Linux OS

From: Tom Jennings <tomj_at_wps.com>
Date: Sat Oct 16 20:17:33 2004

On Sat, 16 Oct 2004, Jim Isbell wrote:

> I have been ready for 20 years to dump "Uncle Bill" but every time I try to
> switch to Linux I run into problems that seem insurmountable.

>
> Recently I have been looking at the Linspire line of products...Lindows in
> particular. It looks like what I need, BUT....just as always, when I ask
> about compatibility with the various applications that I now run under XP I
> get the same run-around. "Get it and try with Wine and see if it works." If
> I have to get drunk first, I am not interested...#8-)
>
> I can't do that. There are programs I need and I cannot just take a chance
> that "maybe it will work" My main concerns are Adobe PDF creator, Adobe Photo
> Shop, Netscape, and particularly Easy Office 2001 which contains all my data
> in Easy Spreadsheet files that are not compatible with Excel (even though they
> are supposed to be).

You need to think in terms of using native linux apps instead of trying to
run windows apps. Things run better "native".

The thing with unix/linux is there are many cooperative
ways to solve a given problem, it's not a competitive
my-program-locks-out-yours environment.

There are many ways to create PDFs on linux. Unless you are
precisely wedded to PhotoShop filters for professional purposes,
GIMP does most of what PhotoShop does. Netscape and browsers
aren't an issue, there's many well-supported and compatible
browsers. There are occasional idiot web programmers who write
code to look for "windows" in the http data. OpenOffice is so
totally close to Word and Excel (and apparently now powerpoint)
that incompativilities are not much of an issue. I ran into one spreadsheet
that ran on Excel that did not on OpenOffice -- it did something like

        i+"3"

and should have been

        i+3

eg. the quotes meant text but Excel did arith anyways.


> I don't want to have to go out and buy an all new set of apps.

They're all free! I dont know about this Lindows stuff, it
sounds like hey want to lock you in. Go with SuSE linux or
Debian or someone that gives you the whole thing on CD/DVD.

> And besides, all my files would
> likely be incompatible so I lose all my old data unless I keep two machines.

I find only the opposite -- Windows doesn't like aliens. Linux/unix
doesn't mind. I edit and save word 2000/XP documents all the time.

> I know there are free apps that can do word processing and spreadsheets and
> photo processing, but they appear to be "stripped down" versions.

Check out OpenOffice.

> Does anyone have any suggestions other than buy it and hope it works?

Use a real unix/linux and you'll be much happier.
Received on Sat Oct 16 2004 - 20:17:33 BST