Linux-Advocacy Digest #629, Volume #34 Sat, 19 May 01 21:13:03 EDT
Contents:
Re: Mandrake 8 sets the standard - for Desktop users anyway. (Brad Sims)
Re: Why Linux Is no threat to Windows domination of the desktop (Dr S.J. Cornell)
Re: Mandrake 8 sets the standard - for Desktop users anyway. (Brad Sims)
Re: Justice Department LOVES Microsoft! (T. Max Devlin)
Re: Justice Department LOVES Microsoft! (T. Max Devlin)
Re: Justice Department LOVES Microsoft! (T. Max Devlin)
Re: W2K/IIS proves itself over Linux/Tux (T. Max Devlin)
Re: Linux posts #1 TPC-H result (W2K still better) (T. Max Devlin)
Re: Linux posts #1 TPC-H result (W2K still better) (T. Max Devlin)
Re: Why Linux Is no threat to Windows domination of the desktop ("You've got MALE..
sex organs!")
Re: Why Linux Is no threat to Windows domination of the desktop (Dr S.J. Cornell)
Re: Advice needed. (Charles Lyttle)
Re: Justice Department LOVES Microsoft! ("Daniel Johnson")
Re: Microsoft BACKDOORS AGAIN! MORE CHEATERY!!! (Charlie Ebert)
Re: Justice Department LOVES Microsoft! ("Daniel Johnson")
Re: Advice needed. ("Robert Morelli")
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Brad Sims <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Re: Mandrake 8 sets the standard - for Desktop users anyway.
Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Date: Sat, 19 May 2001 23:30:44 GMT
Around three month ago, Win98 decided to eat it's TCP/IP stack.
Ok I said I will just release the IP address and it will pull a
new one and a way it would go.... WRONG. It wouldn't let me do
that because it couldn't read the stack. In other words I can't
fix it because it is broken, WTF.
I deleted the bindings on the network card,(reboot) reenstalled
the bindings (reboot) ...still nothing.
I renstalled the drivers (reboot) ...guess what still nothing.
I deleted the card from Device Mangler. (reboot), (it made me
physically remove the card, reboot, put the card BACK IN,
reboot, before PnP would set up the card) ..reenstalled the
drivers... (reboot). It still had my settings as they were
buried someware in the Registry. So it finally worked again
after 50 minutes and 7 reboots
Meanwhile I could boot Linux and get online just fine. Just goes
to show how "stable" win98 is.
--
I sense much distrust in you. Distrust leads to cynicism,
cynicism leads to bitterness, bitterness leads to the
Awareness of True Reality which is refered to by
those-who-lack-enlightenment as "paranoia" I approve.
------------------------------
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Dr S.J. Cornell)
Crossposted-To: soc.men,soc.singles,alt.fan.rush-limbaugh
Subject: Re: Why Linux Is no threat to Windows domination of the desktop
Date: 20 May 2001 00:38:08 +0100
Robert W Lawrence <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
>
> "jet" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>
> <>And what about using birth control?
>
> I was not aware that those who engage in homosexual behavior needed it. Can you
> enlighten me?
Funny, I thought you'd been following this thread. Kulkis says that
homosexual behaviour is `deviant' because it is `nonreproductive'.
Therefore, by that argument, any nonreproductive behaviour is deviant.
--
Stephen Cornell [EMAIL PROTECTED] Tel/fax +44-1223-336644
University of Cambridge, Zoology Department, Downing Street, CAMBRIDGE CB2 3EJ
------------------------------
From: Brad Sims <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Re: Mandrake 8 sets the standard - for Desktop users anyway.
Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Date: Sat, 19 May 2001 23:41:35 GMT
In ashen ink, the dread hand of Pete Goodwin wrote:
> >Ah yes, I love the documentation in SuSE 7.1, the stuff
written
> in German in an English book...
/me pulls out the 63 page Quick Install Manual... nope, English
/me pulls out the 106 page Applications book... English
/me looks at the 261 page Configuration book... English
Well that covers the Personal edition, lets look at the 581 page
Handbook (easily the equal to Running Linux, by O'Reilly) SuSE
adds to the Professional edition.... still English.
Pete, do you ever get tired of being wrong?
--
I sense much distrust in you. Distrust leads to cynicism,
cynicism leads to bitterness, bitterness leads to the
Awareness of True Reality which is refered to by
those-who-lack-enlightenment as "paranoia" I approve.
