Troops, Well tonight I successfully configured gnomeicu and gaim (aol instant message) and got'em running. I downloaded NICQ but couldn't figure out how to configure it so I looked around in my rpms and found gnomeicu. I created an icon for it on my kde screen and away it went (picked up how to do this from our list). It works plenty good and the setup was straightforward enough. With the installation of these two programs I'm pretty much windows free. My final project for linux is getting my cd-burner going. Well final for now. I downloaded a program called cd-roast but can't seem to figure it out. If someone has a suggestion I'll be glad to listen. By the way my software expenditures on the linux side are $6 for mandrake ($1 plus $5 shipping) and $20 for the full version of word perfect 8 for linux (yes I broke down and bought the full version). That is not to shabby for a complete operating system and complete software package. My other expenditures are less than $100 for linux books which include A Practical Guide to Linux, Teach yourself KDE, and most recently Red Hat Linux 6 (which is about Gnome). Thanks for the tips Rick "mulerider" Murphy -- "I don't want to swim in a roped off sea," JB
