Text 3395, 98 rader
Skriven 2005-09-24 16:56:38 av Maurice Kinal (1:261/38.9)
   Kommentar till text 3393 av MARTIN ATKINS (1:123/140)
Ärende: software for linspire
=============================
Hey MARTIN!

Sep 24 19:20 05, MARTIN ATKINS wrote to MAURICE KINAL:

 MA> It won't be brand new just newer. :-} Why would i use a more powerful
 MA> machine to run Slack and a slower machine to do all the stuff like 
 MA> spreadsheets, word processing, charting and duel boot Win/Me
 MA> for banking?

Beats me why you need any of that stuff in the first place but I am sure that
it all could be done on a Linux system.  Probably better.  I've seen a few
spreadsheet apps on Linux and they seem okay.  Not using them I couldn't really
say how they compare but given they are running on a Linux system I would
guesstimate they are good.  Same with word processing ... I guess.  I don't
know much about these things other then I thankfully never need or use them
anymore.  I used to use a word processor and found it far too annoying. 
Spreadsheets?  I used to write my own databasing scheme that would work with
honest to goodness number crunching and was more fluid then any spreadsheet
could possibly hope to be.  Life is too short and full of better things to be
doing for that activity.  ;-)

 MA> The machine i'm on now will be for testing new public releases of 
 MA> Mandriva, Fedora and some such. I may even have a Look at Dabian.
 MA> It will also serve as a backup for the newer machine. I will be using
 MA> a Pentium/200MX with only a 2 gig H/D and 64meg of ram for the Slack
 MA> but that may change depending how i get on. I also have a Pen/133
 MA> with a broken CDROM and ditto floppy. This one has my first Linux
 MA> install on it Redhat 5.2 spread over two 500 meg drives and that
 MA> stores all my old DOS stuff. 

I've seen a few RH 6.2's still kicking around.  Someone tried hacking into here
through sshd the other day from some server in Korea running RH 6.2.  I haven't
seen 5.2 in ages now.  I think that one had a few y2k bugs in a few apps still
in it.

 MA> I usually bang away at a problem until i get it right but if i find
 MA> myself getting angry and frustrated i walk away from it for a few 
 MA> days
 MA> or even weeks. It's amazing what a clear head can do. Often i see
 MA> silly stupid mistakes i have made out of frustration.

That happens for sure.  I think that could be said about everything.

 MA> I back up and archive all the time. Even stuff i probably will never
 MA> need again. ;)

I used to do that.  I've gotten more selective over time.  I think having
access to the internet, especially ftp sites, has made me more frugal since it
is relatively easy to obtain and update source.  Most of the archives stored
here are compiles (packages) of that source that made the grade.  However it
usually gets replaced.  Other then that my backups tend to be configuration
files and docs.  I find good documentation to be worth it's weight in gold.

 MA> Well i know i will need some kind of Slack distro but other than 
 MA> that i am in the dark so planning ahead is going to be difficult.

Understood.  You'll get there once you get the feel for it.

 MA> I think i will need first to set up a development environment.

Perhaps.  Depends on how you plan to use it but I recommend installing gcc and
friends if you want to tweak.  Your planned target should be suitable as is for
a Slack install without tweaks.  It is only if you plan to deviate where having
a compiler is a 'must have' which in my case it is.  Without a compiler I'd
probably seldom turn on a computer but I am not the norm ... to state the
obvious.

 MA> These days it's all pointy clicky and away you go but i speculate
 MA> that it ain't gonna be so with slack.

It can be.  Installation is still done the old fashioned way but it is entirely
possible to make it boot to a pure GUI enviroment once installed and
configured.  Personally I prefer booting to the console and then typing
'startx' if I want to bore myself in pointy-clicky world.  That is usually what
happens here ... the boredom part that is but sometimes playing in X can be
fun.  At the moment DVD playing is better on X but I am picking away at
altering that.

 MA> I did it many years ago when
 MA> i first started using Linux so i hope i can grab some memories
 MA> from the cobwebs of my mind but even so i used mainly RPMs at the 
 MA> time.

Understood.  I used rpm once upon a time.  Not really my cup of tea though as I
usually know what I need and how to achieve it.  Took awhile but on the plus
side it was an interesting and rewarding experience.  Frustrating too but that
makes it all that much more sweet when you get where you wanted to be.

 MA> Hey! Cut it out Maurice your wetting my appetite.:-} 
 MA> The tax year is over here in Australia so i will see how things go.

Sounds good.  Take your time and enjoy the journey.

Life is good,
Maurice

--- Msged/LNX 6.1.2
 * Origin: The Pointy Stick Society XV - Linux Point (1:261/38.9)