100% Linux - Is it possible?

[Robin Laing]

Johnathan Bailes wrote:
> On Wed, 02 Feb 2005 19:38:09 +0000, Pete Choppin <pchoppin at comcast.net> wrote:
> 
>> 
>>I was just looking for a consensus on this... 
>>  
>>I have been working with Fedora Core 3 for the past month.  My new years
>>resolution was to learn Linux.  So far, so good. 
>>  
>>I created a dual-boot Fedora / Windows XP.  I am now seriously considering
>>going completely 100% Linux and dumping my Windows partition entirely. 
>>  
>>The question is - can you live completely without Windows, or do you sooner
>>or later have to resort to Windows again? 
>>  
> 
> 
> Questions for you should be something like this:
> 
> Are you a heavy PC gamer?  If so, keeping windows around is a
> necessary evil even with the progress in wine.  No, btw, console games
> are NOT the same and not always better.
> 
> Then again, I am not a heavy gamer.
> 
> Do you do a lot of Visio or work with MS Project?  If so, there are no
> completely compatible solutions.  Then again, I don't have a use for
> either of those programs.
> 
> I do not I admit do a lot of amateur video editing and have no idea
> how linux is for that.
> 
> No, if you are not put off by any of the above, then congrats you may
> be ready for the jump.
> 
> I use Abiword and gnumeric to open Word and Excel docs and gaim to IM
> and I followed the FAQs and have even Quicktime videos working in
> linux.
> 
> I still have a dual boot system because my wife insists we keep it but
> neither one of us has booted into the Windows side in forever.
> 
> My only other bit of advice is to make sure you have plenty of ram. 
> Processor speed has never been a factor for me but Fedora seems to
> like a box with 256MB or above and my laptop with 128MB feels a bit
> slow but honestly a lot snappier than it did in RH9.
> 
> The downside is that you better do your homework for buying hardware
> from here on out.  I have a Netgear wireless card I have to compile
> the driver for every time I get a kernel update but my Brother HL 1440
> printer and Nikon digital camera work with linux really well.
> 
> The dag repositories have the gtkpod software if you have an iPod btw.  
> 
> The upside is that its free like speech man.  There is a certain
> freedom to be out from under the commercial software shackles of
> always having to shell out cash for good programs and running in an
> open source world.  Plus, it is nice to be away from l33tster warez
> culture that too many hardcore Windows folks roam around in and away
> from the routine of virus scanning and spyware scanning my box every
> night.  Yuck.  It is liberating at least for me.  YMMV.
> 

I have done video editing in Linux for the last year and half.  There 
are some nice free/commercial products that give Linux professional 
tools for doing videos.  Even been used on commercial movies such as 
Scooby Doo.

Newer versions of Windows requires a larger amount of memory as well. 
  I doubt that the requirements for RAM is actually much different 
between FC3 and Windows XP for decent operation.

-- 
Robin Laing