> -----Original Message-----
> From: John Ferrell [mailto:johnferrell@SPRINTMAIL.COM]
> Sent: Friday, January 18, 2002 3:26 PM
> To: PICLIST@MITVMA.MIT.EDU
> Subject: Re: [OT]: What is Windows XP?
>
>
> As soon as I can migrate off this machine,
> Format/fdisk/reload, & migrate
> back I will have a machine available to give Linux. It may
> take 30 to 60
> days.
> The questions:
>
> Where do I start? What version/flavor do I get and where
> should I get it?

It really depends on what you want to do.  I have two machines running Linux at
home.  They happen to be running the Red Hat 7.1 distribution.

My wife performed the installation on her machine in about 4 hours.  She's used
a lot of software applications, but she has no special Linux installation
knowledge.  She just followed the guide book and the software.

I hear that the Mandrake distribution is also pretty easy to install.

> How much machine is needed? memory/speed/disk?
> What are the trade offs?

Both the machines at home only have 64MB RAM.  One runs at 166MHz, the other
runs at 350MHz.  To install Linux with a bunch of apps and both KDE and Gnome
(two GUI's), I think they recommend 2.4GB of hard disk space.  There are
versions that run off of floppies or CDs, but they do a lot less.

The overall speed of things is about the same as Windows 9X.  Some things run a
bit faster, others a bit slower.  Unlike the trend with windows, new revisions
of Linux applications often run faster than older ones.

Before you do the switch over, you might want to verify that all of your
peripherals (graphics card, sound card, modem, printer, scanner, ...) are Linux
compatible.  Making Linux drivers is not something most vendors do, and some
hardware is not as Linux friendly as others.

> I am asking here because I think a PIC list answer will be
> more accurate
> than on a Linux group!
>
> John Ferrell
> 6241 Phillippi Rd
> Julian NC 27283
> Phone: (336)685-9606
> Dixie Competition Products
> NSRCA 479 AMA 4190  W8CCW
> "My Competition is Not My Enemy"

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