jallison's Journal: Making the Move to Linux

I'm thinking of making the move to Linux on my laptop, but I have some concerns before I leap.

Based on what I use my laptop for, the following questions and comments come to mind:

Web browsing and email. I already use Firefox and Thunderbird, so I don't see a problem here. Presumably I can backup my mail from the Windows version and restore it in the Linux version of TBird.

Office apps. I have MS Office installed, which I use primarily for Word and Excel. A little PowerPoint, but not much. I have used StarOffice in the past, so I suppose I can beat OpenOffice into submission.

Publishing. I edit our local Audubon chapter newsletter, for which I use MS Publisher. What equivalent is there for Linux?

IM. Are there AIM and Yahoo IM clients?

USB. I hear horror stories about USB support in Linux. Will I be able to use my USB storage devices and mouse?

I run a few once-in-a-while programs on the laptop. For example, I run ProntoEdit to program my Pronto remote. I doubt that there is a Linux equivalent is there?

Music management. I have a copy of all my music on the laptop, managed with iTunes. What's the Linux equivalent of iTunes?

Is there a way to sync my Palm OS handheld with info on the Linux side? Is there a Linux version of Palm Desktop?

I think I've talked myself out of this move.

howdy

[nizo]

Well, you can always dual boot if you are really worried (and have the disk space). Or you could look at one of the CD only distros like Knoppix. That said, lemme address the points that I know anything about:

# Web browsing and email. I already use Firefox and Thunderbird, so I don't see a problem here. Presumably I can backup my mail from the Windows version and restore it in the Linux version of TBird.

Migration shouldn't be bad here.

# Office apps. I have MS Office installed, which I use primarily for W

Re:howdy

[jallison]

People are replying to my journal. How cool.

First off, thanks for all the ideas and pointers. You can see from my later journal entry that I did go ahead and decide to dual-boot, so I'm on my way.

Web browsing and email have been a breeze. I'm able to share my TBird data, which I didn't expect. I'm a little disappointed with the way Thunderbird looks under KDE. The fonts used in the folder and message list screens look fat and fuzzy, not sharp and crisp like they do in Windows.

It's nice that Mandr

Re:

[account_deleted]

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Re:Answers to what I know

[jallison]

Thanks for the tips. I was overly worried about USB; I think I was remembering things from years ago. My mouse is working fine. I do have some trouble with the USB flash drive, but I'm not too worried about it.

For once-in-a-while things I'll just dual-boot. Easier than trying to deal with emulation.

For music I just decided to blow away the music collection on the laptop. It was a copy of the "home base" music collection so I still have everything at home. Once I get around to it I'll set up softsq