------------------------------
From: T. Max Devlin <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Crossposted-To:
comp.os.ms-windows.nt.advocacy,comp.sys.mac.advocacy,comp.os.ms-windows.advocacy
Subject: Re: Justice Department LOVES Microsoft!
Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Date: Sat, 19 May 2001 23:59:48 GMT
Said Chris Ahlstrom in comp.os.linux.advocacy on Sat, 19 May 2001
>"T. Max Devlin" wrote:
>>
>> Jackson stated clearly what the application barrier is; we have no need
>> to guess what he "seems to think" unless you'd rather make shit up than
>> pay attention to facts. Jackson documented the fact that the
>> application barrier is fiscal; whether compatibility or some other
>> technical explanation is available is irrelevant.
>
>I'd like to make up some shit. That is, to state what I think
>the application barrier is.
[...]
The remainder of your message was sensible, but somewhat
incomprehensible at the same time, owing to your use of the term
"application barrier" to mean any and all barriers to entry in a market.
The application barrier is actually only one specific barrier to entry,
quite concrete in terms of the classical assumption that computers are
hardware, OS, and applications, but really nothing more than "a need for
compatibility". Only a monopoly OS/platform/API can maintain an
application barrier, since, for all the benefit it might provide
producers, it is *negatively valuable* to consumers. Some proprietary
distinction is necessary in any product, we'll say. That is not a
license to use such distinctions anti-competitively, as MS has done.
--
T. Max Devlin
*** The best way to convince another is
to state your case moderately and
accurately. - Benjamin Franklin ***
------------------------------
From: T. Max Devlin <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Crossposted-To:
comp.os.ms-windows.nt.advocacy,comp.sys.mac.advocacy,comp.os.ms-windows.advocacy
Subject: Re: Justice Department LOVES Microsoft!
Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Date: Sat, 19 May 2001 23:59:49 GMT
Said "JS PL" <hi everybody!> in comp.os.linux.advocacy on Sat, 19 May
>"T. Max Devlin" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message
>news:[EMAIL PROTECTED]...
>> Said Daniel Johnson in comp.os.linux.advocacy on Fri, 18 May 2001
>> [...]
>> >But the reason Windows is so successful is because
>> >the apps run on it.
>>
>> The reason apps run on it is not because of success, though, but because
>[...deletia...]
>
>Just so you know, I stopped reading at "because".
Why? Don't you know what the word means?
--
T. Max Devlin
*** The best way to convince another is
to state your case moderately and
accurately. - Benjamin Franklin ***
------------------------------
From: T. Max Devlin <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Crossposted-To:
comp.os.ms-windows.nt.advocacy,comp.sys.mac.advocacy,comp.os.ms-windows.advocacy
Subject: Re: Justice Department LOVES Microsoft!
Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Date: Sat, 19 May 2001 23:59:50 GMT
Said Daniel Johnson in comp.os.linux.advocacy on Sat, 19 May 2001
>"Rick" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message
>news:[EMAIL PROTECTED]...
>> Daniel Johnson wrote:
>> > > They buy what "everyone else" has. Thats the whole point of
>> > > monopolizaiont, you know. To make sure you are THE vendor.
>> >
>> > I think you need to sit down and think that
>> > through again. Are you *sure* the whole point of
>> > monopolization is to appeal to herd instincts?
>>
>> Yup. People buy "what everybody else has". micro$oft made sure what
>> everybody else had is micro$oft.
>
>You sure it isn't to deny consumers any alternative
>choices?
Whatever pretend grammar mistake you had to make to pretend the point
wasn't made obviously requires some explanation if you expect anyone
else to repeat it, Daniel.
In point of fact, people do not buy "what everybody else has", they buy
what is best for them. Sometimes that is the same choice as others,
sometimes it is not. Unless there is illegal monopolization going on
(and, yes, the fact that this happens alone is sufficient evidence for a
conviction), then everybody makes the same choice.
Unreasonable restraint of trade is unethical and illegal, Daniel; no
amount of trolling changes that, or could possibly refute the
correctness of the law in this regard.
--
T. Max Devlin
*** The best way to convince another is
to state your case moderately and
accurately. - Benjamin Franklin ***
------------------------------
From: T. Max Devlin <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Crossposted-To: comp.os.ms-windows.nt.advocacy
Subject: Re: W2K/IIS proves itself over Linux/Tux
Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Date: Sat, 19 May 2001 23:59:52 GMT
Said Jan Johanson in comp.os.linux.advocacy on 18 May 2001 20:19:05
>"Matthew Gardiner" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message
>news:[EMAIL PROTECTED]...
