Archive for the ‘04. Desktop’ Category

What’s broken in Windows?

Tuesday, February 1st, 2005

As a computer consultant helping small businesses, one of the first things I do is install Firefox on the Windows computers. While there are still a handful of sites that only work with Internet Explorer, universally I find new users like the Fox… Seth Godin has quick instructions, if you need a hand, or another reason to choose Firefox: Seth’s Blog: Fix your computer.

Linux much less vulnerable on Internet

Monday, January 31st, 2005

A couple of interesting stories here. First of all, it takes about 4 minutes for an unpatched Windows machine connected to the Internet without a firewall to be compromised. The typical Linux machine takes more like 3 months, according to this VNU Net story: Linux fights off hackers.

Linux will command a much greater share of the Desktop Market

Saturday, January 15th, 2005

A Linux Journal article by Tom Adelstein argues that studies that show 6% of desktops to be run on Linux in the next three years doesn’t take into account all the viruses, worms, and vulnerabilities of Windows. He predicts more like 25% market penetration in this space. Linux in Government: Planning for Open-Source Application Deployments

Getting started with Linux, for power users

Thursday, November 18th, 2004

If you would like a good detailed overview for trying out Linux on a desktop, check out this story: Flexbeta – Fedora vs Mandrake vs Suse: Linux Distros Compared. It covers the three most popular Linux distributions, introducing you to desktop issues, office applications, and multimedia in Linux.

Small Business network support

Thursday, November 18th, 2004

Robin Miller has written an interesting essay about providing network and desktop services based on open source software in NewsForge | Where is the ‘plug-and-play’ Linux office system? We find this story especially interesting, because it’s very close to what we’re trying to do at Freelock Computing. Sign up for our newsletter if you’d like to keep posted on our progress…

Here’s an easy way to try Linux on your desktop: SimplyMepis

Saturday, November 6th, 2004

Buster Ellis has written a review of Simply Mepis, a bootable Linux CD that easily installs on your computer if you like it. See why at Ten Reasons For Trying SimplyMepis by Buster Ellis.

The Best Free Desktop Linux . . . and how to make it better

Sunday, October 31st, 2004

Desktop Linux has a good article about Mepis Linux, a distribution that can run from a CD-ROM and be easily installed (while running) on your hard drive. Great introduction to the variety of applications freely available in the open source world! Check it out: The Best Free Desktop Linux . . . and how to make it better.

Business News – Trickle of interest in Linux starts to become a corporate flood

Tuesday, October 19th, 2004

From the New Zealand Herald, a story that needs no further introduction: Trickle of interest in Linux starts to become a corporate flood

Office 2003 vs. Openoffice.Org

Sunday, October 17th, 2004

Two articles on eWeek about Open Office: Office 2003 vs. Openoffice.Org compares Office 2003 to OpenOffice.org, and Open Source a Better Fit in Small Shops finds the sweet spot for OpenOffice deployments.

Mandrake installation versus Windows

Thursday, August 5th, 2004

Dave Fancella’s Stupid Website has an anecdote about the ease of installation of Mandrake LInux 9.2, compared to Windows 2000. He had his wife install both, observing her choices, reactions, and how well she did without assistance.

Linux Today – LinuxPR: Nexedi and Mandrakesoft Announce rentalinux

Tuesday, June 15th, 2004

Linux Today – LinuxPR: Nexedi and Mandrakesoft Announce rentalinux

Have a lot of old PCs you can’t install current software on? Need to deploy many computers, but don’t have the budget? This may be a solution. A thin client basically allows older underpowered computers to run the latest applications, by running them on a server. The Rentalinux server can host hundreds of client sessions simultaneously on one bigger server, and all your older hardware can be repurposed.

Desktop Chapter Resources

Sunday, May 23rd, 2004

Books

    Moving From Windows To Linux, by Chuck Easttom, Charles River Media, 2003.
    Moving to Linux: Kiss the Blue Screen of Death Goodbye! by Marcel Gagne, Addison-Wesley, 2003

Articles

    Shankland, Stephen, “HP, Linux snag DreamWorks deal,” C|Net News.com, January 30, 2002.
    “SourceForge Sitewide update,” email sent to SourceForge.net subscribers, July 24, 2003.

Software

    Microsoft Office, commercial office suite
    Sun StarOffice, commercial office suite
    OpenOffice.org, open source office suite based on StarOffice
    Mozilla, open source web browsers and email readers
    Cygwin, open source Unix environment for Windows
    Knoppix, bootable Linux distribution
    KDE, graphical desktop for Linux
    GNOME, graphical desktop for Linux
    Evolution, personal information management email program like Outlook
    Koffice, KDE-based office suite
    Pan, Newsgroup reader for GNOME
    Adobe Photoshop, premiere commercial graphic editor,
    The GIMP, open source graphic editor similar to Photoshop
    Qcad, open source CAD program
    Dia, open source diagram tool
    Kivio, open source diagram tool for KDE
    Scribus, open source desktop publishing tool
    LaTeX, document publishing language
    Docbook, document publishing language
    Helix, an open source media player and server from Real Networks
    Mplayer, an open source multimedia player for Linux
    Wine, Windows program libraries that allow Windows software to run in Linux
    Crossover Office, commercial software built on Wine that installs Windows software in Linux
    VMware, commercial emulation software that allows you to run Windows within Linux, or vice-versa

Web Sites

NewsForge | Linux in action: A public library’s success story

Wednesday, May 5th, 2004

NewsForge | Linux in action: A public library’s success story