[Coco] OT: Keeping Current.... ("loaded" Linux Qs)

[Joel Ewy]

farna at att.net wrote:
> I'm going to stick my neck out with this off-topic post simply because you guys are up on Linux, and I'm not! If you have a long answer or "strong" opinion it may be best to send directly to me. I know this is the CoCo List, but I don't know any other pro Linux group that I feel I can trust -- at least most who have been responding to Linux issues are familiar, trusted names! 
>
> I have two "loaded" questions:
>
> 1. What do you recommend for a computer USER -- someone who doesn't want to get into a lot of tinkering and programming, including compiling distributions and such. I've got a live disk of Ubuntu 6.06 LTS and a Freespire live CD of unknown version -- it says 2006, and was picked up at a computer show in October 2006. I've read a lot about SimplyMEPIS though, sounds really good for a Linux beginner. I hope to load WINE so I can continue running Adobe PageMaker 6.0 for a while, as I test some of the Linux DTP programs. I was planning on using OpenOffice, but also want the ability to run MS Office (XP, 2005 version) as well when/if necessary. My understanding is WINE will do that. I don't want a dual boot system -- when I give up XP, I don't want to look back! Easy updates is important, and something similar looking/working to XP is important just to reduce the learning curve. You guys play with Linux, do you really USE it as a main OS??
>
>   
I do use Linux as a main OS (though I'm typing this on Win2k, for
circumstantial reasons).  I haven't tried MEPIS or Linspire, but I have
used Ubuntu and Xubuntu and put them on PCs for clients who had been
using MS-Windows (usually 98 or ME).  These have been relatively
unsophisticated users and have adapted quite well.  I run only
OpenOffice.org and am very happy with it.  I like the ability to produce
PDFs straight from OOo.  I've done a little playing with Scribus and
Inkscape to make a logo for my business, but I can't fairly compare
Scribus to PageMaker, since my only experience with the latter is
running PM3 or something like that on an old 68K Mac.

WINE might run MS-Office, but there is a (non-free) package called
Crossover Office that is supposed to do a very good job of it.  Haven't
used it myself.  Another option would be to use VMWare (which is
non-free, but no-cost) to boot MS-Windows from within Linux.  It would
be more seamless than dual-booting, but would also require a fair bit of
CPU and RAM I think, though it runs the virtual systems natively rather
than emulating the processor, so programs should run nearly as fast as
they ordinarily would.

Ubuntu updates are quite easy.  Just like Windows Update -- it's a
'Click Here' sort of thing.  RedHat updates were too, at least when they
still supported RH8. 
> 2. As if the above isn't enough, which GUI has the best support as far as software, easy updates, and ease of use? KDE or Gnome? I'm leaning toward KDE -- specifically MEPIS of KUnbuntu. Gnome doesn't look bad though. I'm leaning toward KDE since Scribus uses KDE's drag'n'drop feature, but that appears to be all that will be lost if using Gnome. So which is easier to use? 
>
>   
Now you're getting 'religious'.  :)  Frankly, I don't see much
difference in usability between Gnome and KDE these days.  A few years
back one could say that KDE had a head start, since Gnome was developed
later, largely as a reaction to the non-free license used by QT, which
is the GUI toolkit at the heart of KDE.  But QT's licensing issues are
pretty much cleared up now, and Gnome is quite mature.  Personally, I
like the look and feel of Gnome a little better, especially as
customized by Ubuntu.  I really like their serene, uncluttered desktop. 
But KDE is good too.  They're both highly customizable, so you can make
them look the way you want.  Try them both out and see which one you
like best.  I don't like the Nautilus file manager very much, which (I
think) is the Gnome default.  It is rather sluggish on more modest
hardware.  But if you have a fast computer, that won't matter.  It works
fine on systems above, say, 500MHz.

JCE
>
> --
> Frank Swygert
> Publisher, "American Motors Cars" 
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