Posted on 10/13/2006 7:22:58 AM PDT by Señor Zorro
lol....I've always assumed that anyone who writes "M$" or "Micro$oft" doesn't really know what they're talking about when it comes to computers. I've never been proved wrong, either.
"When will you folks learn that using M$ only shows your socialist bias?"
Oh grow up. This has nothing to do with socialism.
How geeky does one have to be to learn to use Linux?
Simple distros like Suse and Ubuntu are little more difficult than MacOSX. You shouldn't have to hit the command line to do anything.
Do you buy or build your own machine for it
Either. A machine that is a year or two old is actually best, since all the hardware should be supported natively. It can take some time for new hardware to be supported out of the box.
, and where do you get the software?
In most distros, there are software repositories. Ubuntu uses a program called "synaptic" to manage the software. You simply select a program from a list and click install. There are a few difficult areas -- primarily proprietary video codecs and DVD playback. The software is out there, but not officially supported.
Is it hard to learn to use?
If you can learn Windows or OSX, you can learn Linux. There are good books and helpful websites. Ubuntu has great forums for technical assistance.
Can you use Windows Office, Quicken, Adobe Photoshop, Palm Desktop software, browse the Internet, .. and other commonly used software on Linux-based machines (for example, my wife takes college courses part time and must use Power Point)?
If you REALLY NEED Microsoft office, you can run it under wine or Crossover office. There are Linux programs that do all the office functionality, including OpenOffice (which includes word processing, spreadsheets and powerpoint compatible software), GNUcash (for finance), GIMP (image editing), Evolution (Outlook -- it also supports Palm devices). They have their strengths and weaknesses. If you use the really advanced features of some of the Windows programs, you may be let down. Otherwise they are good programs.
And of course, I presume you can browse the Internet using Linux, download, etc.?
Firefox runs on Linux -- it's included in almost every distro. The Internet is really Linux's desktop strength.
Office 2007 is pretty impressive
In other words, criminals.
Linux is a derivative form of the original System V UNIX (SVR4), which was pioneered by Bell Labs and spread from there. The Linux kernel was authored by Linus Torvalds (hence the name "Linux").
Right now there are over 100 variants of SVR4- and BSD-style Unix. Some are incredibly user-friendly and others require a higher skill set to maintain. Red Hat and Debian rank as the more user-friendly editions of Linux and can be found at most computer superstores like Fry's, Best Buy, et al. There is also Linspire (formerly "Lindows") which touts itself as the easiest-to-use Desktop Linux.
Linux graphical user interfaces (GUIs) are a lot like Windows, only much more stable. And yes, you can even emulate the Windows environment on a Linux system using any number of software emulators like WINE or Win4Lin.
As for how to install, you can either scrub your system and load Linux exclusively, or you can use a product like System Commander to have dual-boot capabilities; keeping both OS's on one computer.
Hope this helps.
What do u mean no cd copying and no dvd backups?
Yup...thanks to the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA), it is now a crime to make a monkey out of slothful corporations.
You see this?
Microsoft understands this and, quite frankly, doesn't care. They know that when the average consumer buys a new system, they'll take whatever OEM OS and software is bundled with it. That is how Microsoft corners the market and that is how they assure their anti-competitive practices will remain intact.
Windows Vista will make it into your home. The only variable in the equation is when. And you can bet that it will precisely coincide with your next PC purchase. Microsoft has seen to that.
Microsoft must really WANT to lose its place to Linux. I worked with a Linux X-Windows box and used open office - it was a pretty darn good interface. Any windows users should be able to get comfy in short order.
Well, sticking to the auto analogy, back in the '80s, Honda offered their Accord (iirc) in a total of six (6), that's right, six configurations.
GM's Buick division offered a model available in over 30,000 configurations.
Which company isn't having problems?
What's easier to build, or in the OS world, support?
Surprise, bunny. Here's the exception to your rule.
For all the bluster from the mac crowd about microsoft, apple still has like 3-4% of the market and microsoft 90%.
Oh, that's easy. I wrote a tutorial on the subject years ago.
What's your point? Bigger is better? You must be in hog heaven, then. Microsoft is really getting huge.
Yeah, I've thought about that, since I find XP adequate to my needs. But you know M-soft will cease to support XP at some point after Vista comes out (yes, I understand one may can run XP w/out support, but isn't it possible due to hacks and viruses that fixes might be needed at some point?)
Except that I don't buy PCs, I build my own.
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