>> > matt - you are late to the tread and missed the point.
>> > however, gee, you have to ask - got 24 heat producing devices with no
>> > cooling and when you come back it's warm? Gosh ! How could THAT happen!?
>> > That does not address the difference between how warm it is when there
>are 8
>> > processors versus 12 processors in a single box.
>> >
>> > then again, visit any colocation center, examine their cooling capacity.
>> > their cooling costs are in 5 digits a month - do you really think a few
>> > bucks more anyone would notice?
>>
>> Is that between the ever increasing black outs that are occuring in
>California?
>
>If the hippie anti-nuke paranoids in CA would have permitted the
>construction of nuclear power plants as was often proposed but never
>permitted they wouldn't have the problem they themselves created. Nothing to
>do with cooling...
Nonsense; the only thing that's caused any current problems is
price-gouging by energy producers. Profiteering, plain and simple;
de-regulation is a scam, not a matter of fiscally conservative politics.
--
T. Max Devlin
*** The best way to convince another is
to state your case moderately and
accurately. - Benjamin Franklin ***
------------------------------
From: T. Max Devlin <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Crossposted-To: comp.os.ms-windows.nt.advocacy
Subject: Re: Linux posts #1 TPC-H result (W2K still better)
Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Date: Sat, 19 May 2001 23:59:52 GMT
Said Jan Johanson in comp.os.linux.advocacy on 18 May 2001 20:52:11
[...]
>Oh we get it - it's SOOO obvious that Linux is the perfect "low cost"
>solution that there is no need to prove it to anyone eh?
No; if it is the 'low cost' solution, no proof beyond the price tag is
necessary to explain its competitive merits.
>SO IBM would rather
>spend a million dollars proving something it doesn't need to cause everyone
>already knows the secret that Linux rox...
IBM is a company; they do what makes fiscal sense, not what they "would
rather" do. I've pointed out they have no fiscal motivation to submit
Linux, and some reason not to, as well. You've resorted to gibberish.
>... funny how sales of linux continue to be unimpressive and it continues to
>make no inroads in the enterprise... hmmm....
Sales? Yes, I'm quite sure those numbers look rather anemic, compared
to Windows. Yet, Linux is being adopted faster than Win2K, in any
market save a few isolated "this group of customers are locked into
monopoly crapware because..." niches.
--
T. Max Devlin
*** The best way to convince another is
to state your case moderately and
accurately. - Benjamin Franklin ***
------------------------------
From: T. Max Devlin <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Crossposted-To: comp.os.ms-windows.nt.advocacy
Subject: Re: Linux posts #1 TPC-H result (W2K still better)
Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Date: Sat, 19 May 2001 23:59:53 GMT
Said Jan Johanson in comp.os.linux.advocacy on 18 May 2001 20:51:03
[...]
>There is a significant problem with all this: PostGres and MySQL totally
>suck as databases and can't come close to competing with the lies of DB2 and
>SQL Server 2000. I doubt they could even complete the benchmarks. So your
>scenarios is fictional
We will admit that open source database servers cannot compete with the
lies of proprietary commercial database server products. That part, at
least, is certainly not fictitious.
--
T. Max Devlin
*** The best way to convince another is
to state your case moderately and
accurately. - Benjamin Franklin ***
------------------------------
From: "You've got MALE.. sex organs!" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Crossposted-To: soc.men,soc.singles,alt.fan.rush-limbaugh
Subject: Re: Why Linux Is no threat to Windows domination of the desktop
Date: Sat, 19 May 2001 18:06:49 -0600
Kulkis is an idiot.
But then I repeat myself.
"Dr S.J. Cornell" wrote:
>
> Robert W Lawrence <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
>
> >
> > "jet" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> >
> > <>And what about using birth control?
> >
> > I was not aware that those who engage in homosexual behavior needed it. Can you
> > enlighten me?
>
> Funny, I thought you'd been following this thread. Kulkis says that
> homosexual behaviour is `deviant' because it is `nonreproductive'.
> Therefore, by that argument, any nonreproductive behaviour is deviant.
> --
> Stephen Cornell [EMAIL PROTECTED] Tel/fax +44-1223-336644
> University of Cambridge, Zoology Department, Downing Street, CAMBRIDGE CB2 3EJ
------------------------------
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Dr S.J. Cornell)
Crossposted-To: soc.men,soc.singles,alt.fan.rush-limbaugh
Subject: Re: Why Linux Is no threat to Windows domination of the desktop
Date: 20 May 2001 01:07:49 +0100
> [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Dr S.J. Cornell) wrote:
> <>If you had been paying attention, you'd know why this is irrelevant:
> <>homosexuals can, and do, have children.
