Robert Holmgren wrote:
> ** Reply to message from "William H. TeBrake"
>
mailto:tebrake@xxxxxxxx on Thu, 18 Mar 2010 11:28:32 -0400
>
>
>> have either of
>> you tried to run NotaBene using one of the Windows emulators under
>> Linux?
>
> Not I. It would never occur to me. NB is written for Windows,
> so I use it with Windows. In my opinion, it is an improper use
> of Linux to try to create a multi-purpose computer -- a Windows
> replacement. Because (money aside) Windows will do that better,
> with a lot less geeky effort on user's part, and with an
> unmatched range of out-of-the-box capabilities and choices. The
> WHOLE POINT of a Unix-class operating system is to
> compile/optimize the kernel to perform very specific tasks, as
> efficiently as possible. Why are there so many different Linux
> distros? Because they're targeted at particular uses (except in
> the case of, say, a pop distro like Ubuntu, which does a lot but
> isn't best in any class). For example, there is a REASON that
> nearly every serious server in the world runs on a Unix box,
> usually one of four or five flavors (FreeBSD, RHEL, CentOS, etc).
>
> May I suggest: Buy a desk (you need one anyway). Buy a router
> and some Ethernet cables. Place a Windows machine and a Linux
> machine side-by-side (on the desk), and connect them with
> NetBIOS/Samba so they talk to each other. Why is it always an
> implied either/or? Truth is, you need two computers (minimum).
>
> -----------------------------
> Robert Holmgren
>
mailto:holmgren@xxxxxxxx
> -----------------------------
you're describing my system, plus I have a netbook. but my "either" is
95% Linux. the single most valuable thing about Linux to me is the
simplicity of backing up the system -- I don't have to create a disk
image or contort myself in order to back up a registry -- I can use
Remastersys to put everything on a flash drive in case my system blows
up, stick a new HD in, partition it, press a few keys, and in half an
hour again everything will be just fine.
as a consequence, I can keep the important things here, and use the XP
box for toys and proprietary applications, which are generally
hardware-specific. if the disk drive on the XP box, I'll just replace
it, reinstall XP from scratch, add the two or three apps I use, and be
done.
as far as using sw that's written for an OS, well, as you point out in a
subsequent message Microsoft is now forcing users of Xywrite to use
emulation software, so what's the harm of someone running NB under
VMWare or Wine?
I suppose I wouldn't rely on Ubuntu as my primary OS if I were a graphic
artist or photographer, since those sorts generally prefer Macs.
however what appeals to me about Linux is that the (super)user can
change anything by accessing a text file. in a strange way it is very
much a writer's operating system. leaving aside the built-in advantages
of open source -- eg I don't need Ghostscript or Adobe anything to turn
any file, whether it's text or html, into a postscript file, that's
built-in (three different ways in fact, from OpenOffice, the printing
system, and the browsers) -- I would also mention three things about
Ubuntu make it a viable end-user OS: 1) the software packages are
tightly controlled as far as I can tell, so they're not just held to a
reasonably high standard. but installation and maintenance are stable
and clean, far more so than any other brand of Linux I've seen; 2) the
cooperation with manufacturers allows them to incorporate proprietary
drivers and codecs smoothly, and 3) they've slicked up the way superuser
works, which takes a big, confusing step out of installation, and also
makes day-to-day sudo-ing easier. call it a pop distro if you want, but
it happens to be the best pop distro I've seen, better than Red Hat or Suse.
-rafe t.