Nervious wannabe new user asks for advice.

[Kevin Fries]

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1

thebearwitchproject wrote:
| Hi
|
| I would like to go over to FC3 from Windows, but I am
| a bit nervious of doing so. I am not exactly software
| literate, hardware fine and dandy, software hesitant.
| therefore I would like to ask a few questions, and if
| they have been asked before please be patient with me.
|
| I assume most of my hardware will be compliant, but I
| will give those details later if they are wanted. My
| main worry is my ADSL modem and my printer. I have
| looked at the Red Hat compatability list nd can't find
| either of them, though that may be because they are
| either peculiarly British or they are known by
| different names in other places.
|
| So onto the hardware I am worried about. The first is
| my ADSL modem which is a BT Voyager 100

No experience with ADSL modem, but if it gives you a problem, you can
always get a Linksys Internet Router that should work great with the
modem, and you can connect multiple machines as a result too.

| the second my
| printer which is an Epson C64, though I would be
| upgrading to a R200 in the near future. Does anyone
| here have any of these and if so did they work? If not
| here would I go for drivers for them?

Linux, any Linux, is just a collection of open source software (some use
licensed software, but only in limited quantities).  The default
printing system in Fedora is called CUPS, which stands for the Common
Unix Printing System.  You can find out anything you want about Epson
printers and how well they work at the LinuxPrinting.org website.

Epson Compatibility:
http://www.linuxprinting.org/printer_list.cgi?make=Epson

C64 Compatibility Page:
http://www.linuxprinting.org/show_printer.cgi?recnum=Epson-Stylus_C64

R200 Compatibility Page:
http://www.linuxprinting.org/show_printer.cgi?recnum=Epson-Stylus_Photo_R200

| I have been incontact with the Epson and British
| Telecom (BT) about linux drivers and both came back
| with a negative response.

Epson is psycho, one minute they hate Linux, the next they are kissing
Penguin butt.  Use the LinuxPrinting.org site.  HP is actually a huge
contributer to cups and the website mentioned above.  They will also
tell you that they don't support Linux half the time.  What this
actually means, is the idiot you got on the phone has been sent to the
Bill Gates Camp for Penguin Haters.  Phone support, gotta love them.
Anyway, they work from a script, and Linux problems usually require
brain cells.  So, most manufacturers will work with Linux organizational
sites like LinuxPrinting.org and not tell their telephone guys.  Bottom
line, don't ask them, they are usually wrong.  If you accidentally
talked to one of the techs, I bet you would get a different answer.  But
good luck on that quest :-D

| Well I hope i haven't wasted too much of your time and
| I ook forward to any hlp you may be able to provide
| me.

We are all here to help.  Its never a waste of time to help someone that
is genuinely stuck despite doing their homework.

- --
Kevin Fries
Network Administrator
Hydrologic Consultants, Inc of Colorado
(303) 969-8033    FAX: (303) 969-8357
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
Version: GnuPG v1.2.6 (GNU/Linux)
Comment: Using GnuPG with Thunderbird - http://enigmail.mozdev.org

iD8DBQFB5tBMiFq1Eo16+CgRAiOUAJ95s9zEEEVisS/3rvcr/9hEmeXzNQCdGFw5
Al9Aj6ieDVboHlhZmb2YVGw=
=ja8F
-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----