Robert W Lawrence <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
> Only if they engage in heterosexual behavior-it would seem that for
> a person to father or bear children they would at the very least be
> bi-sexual.
Elsewhere you say:
> I could buy that-it would explain why
> otherwise heterosexual men become homosexual while in prison.
So, heterosexuals can `become' homosexuals. Therefore, if they had
children before they became homosexuals, they would be homosexuals
who have children.
So, if such a person is a `deviant', would you also say that a
heterosexual man who had some children, then had a vasectomy, is also
a deviant? Surely he is more so that the homosexual, who can at least
go back to being reproductive.
My point is that attempting to argue morality from some misguided
ideas about what is `natural' is actually no more than a smokescreen
for prejudice. There are many examples of behaviours that are not
commonly regarded as `deviant', but which nevertheless are
`nonreproductive'. What counts as moral behaviour in modern society
has very little to do with ideas about what people ought to be doing
to maximize their reproductive success - if it were, we would applaud
bigamy, rape, theft, and murder.
I take it you are a christian, so I suppose you believe God has told
you what's right and wrong. Fair enough - but don't pretend that your
principles are also founded upon rational arguments.
--
Stephen Cornell [EMAIL PROTECTED] Tel/fax +44-1223-336644
University of Cambridge, Zoology Department, Downing Street, CAMBRIDGE CB2 3EJ
------------------------------
From: Charles Lyttle <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Re: Advice needed.
Date: Sun, 20 May 2001 00:08:22 GMT
David Kistner wrote:
>
> I need advise.
>
> I am using Microsoft Frontpage 2000, Access 2000 and Visual Basic 6 to
> manage databases and develop/manage multiple database driven websites. I'm
> locked into the Microsoft world at work, but want to escape Microsoft for
> the sites I manage on my own from home. These sites are for non-profit
> groups and frankly I can't afford to keep up with Microsoft's prices for the
> web dev products.
>
> 1. I want to try Linux but am bewildered by the different Linux offerings.
> What Linux O.S. should I try?
>
Get an older computer cheap and then get an inexpensive distribution and
take time to learn. Switching to Linux requires a change of mind set.
Until that happens, I wouldn't try putting Linux on any machine required
for daily work. You don't need the "latest and greatest" distribution
either.
> 2. What web tool could replace my Frontpage, or is there anything like
> this?
>
I got use to markup languages and find I don't like things like
Frontpage. You end up with bloated files that do nothing but download
slowly. I recommend that you learn to write your own HTML even if you
don't switch to Linux.
> 3. What database could replace my Microsoft Access 2000?
>
Lots. postgres, Oracle8, etc., etc.
> 4. What programming language would you recommend to replace Visual Basic?
>
The one you can learn the easiest. Java works fine for me and is easy to
learn. Perl works very well also, but is somewhat more difficult to
learn. Play around a bit until you find a language you are comfortable
with.
> Any additional advice would be greatly appreciated. I'm very very
> disillusioned with Microsoft and would like to escape to a better world - I'
> m hoping it's Linux.
Go for it. But don't risk your working system until you have gotten your
feet wet on the side.
--
Russ Lyttle
"World Domination through Penguin Power"
The Universal Automotive Testset Project at
<http://home.earthlink.net/~lyttlec>
------------------------------
From: "Daniel Johnson" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Crossposted-To:
comp.os.ms-windows.nt.advocacy,comp.sys.mac.advocacy,comp.os.ms-windows.advocacy
Subject: Re: Justice Department LOVES Microsoft!
Date: Sun, 20 May 2001 00:16:32 GMT
"T. Max Devlin" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message
news:[EMAIL PROTECTED]...
> >> Their "core busines" is first, window$, second, window$ apps.
> >
> >That covers virtually their entire product line;
> >not exactly "core".
>
> It is when it's where the monopoly is, where 90% of your revenues are,
> and the only one with a consumer market.
I think you are having difficulty with the term
"core"; it doesn't mean "what T Max Devlin doesn't like".
[snip]
> >If I understand what you mean, you are saying that
> >as long as Windows does not file, Windows won't
> >fail.
> >
> >I'm tyrying to tell you *why* it's so firmly
> >entrenched.
(I'm also trying to improve my spelling, but it
doesn't seem to be working. :D )
> No, you're making up fanciful reasons to deny that it is so firmly
> entrenched for quite precisely the same reasons it was made a felony
> more than a century ago.
