Jessie, > I am thinking about changing over to Linux, but I am worried about > the time and money necessary for the changeover.
I have recently moved my whole business to Linux. I keep 1 machine with the abilty to boot into Windows 95 for my kids to play games and I keep one machine able to boot into Windows NT for the few windows apps I still need (delphi 3 and Powerdesigner and SQL Anywhere) . To make the initial switch easy these machines use boot floppies for Linux so I did not need to modify the windows setup's at all. You can get dual boot working but I preferred not to. You will also need to either put extra disks in or use a tool such as Partition Magic to re-organise your disks to make space for Linux. Only simple hardware a Linux installation seems to be much quicker than a windows NT installation. (especially after the first time). But by testing on a spare machine or by using boot floppies you can get going with Linux without affecting your product ive use of the machine. Obviously before changing partitions or installing linux you will have made and tested a full backup. > Specifically, I am > worried about my many Windows-only programs, and the time and cost of > changing to Linux alternatives. I would suggest you visit some of the linux webs sites and look for the applications first. For example I have a full-time Java developer and I have setup his machine so he is very productive and have only had to buy once software package (Visual Slick Edit - a wonderful editor). You could start by listing the applications you use and asking for Linux suggestions here. Dave David Warnock Sundayta Ltd
