Re: [tlug] Newbie buying a computer and installing Linux on it

["Lyle (Hiroshi) Saxon" <ronfaxon@example.com>]

A bit more material than I can comprehensively reply to right now, but a 
couple of things I will comment on:

Joseph Essertier wrote:

> Hello.  I'm a newbie who's thinking about buying a Windows computer 
> and installing Linux on it.  I've been using Mandrake for about a year 
> now and, in spite of various glitches, it's been a worthwhile 
> experience. The main benefit has been that OpenOffice on that computer 
> works great.  It's very fast and efficient.  MS Word, on the other 
> hand, which i use on the Mac, has been very frustrating to say the 
> least. 
> The Mac is a G5 and everything has worked just fine on it, except for 
> Word, and sometimes PowerPoint, Excel, and the email program that 
> comes with OS 10.  But the main problem is Word.  I've heard that it 
> works well on Windows computers, but it has not worked well for me on 
> the Mac, especially when typing in Japanese.


Word doesn't work all the well on MS-OS either!  As for OpenOffice, I 
think virtually all distributions of Linux come with it automatically.  
There's nothing special about Mandrake in that regard.  (What's their 
new name again?)

> So i'm wondering, "What is the cheapest way to get a 
> not-so-difficult-to-use Linux computer for someone in my situation in 
> Japan?"  A native English speaker with over 2 decades of experience 
> with Apple/Macs and very little Windows experience, who needs to write 
> a lot in both Japanese and English, needs to share files regularly 
> with Japanese Windows users, and doesn't have 1,000 hours in the next 
> year to dedicate to learning Linux.  (Maybe 100 hours).


Personally I'd pick up an old Dell in Akihabara and drop in a new hard 
drive (you might need to upgrade the BIOS for that) and up the memory.  
On the other hand, some new computers are so cheap now, I wonder if it's 
really worth it to buy used stuff any more...

> Akihabara is about a 4 hours away by bus and subway.  Would i save a 
> lot of money on a computer purchase by going there, and would i find a 
> Linux expert there?  Or is it not worth a long, expensive trip?   
> Could i just go to a computer store around here?


It used to be worth it to come into central Tokyo, but that's not 
necessarily the case any more, although if you want to buy something 
used, I'd recommend looking around in Akihabara.  As for finding a Linux 
expert - that's entirely hit and miss.  When I have mentioned Linux when 
buying things before, generally the salesclerk either (honestly) says 
that they have no idea if it will work, or else lies by putting on a 
knowing face and saying that the part can only be used with Windows.  I 
did bump into a clerk in T-Zone once who knew a bit about Linux and was 
able to answer my questions intelligently, but that's one person out 
of... dozens.  Don't count on it!!!

> ..... it would really be nice, if at all possible, for the Linux 
> installation to go smoothly and for me to be able to start using all 
> the basic components/peripherals (the mouse, the keyboard, the 
> printer, the speaker, the monitor), right after installation.  I don't 
> need anything fancy.  Initially, i'll probably only be using 
> OpenOffice, Mozilla, and email.


Absolutely possible, but not guaranteed!

Mozilla included an e-mail client you know... or if you only want to use 
it for browsing, there's FireFox.

> I'm at "squre one" in migrating to Linux from Mac i guess, and i'd 
> appreciate any advice.  I read about 20 earlier TLUG posts on cheap 
> computers and Linux, but i didn't see any for people in my situation 
> (e.g., who have to write in Japanese often, who are Mac users, who 
> have little Linux experience, and who need a laptop), but if my 
> questions have already been answered, please let me know and i'll 
> search the TLUG archives again.


I'm not sure, but I think the migration from Mac to Linux is at least 
slightly more painful than the migration from Windows to Linux.  That's 
what I've seen so far in the people around me, but not.  Anyway, if 
you've already been using Mandrake, then you have some idea of what it 
it's about.  I'm using SuSE myself - and they have a version with ATOK 
integrated into it, which should be good for Japanese input.  I have a 
laptop that I installed SuSE in, choosing Japanese from the start.  I 
separate it by user, not partition.  I have a user set up for English, 
and another user set up for Japanese.  I don't think there is any need 
for dual book of two Linux installs for dual language purposes.  I have 
one machine that I've never been able to input Japanese with, but with a 
KVM switch, I get around that by using another machine.

Lyle