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1. First, figure out what your primary applications are. For most people, this involves little more than email, surfing and word processing, in which case you’re good. If you have other, more esoteric applications which you regularly use, do a little research to make sure it, or a reasonable equivalent, run under Linux. For example, plenty of Palm devices work with Linux, but my Alphasmart Dana does not, so I’m stuck with ducking my head back into Windows twice a week to hotsync it.

2. Choose your Linux distro. I recommend Redhat 9 for those escaping out of Windows for the first time. Download the ISO files and burn the three CDs, buy it, score it from a friend, whatever suits your style.

3. Investigate support for your internet connection. Confirming specific wireless network card support is particularly important, since Linksys is terrible about identifying the differences between its models and versions. For example, versions 2, 2.5 and 3 of the WPC-11 run with Linux, while version 4 doesn’t. Version 2.5 of the WUSB-11 runs with Linux, version 2.6 does not. This is because the new versions have entirely different chipsets – they’re entirely different products with the same name.

4. Buy the appropriate card/modem, if necessary, and download the specified packages. Read the directions and the readme to determine which three packages to download, and always follow the directions precisely! Linux information is written by programmers, not technical writers, so it is usually maddeningly incomplete, but almost always precise. There is usually a reason for doing things exactly the way they tell you, though they seldom explain why or how to go about doing it. (Example – they will tell you to “install package X”; they will never say “double-click on the RPM file you downloaded to install package X”.)

5. Put the first Linux CD in the drive and restart your computer. Watch the screen closely – you may need to hit F2 during the pre-Windows setup phase in order to tell your machine to boot off the CD instead of the hard drive. Choose the dual-boot option.

6. Follow the install directions. The only real decision involved regards how to divide your hard drive partitions. I think three partitions is a good way to start – have the first (hda1) be NTFS for your Windows boot drive, the second (hda2) EXT3 for Linux, and the third (hda3) FAT for a shared partition that you can access from both Windows and Linux and use to transfer files. Since you’ll be working more in Linux, plan to devote more space to the second and third partitions.

7. Write down your passwords, both for root and your username. Remember that it’s better to be logged on as username most of the time, not root. You can give yourself root permissions whenever you need to – usually you’ll be prompted. If not, open a terminal window, type su, and you will be asked for the root’s password.

8. Restart, choose DOS, then copy the three RPM packages you downloaded for the wireless card drivers onto the third drive. Do NOT reformat the second drive, which Windows can’t read. That’s your Linux drive. Restart and choose Linux this time.

9. Now that you’re into Linux, you still need to mount your third partition so you can read it and write to it. Note that you won’t be thinking of it as D: or whatever anymore, but as /mnt/winlinux or whatever you decide to call it. It’s not too hard, here’s how.

10. Now it’s time to tackle the Internet connection. If you have a Linksys card and you went with Redhat 9, then find those three RPM packages on your WinLinux partition – just double-click on them or right-click and choose Open With, then Install Packages – and let the installer do its thing. Don’t expect any messages or confirmations, just insert your PCMCIA card when it’s done and fire up Internet / Web Browser from the Redhat Start menus. It will start Mozilla, and if it works, you’ll be online.

11. Once you’re up and running on the Internet, download Red Carpet from Ximian. This is a package installation tool that is very helpful in resolving package interdependency problems. Not all software programs are tied in with this very useful tool, but it is so useful that you may find yourself sticking with older versions simply because the new versions aren’t incorporated into Red Carpet yet. To run Red Carpet, select System Tools – Terminal from the Red Hat start menus, type red-carpet at the prompt, and enter your root password. Do your updates through Red Carpet and the Red Hat channel, not the Red Hat update agent.

12. Use Red Carpet to upgrade to the latest version of Evolution. Grab Pan, too, if you’re a newsgroup junkie. (Reader PB points out that there are over 530 Linux Users Groups where you can find help, including 45 on Usenet.)

13. If you need PDF capability, note that there’s some complexity to the installation of Acrobat Reader. Unfortunately, although you can create PDF files with OpenOffice, you can’t read them. Download the acroread RPM, and follow the installation instructions. Be careful in vi, it doesn’t operate like Notepad or Word. Press i before inserting any text, then hit ESC to exit insertion mode before typing ZZ to quit and save.

14. Celebrate. You are now driving the tank.

I’m no Linux expert. I still don’t have my Java Run-time Environment working yet and there are a panoply of basic functions of which I remain ignorant. But I’m out, I’m up and I’m running, and if I can do it, you can too.

I hated everything I heard about XP when it first came out, which is why I stubbornly stuck with Windows 2000. After hearing this from reader BB today, I’m sure glad I did. This is pure, corporatist evil – it cannot be considered capitalism as the free market depends on the free flow of information.

“I’ve been building & repairing systems for about 13 years & I’m going to start migrating my customers to Linux. I read an article about the new Windows coming out next year that specified new hardware would have to be purchased in order to run it. That was the extent of the info it provided about the issue. I figured it is probably some sort of copy protection/ snoop thing. Well, about 4 months ago I had a customer come to me with 2 new Dell PC’s they wanted wiped clean & windows 98 SE put on, they came with XP. I did my usual fdisk & format of drive but every time I tried to install Win 98 during the install process it would crash out to black.

This happened every time I tried & I used the latest drive management software to inspect the drives for hidden volumes, nothing. The original Win XP went right back in. I believe Dell has already incorporated this copy protection/snoop system into the motherboard.”

