Linux system...dressed downfrom yesterday.

[Karen Lewellen]

Going to try to send this again with some removed.



> Carol, Hart, and Anne.
> going to combine my reply in one note here, and speak to Janina's 
> new suggestions below.
> No carol, this machine would not suit my Linux needs, even though it is both 
> a Pentium class machine and has a fair amount of memory for dos, 80 meg.
> It does not have a cdrw drive, nor does it have  a hard drive of the size i 
> have read suggested for some of the packages I might consider. Additionally, 
> Linux does not have a word processor in the sense of wordperfect as we 
discussed some time back.  I 
> do a great deal of work daily with this and other programs, and I would 
> prefer having a separate machine for the Linux activity.  Not that such might 
> not be done with the additions of other hardware, just not how I want to try 
> this.
> Someone the other day posted of losing 20 or more gig of data to this 
> adventure.  as Hart and I just almost discovered, even losing a great deal 
> less than this could be devastating.  I want to both be able to keep working 
> at my pace and bring in these new tools.
>
> You are quite right as to reading up, however.  I have asked  two questions 
> more than once on this list, and never gotten an answer above, "it is a 
> matter of personal taste."
> I will ask them again.
> If one wants to compare distribution packages, pros and cons of  them, where 
> can one go?  and second is there one good book or set of text that is a Linux 
> guide from commands up?
> I  have no problem learning as i go, when i got my first computer, I learned 
> operating system, major programs screen readers and the like in two days, and 
> have rained others on operating systems, including  older editions of 
> windows.
> i will certainly not be in a situation of using commands I do not understand, 
> as there are only certain tasks I want to perform with this machine.
>
>
>
> I know from reading posts here some I would want to avoid, as I do not want 
> to have to compile things.
> Too I would rather have more than i need in a  a  Distribution, than have to 
> make changes later.  Still there are some programs I know I want based on my 
> extensive use of Linux in my shell.  things like screen and pine and 
> anti-word and pdf-to-text and both editions of the browsers, LINKS, as in a 
> chain, and LYNX, as in a cat.
> I am guessing that things like  listening to audio on line become easy with a 
> Linux desktop, something that I cannot do on my shell, as it is not tied to 
> my system directly..
> I have not heard much discussion of firefox here, or even opera, which may 
> not run in Linux, but if accessing media sites and taking part in online 
> conferences < another feature I have not heard talked of here>   is still a 
> windows thing than this box may become a Linux/windows one.
> Part of my work requires me to  listen to archived programs, an increasing 
> number of mpu setups, and the like.
> As for Anne's suggestion to contact a local Linux users group, before this 
> morning I would have said there were none.  I have searched on occasion, and 
> found none, but apparently one has been started.  Whether this will translate 
> into someone interested in helping me locate the hardware and do the 
> installation remains to be seen.
> I am sorry but I flat disagree as to the time idea.  I have a job and run a 
> production company.  I want indeed to read up as much as i can  so as to 
> choose the distribution best for me, guide the choices of system 
equipment,  and  run the programs, but I would rather 
> get someone else to help with or actually do the  installation and work with 
> the hardware.  Its my  time and my money, and I do not think i will be using 
> commands with no understanding of them.  No reason why this should happen.
> Lastly Carol, I have a dec express which i could move from machine to 
> machine and I believe this does work with speakup.  I would rather a dec 
> internal card for this machine, as I want to use the soundcard only for sound 
> work.  Thanks for all of your input.
>
> On Sun, 26 Sep 2004, Terry D. Cudney wrote:
>
>> Hi Karen,
>> 
>> Well, if you have a machine running DOS now, you have a machine 
>> that almost certainly would run Linux. The only two criteria that I