Q: Is Ubuntu much different from Windows?
A: To the user, not much. You still have a desktop, toolbar, and quick-launch icons just as you do in Windows. The Toolbar is at the top (you can drag it down if you wish). On the left are your Applications, Places, and System menus. We found this arrangement to be much more intuitive than Windows' Start menu. All your applications are categorized into five sections: Accessories, Games, Graphics, Internet, Office, and Sound & Video. The Add/Remove menu allows you to add or remove programs and will even help you search for more of them. Some popular programs like Google Earth, MSN Messenger, and VLC player have their own Linux-compatible versions, but others like Beryl, a 3D desktop tool, are specific to Linux.