Referencing point (3) below, if you’ve got one of the new high-speed 802.11g wireless cards, it looks as if there may be Penguin possibilities for you too, and sooner than expected. The company that’s leading the charge isn’t exactly an Open Source cheerleader, but the significant thing is that if they’ve figured out how to make Windows drivers work under Linux, it won’t take long for a hacker to do the same. This is potentially huge, I think.

PB writes: “Google runs on Linux… so does each and every Microsoft Server! (Akamai Linux servers are in front of every Microsoft ip address…)!”

You think that’s because NT crashes when it’s bored? Computers need love too.

16/30 157 5.23 1 2

11/26 126 4.85 1 0

09/23 064 2.78 0 1

So, I’m wondering when are all the sportswriters going to start apologizing to Rush Limbaugh? McNabb’s completion rating has now dropped to 45 percent! That’s called bench city, not the Pro Bowl. By way of comparison, another black quarterback, Daunte Culpepper, is throwing 64 percent strikes for the undefeated Purple.

Personally, I suspect that McNabb is injured. But anyone who still insists that Donovan McNabb is a top quarterback is clearly not paying attention.

40-yard completion to my WR. First and goal from the six.

5-yard penalty.

7-yard completion to my WR.

4-yard run by my brother’s RB. TD.

That’s a six-point switch. There is no justice. Not that I’m bitter….

I’m rather liking this stripped-down version of Mozilla. For one thing, it’s now my blogging tool of choice, since it supports the Link, Bold and Italic panel buttons in Blogger as Opera and the version of Mozilla that came with Redhat 8 do not. I still prefer Opera for general meandering about the web, but Firebird is a good second option. It’s got some nice pop-up controls too.

Also, a little experimentation with txt2pdbdoc has turned out well, and while it is a command line deal, it’s a faster and easier way to convert text files into Palm docs than the Microsoft Word macro I was using before. Supposedly it’s now up to version 1.4.2, but I haven’t been able to find a binary RPM for anything newer than 1.2.1. It works fine, though, which reduces my list of required Windows functions down to three:

1) Fantasy Football stattracks

2) Alphsmart Dana hotsync. I couldn’t get this working under WINE, so this looks unlikely.

3) Java-related sundries

Of course, I’ll still be popping into Windows to play Combat Mission, but that’s not a big deal. Windows will remain the standard interface for computer games for the foreseeable future. The same was true for DOS long after Windows was introduced.

I read this morning on Slashdot that not long after Intuit gave up on activation codes for its software and took out a full-page ad apologizing to its fleeing customers, Adobe is going to try flexing its muscles and see if it can cram Photoshop activation down the throats of its customers. I think one newsgroup poster summed up the situation accurately:

> The important point is though that up until recent times a software

> license was good for as long as the consumer needed the software as long

> as he didn’t break the terms of the license. Activated licenses are

> basically turning software into rentalware. It’s only good for as long

> as the publishers want it to be or when they go under. Whichever comes

> first.



Microsoft may be strong enough to get away with forcing activation – though not with me, says the proud new Penguin rider – but Intuit wasn’t and I doubt Adobe will be. Christopher Warnock, if you’re reading this, tell your Dad to give it up. And give my best to the beautiful Barbara.

I really hate the notion of activation, as it is not only an invasion of computer privacy, but it is also an illustration of the basic dishonesty of software “products”. When I buy a t-shirt, I can wear it, I can give it to my friend or I can loan it to my brother. It’s mine – I paid for it. But activated software is tied to a single machine, and while it’s not too much of a hassle when it’s the operating system software, it would be an incredible pain if every manufacturer started trying to require activation for every program. Then again, maybe that would be a good thing as it would certainly speed up the mass Linux migration.

It seems software manufacturers want to have it both ways; they want to be paid as if it’s a product, but then control how the customer uses it. No wonder pirates take such overt pleasure in hacking copy protection and distributing it to the masses. In any case, Photoshop is no longer a concern of mine. I’m down with the Gimp.

They fired TMQ. What a bunch of small-minded control freaks. I wonder if it ever occurs to anyone that firing everyone who says anything the least bit critical of individuals who happen to be Jewish is probably not the best way to convince the Judenhassen that Jews are not, in fact, running everything.

I’m done with ESPN. Half of Page 2 has already been converted to stupid Hollywood junk and whiny women complaining that they can’t get dates because they know too much about sports. Right, that’s probably it. They ought to just change the name to Page E-IX and have done with it. Let ESPN know what you think. I did.

Just one more reason to despise Disney. In truth, I believe this contemptible firing had more to do with Easterbrook daring to criticize Disney’s chairman than it did with anything relating to Judaism.

Acrobat Reader is a virtual necessity if you want to read PDF files, so I was surprised at the shoddy level of Linux support by Adobe. I fully expected it to be available via Red Carpet or the Redhat Update Agent, but barring that, I was anticipating an easy RPM installation at the very least. That proved not to be the case, as I got what proves to be a very normal error when trying to run it on Redhat 8:

$ acroread

Warning: charset “UTF-8” not supported, using “ISO8859-1”.

Aborted

Fortunately, and this is one of the things I love about Linux, someone has come up with the solution. I can vouch for its efficacy, although the author, being a programmer no doubt, assumes that you will know how to use vi. (He does better than most, actually, in telling you how to start vi.) The thing to keep in mind is that vi requires going into Insert mode in order to make your changes, and then leaving it before you quit and save. It’s a little bit like the old DOS Edit command, which was probably copied from vi or another UNIX command in the first place.

Anyhow, i will insert text at the cursor, so make your changes and then hit ESC to exit Insert mode. Then type ZZ to save and quit. You can start Acrobat Reader by going out to the terminal and typing acrobat. The interface is grey and ugly, but the PDF documents look good and everything works fine.