution you've heard good things about fail to recognize your web cam, and you want your we
b cam to work, then use a distribution that recognizes your web cam instead.
If you've never installed an operating system before, you'll find most Linux distributions bundle a friendly and easy installer. Just download a distribution (they are delivered as **.ISO** files), and then download the [Fedora Media Writer](
https://getfedora.org/en/workstation/download/) to easily create a bootable install thumbdrive.
Usability
---------
Installing Linux and using it as an operating system is a step toward becoming familiar and familial with it. There's no wrong way to use it. You might discover must-have features you never knew you needed, you might learn more about computers than you ever imagined you could, and you may well have a shift in your world view. Or you might just use a Linux desktop because it was easy to download and install, or because you want to cut out the middleman of some corporate overlord, or just because it helps you get your work done.
