[ale] Wired Magazine

[Thompson Freeman]

On Aug 19,  5:55pm, Mark Groves wrote:
> Subject: [ale] Wired Magazine
<<snip>>

> I've got a dormant 486 machine running on a monochrome that I'd like to
> dedicate to Linux.  I've got Slackware 3.2 on a cd in a Linux book I
> just picked up.  Can anyone suggest a price friendly package that
> provides a reliable Linux installation and a reliable windows emulator?
> Will my Slackware do the job?

Assuming that the '486 has sufficient memory, and that you don't expect much
from the video system, the answer should be yes. Don't assume, however, that
you can run _any_ Windows emulator with this hardware.

>
> I've read that the WINE project is really not finished, is this true?
> I've also read Caldera's promo on having a good Windows emulator in
> their $200-$300 package.

I've heard mostly good things about Caldera's version of WABI (from Sun), but
the product is limited (to 3.1) This may change, but WABI will always be a
generation or better off Microsoft's pace.

>
> I really want to pursue the shareware/freeware route as much as
> possible.  Perhaps I should set aside an emulator and just pick up
> Linux X-Windows shareware for a word processor, a spreadsheet, and a
> quickbooks clone.

You may find the quickbooks clone, although emulation might work well enough
for an older copy. The rest is emenently doable as native applications. I've
been quite happy with Caldera's version of Word Perfect and the NeXS
spreadsheet. There is  Applixware from RedHat which I've heard some good
reports on. Star Office is another suit coming on line commercially, but I
don't recall details. There are any number of approaches to Text Processing
(different mindset than Word Processing) under Linux should such be of interest
to you, along with some relatively limited free spreadsheets.

And don't forget the networking capabilities of the normal Unix/Linux box.

>
> I also want to avoid being trapped in a Red Hat or Slackware or Caldera
> mode of Linux, and not be able to keep up with new developments without
> paying for upgrades ala the Bill Gates model.

The kernel, most of the utilities, and much of the software are available under
a "copyleft" agreement. Need to update something? Download it. Your cost is
connect time. I suppose it could be simpler/less expensive, but I haven't a
clue how.


>
> Any suggestions?
>

Get yourself to an ALE meeting. The September meeting comes to mind 8-).  ALE
is a large enough, and active enough group that somebody there probably has run
into similar situations, solved them, and remembers the solutions. Good group.

<<snip>>
>-- End of excerpt from Mark Groves



-- 
Thompson Freeman		       tfreeman at vnet.net
========================================================
Student of Chemistry and other Philosophical Studies

!!  Free Knowledge! Bring your own bucket and shovel!
========================================================