You seem very certain that no explaination but
black magic can account for Microsoft's
dominance.
Why is that?
[snip]
> >> If developers could figure out a way to develop an OS that was
> >> "compatible" with window$, thy would. That is what's scaring m$.
> >
> >Oh, come now. That'll a sure-fire losing strategy, as
> >IBM discovered with OS/2 2.0.
>
> OS/2 is a product IBM continues to make millions of dollars a year on.
IBM's OS strategy derailed because
OS/2 failed to attract developers. The product
is profitable, sure, but it can't act as
a bridge to the now-canceled "Workplace OS".
> >Being "Windows, only not from Microsoft" just
> >means you are perpetually behind MS, since they
> >are hardly going to give you a stationary
> >target.
> >
> >It buys you nothing.
>
> So why then, would it scare Microsoft so much they will do anything they
> can to prevent it?
They haven't bothered to do much of anything
about WINE and Open32.
It's Java that scares them, and Java isn't anything
like a Windows-compatibility layer.
[snip]
> >> And if they cant buy them they kill them. Or at least try.
> >
> >Ah, no scare quotes now. Much better.
>
> Better if you're purposely ignorant, maybe. The scare quotes are
> explained as valid by the statement you agreed with. You're not even
> pretending to try to be logical, as long as you get to apologize for the
> monopoly.
I don't see how it explains why "buy" should have scare quotes;
MS *does* sometimes buy other companies. It's quite
real. Just because you don't like MS doesn't mean that
you should throw scare quotes around indiscriminantly.
> Sock puppets will quibble punctuation, or anything else they can come up
> with, as long as it keeps the conversation away from Microsoft's
> continuing criminal behavior.
Well, sometimes it's all you can profitably discuss.
Rick is not, um, real receptive to argument.
[snip]
> >> They have never won on competition alone.
> >
> >Hmmmmmm. I know you see virtualy anything
> >they do as nefarious, but I'd be surprsied if
> >there was *no* counter-example to your claim.
> >
> >How about Visual Basic? What is the dirty trick
> >with that one?
>
> What was the competitive merit? Doh!
VB made if very easy to build simple but
reasonable user interfaces. Just point and
click.
Other development tools existed but they
were much harder to use.
The only exception I Can think of is
Hypercard and its clones. They were
easy, but the user interfaces they provided
were weird and nonstandard.
Even after products like Delphi, VB
had the advantage of using a rather
simple (if not simplistic) language for
logic work; BASIC if nothing else is
good at avoiding indirection, and for
some people that's kind of important.
[snip]
------------------------------
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Charlie Ebert)
Subject: Re: Microsoft BACKDOORS AGAIN! MORE CHEATERY!!!
Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Date: Sun, 20 May 2001 00:16:45 GMT
In article <yCjN6.1642$[EMAIL PROTECTED]>,
Erik Funkenbusch wrote:
>
>Ok, so now The Register isn't smart enough to spot FUD? Any way you spin
>it, you're nailing your favorite publication and will never be able to use
>it as a reliable source to back up your claims again.
>
Ah, I think we've all seen enough examples of Viruses and Worms attacking
Mircrosoft products AND that Microsoft itself has been lying to it's
user base for the last 10 years that you couldn't hardly say the
The Register or Slashdot was totally full of FUD.
Take a look at the secret backdoors found in IIS.
The world said they existed. MS denied it.
The Trial ended then we had these admissions from MS
that they did giving instructions to delete .dll's to
close the doors.
If you've examined the facts for the last 10 years and
watched Microsoft's actions VS the information reported
on other web sites you come to the conclusion that
MS doctors alot of information to cover up the fact
that they are an insecure OS.
MS has repeatedly lied to it's user base and it's user
base has repeatedly stuck with them each and every time
a disclosure has been made.
--
Charlie
=======
------------------------------
From: "Daniel Johnson" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Crossposted-To:
comp.os.ms-windows.nt.advocacy,comp.sys.mac.advocacy,comp.os.ms-windows.advocacy
Subject: Re: Justice Department LOVES Microsoft!
Date: Sun, 20 May 2001 00:17:27 GMT
"T. Max Devlin" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message
news:[EMAIL PROTECTED]...
> >> They buy what "everyone else" has. Thats the whole point of
> >> monopolizaiont, you know. To make sure you are THE vendor.
> >
> >I think you need to sit down and think that
> >through again. Are you *sure* the whole point of
> >monopolization is to appeal to herd instincts?
