These days are all about using your finances efficiently. Most of us have less cash in our pockets and less credit with the bank than we did 2 or 3 years ago. A $500 entry-level Apple iPad might seem like a steal, but you can build your own netbook or even desktop computer to use the internet (including Flash websites) for less money. My family has big expensive computers at home we bought when the going was good, but now they’re aging and we’re looking for cost effective new computers. To make the situation more dire, I have kids who are getting older and want computers of their own. If your family needs an extra PC on the cheap, I’ll explain why an Ubuntu Linux computer may be the way to go. For less than the price of some operating systems, you can configure a useful, virus-free computer, even with a 23-inch LCD monitor. This is an easy project and should only take you about an hour to configure.

First let me explain what Ubuntu is. Ubuntu is a free open-source operating system which is fast, fun, and easy to use. It is much less processor intensive than Windows or OS X and can be run on older, slower computers. Sounds great right? Ubuntu is free to download and users are free to use the software for any purpose, study how the program works and even modify it for your needs, redistribute copies, and improve the program and release them to the public. Ubuntu has been growing in popularity but very few retailers offer computers pre-installed with Ubuntu. Recently Dell announced it offers Ubuntu installed on some new computers. If you’re really honest about what you use your home computers for most, you’ll find most of your needs met by Ubuntu and Linux programs. This is especially true for my children’s computers since they just want to surf the web, check their email, and type the occasional school document. Ubuntu includes many programs for everyday computing at no cost, unlike Windows and OS X. Some examples include-

Office Suite: a full office suite complete with word processor, spreadsheet, and presentation software to read and write .doc, .xls, and .ppt formats which can also be output to PDF, and supports Open Document Format.
Desktop Email Client: similar in interface to Microsoft Outlook.
Firefox: The hugely popular free web browser.
Databases: The most popular open-source databases on Linux are PostgreSQL and MySQL, but commercial databases such as Oracle and IBM’s DB2 are also available. There are tools like Glom that provide an easy-to-use graphical interface for designing and editing your databases.

Okay, so you want to try to build your own Linux computer for less than $200. First you’re going to need to choose between a netbook laptop, or a desktop computer. If you want to go the route of a netbook, I recommend finding a used laptop computer in good shape. Craigslist is a good place to start, and you can find lots of PIII, or even PIV processor laptops for under $200. You can also try finding a cheap new netbook like the Acer Aspire One ($199 after rebate from Swoopo.com right now) the problem with cheap netbooks is they often have poor processing power, small screens, and are built cheaply. If you’re like me and prefer a larger screen and a desktop solution, consider getting a refurbished monitor from geeks.com or newegg.com. I found a gorgeous refurbished 23″ LCD monitor on geeks.com for $150. Now for the computer – I asked around and got an old P3 Dell Dimension desktop PC for free from a friend. He also gave me his old mouse and keyboard. These old computers are left for the trashman or given away or donated because they can no longer run the newest Windows. You can find them for free by asking around your friend circle or work or family. They can run Ubuntu fine and surfing the web, checking your email, or doing other minor tasks isn’t sluggish at all. I also bought a USB Wi-Fi wireless adapter for $15 from newegg.com.

To install Ubuntu, I went to ubuntu.com on one of my other computers, downloaded Ubuntu and burned an install disk. I then turned on my free Dell Dimension desktop and went into the BIOS (by pressing F2). I set the boot drive as the CD-rom drive and booted from the Ubuntu install disk. If you want to try this, I recommend having another computer handy in case you run into problems you can visit ubuntu.com where there’s resources and guides.