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.
Archive for the ‘04. Desktop’ Category
What’s broken in Windows?
Tuesday, February 1st, 2005Linux much less vulnerable on Internet
Monday, January 31st, 2005A 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, 2005A 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, 2004If 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, 2004Robin 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, 2004Buster 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, 2004Desktop 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, 2004From 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, 2004Two 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, 2004Dave 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, 2004Linux 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, 2004Books
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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
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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
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Business Software Alliance, organization of commercial software vendors
Source Forge, leading repository for open source projects