Going through hard financial times—who isn't? As you may already know, you can use free operating systems (OSs) and software applications, provided by the Linux open source community.Instead of paying Microsoft for another copy of Windows, you can put that money in a savings account or toward your shrinking entertainment and vacation fund. Using the Ubuntu operating system, a popular Linux distribution (distro), is one way you can save money. It's totally free, downloadable from their website. Put it on the old PC that you want to upgrade, or even your new machine. Since the Linux community offers all the usual software packages, such as office suites, money management programs, games, and graphics editors, for free, going open source is always beneficial.