>
> I think you should stop being dishonest, Daniel. A reasonable person
> would have realized they were being dishonest long ago, Daniel, but you
> have not. Is that because you are unreasonable, or because you are just
> fundamentally dishonest?
I think you should stop flinging gratuitous insults
when you lose arguments, Max. That question
wasn't even for you; I know you don't agree
with Rick on this point, and I wouldn't
expect you to defend him here.
------------------------------
From: "Robert Morelli" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Re: Advice needed.
Date: Sat, 19 May 2001 18:22:01 -0700
In article <WyyN6.612$[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, "David Kistner"
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> I need advise.
>
> I am using Microsoft Frontpage 2000, Access 2000 and Visual Basic 6 to
> manage databases and develop/manage multiple database driven websites.
> I'm locked into the Microsoft world at work, but want to escape
> Microsoft for the sites I manage on my own from home. These sites are
> for non-profit groups and frankly I can't afford to keep up with
> Microsoft's prices for the web dev products.
>
> 1. I want to try Linux but am bewildered by the different Linux
> offerings. What Linux O.S. should I try?
I think you probably mean "What distribution should I try?" There are
supposedly somewhere between 100 and 200 distributions out there, but
only a few are really worth considering for general use. The leading
distributions are (I think) Red Hat, Suse, Linux Mandrake, Caldera,
TurboLinux, and Debian. Don't think that there's any way you're going
to gather some information and end up knowing which is best! You're
probably ok with any of them. They all use the Linux kernel. There's
been no forking. They differ in what software is included, the
configuration tools, the placement of files and directories, the way
the configuration files are set up, etc.
I started out with Mandrake, switched to Caldera, then
switched to Red Hat. Caldera was excellent, but it doesn't support
Gnome out of the box, etc. I settled on Red Hat because I found the
greatest of-the-shelf software support, and the greatest amount of
documentation for the things I wanted to do.
> 2. What web tool could replace my Frontpage, or is there anything like
> this?
I just use a text editor (xemacs). Personally, I don't like interposing
a layer of software between me and something as simple as html.
I suppose it could save some time for some things, but on the whole
I don't see a lot of need.
> 3. What database could replace my Microsoft Access 2000?
MySQL and Postgres are both free software. MySQL has better performance
in most situations but doesn't support as many features. Either one would
be much faster than Ax-ass and better for web development.
> 4. What programming language would you recommend to replace Visual
> Basic?
Moving from Windows to Linux as a developer is a big culture shock.
You might want to read Eric Raymond's draft of "The Art of Unix
Programming" at
http://www.tuxedo.org/~esr/writings/taoup/
This manifesto attempts to explain why Unix development tools seem
so primitive compared to Windows. I don't ask you to be convinced
by it. I'm not convinced myself. But it may help you understand
what you're getting into.
One interesting difference between the Windows world and the Linux
world is that Linux development is much more eclectic in terms of the
languages and tools employed. Under Windows, most development is
in Java, VB, and C/C++. Under Linux, there's at least a dozen
languages that get significant use and mindshare. A lot of people
will recommend languages like perl, python, or tcl/tk. You're free
to explore whatever tool you want, but my guess is that you'll conclude
that the tools for those languages are not what a VB programmer
is looking for.
To my mind, Java is the obvious choice for a VB replacement. I
program Java in a text editor (xemacs again), but mature IDEs
comparable to the VB IDE are available. I've heard people argue
that the Java IDEs aren't quite up to ease of VB
yet. I don't know if that's true or not. But in any case, they're
worlds beyond the primitive tools most Linux developers depend on.
This would help you make the transition from Windows. In fact,
since Java is now one of the leading programming languages under
Windows, your code will work under Windows as well and
in a sense you aren't even making that big a switch.
Another choice would be Borland's Kylix and other tools. Borland
wasn't able to compete well against MS' anticompetitive practices
under Windows, but their tools are very high quality, probably as good
or better than those of MS.
> Any additional advice would be greatly appreciated. I'm very very
> disillusioned with Microsoft and would like to escape to a better world
> - I' m hoping it's Linux.
Linux is a very different world from Windows. You have to expect
some things to be superior and some to be inferior. You'll probably end
up happier if you expect up front that you're going to be frustrated by
some aspects of Linux. In fact, what will be most apparent at first
is what's inferior. Linux is just barely getting some technologies that
Windows users have taken for granted for
many years, and other technologies are still absent. For instance,
expect to be shocked by how primitive the font and printing
technologies are under Linux. Somehow, Linux grows on you, despite
how primitive its technology is.
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