shade46 said:
I just purchased "Kiss the blue screen of death goodbye". Got a whole bunch of errors and a note from a penguin about two processors when I tried to run Knoppix off the CD. Now I am little afraid to just dual boot Mandrake, Suse, or some other distro on my new system. I just built it and have not really learned how to use it even in Windows.
Can you be more specific about your errors? Also, I have almost the identical system specs as you, and I've had no such problems with Linux. It could just be the way the hardware detection is done in Knoppix, which is pretty unique. I haven't run Knoppix on my hardware, so I'll download & burn it, and see if I can reproduce your problems. In the mean time, try specifying a kernel other than the default one. When the Knoppix boot screen comes up, type:
knoppix26 dma ...That'll boot to a bleeding-edge 2.6.9 kernel, and will utilize DMA so your system will run more smoothly. Let me know if it still doesn't work that way. Oh, and make sure you have the latest version of
Knoppix. If your book came with a copy, it's completely obsolete.
shade46 said:
Several points: Can I create documents in Open Office and eMail to my office computer and open them in Word or Windows?
With OpenOffice.org, you can save documents in either its native format or as a MS Word document. So, you can open it on any Windows box with Word. OOo's native format is superior, since it's an open XML format as opposed to MS's proprietary garbage, so if you can just run OOo at work it'd be even better. But if you must have Word compatability, it's there and it's just about perfect. Worst case scenario, you can actually run Microsoft Office on your Linux box by using Crossover Office. But OOo is so good, I really doubt you'll want to go that route.
shade46 said:
Does the linux based OS inter-react with the Windows world, (play well with big bullys), or am I going to have to use XP for all my communication with the 95% that still use Windows.
I'm not 100% sure what you mean, but I run Linux exclusively and I email & chat on AIM, ICQ, Y!, MSN, GaduGadu, Jabber, and IRC with no problems. Remember, Unix/Linux was a full-fledged networking operating system long before Microsoft finally got a clue that networking wasn't just a fad.
shade46 said:
I don't have another system to fall back on and if mine went down because I got drunk and tried to fix it I would be lost.
Well, you're certainly more brave and enterprising than most people to take the plunge and go for Linux. "Kiss the blue screen of death goodbye" is a great book to get started with, but I know how scary taking the plunge into a totally new OS can be. Especially when it's on your one and only system! But, it really is worth your investment of time and patience to learn. And I've already put my money where my mouth is, since I abandoned Windows completely quite a while back.
-AT
"I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood; and I -
I took the one less travelled by,
And that has made all the difference."
Robert Frost
[The Road Not Taken]
