John Vokey wrote:
> I have been an Apple user since the Apple ][, and have purchased
> upwards of at least 100 machines from Apple in that time; but,
> lately, I have been playing with Ubuntu Linux. And, I must admit
> I am impressed. Most of my work on Macs is done with open-source
> software (mostly LaTeX and R), but I really rely otherwise on
> Matlab and RunRev. Really: about 90% of the work *in my lab* uses
> those two tools. Octave (open-source) and R can, combined, do most
> or what I use Matlab for, but there is no open-source replacement
> for RunRev. I really need it to work. I don't compile apps, I run
> everything in the (MetaCard) IDE. So, if I could be assured that
> the RunRev (especially the Metacard) IDE worked adequately in Ubuntu
> Linux, I would shift to purchasing cheap Intel machines for all my
> work and use Ubuntu Linux. My lab runs on tax-payer dollars, so
> any savings I can make benefit us all.
>
> Advice, comments?
Try it and see.
Take one of your old PCs, drop Ubuntu onto it, put in Rev 4, and see how
far you get.
If it works well, convert another, then another. With a purchase price
of $0, the worst thing that can happen is you just restore to whatever
the machine had been using.
I'm in the process of converting most of my old PCs to Ubuntu. Some of
the under-powered ones may get Xubuntu because that build is lighter and
nimbler on older hardware.
Feel free to write me any time as you go and we can compare notes.
And most importantly, have fun! One of the things I love about
breathing new life into old PCs with a free OS is that giddy feeling
like I'm getting away with something. :)
BTW: Thanks for mentioning Octave. I hadn't come across it before, but
it looks very useful.
--
Richard Gaskin
Fourth World
Rev training and consulting: http://www.fourthworld.com
Webzine for Rev developers: http://www.revjournal.com
revJournal blog: http://revjournal.com/blog.irv
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