Number 201 - February 2000

Computing On the Bleeding Edge Exploring Linux - Part 4
by Neil Stahfest, TAPCUG
So I had installed Linux on "Big Box" (my home built computer based around a Cyrix P155+ CPU). Linux looked nice but a computer with just an operating system isn't very useful. I started to look through those additional CDs and books that came with my Linux distribution.     One of the first things I discovered was a graphics program named Gimp (who thinks up these names?). Gimp is similar to a lot of high end Windows 98 graphics programs like Adobe Photo Shop. I won't spend a lot of time describing it here, except to say that you can do photo retouching, image composition and image authoring. It is a very powerful program and like most Linux programs, and unlike Photo Shop, its FREE.     I also found a few text editing programs, games and a lot of utilities. There is also a very powerful network- server program named Samba. I understand that it is getting a lot of use networking office computer systems Samba is probably the single largest reason for the spectacular increase in the use of Linux for running office LANs (local area networks) during the past two years.     Probably the most valuable program I found was a copy of Netscape. Internet access is the key to making Linux really useful Because Linux is so new, you won't find many application programs and games written for it in stores. That will probably soon change. Linux is reaching what I call "critical mass". Its popularity is increasing very rapidly, as more people discover it. This is creating a demand for programs which will make programming for Linux economically worthwhile to program developers.     In the meantime, there is the Internet You can find hundreds (maybe thousands) of Linux programs at Tucows.com. There are other sites but Tucows is a good start.     Another great site is StarDivision.com. At this location you will find StarOffice. StarOffice is a clone of Microsoft Office 97. StarOffice contains powerful word processing, spreadsheet and presentation programs, similar to Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint. In fact, you can read and write to Word, Excel and PowerPoint files. My first impression was	that these programs worked almost like the Microsoft programs that I use everyday at work, but they looked a little different. Then I discovered that I could customize their appearance. I was able to make the word processing program look enough like Word, that the difference wasn't worth commenting about.     When you go to StarDivision for the download, they will ask you a number of questions (name, e-mail address, etc.) and then assign you a registration number. Write it down. You will need it to install StarOffice. They will send you an e-mail with the information when you log off, but it might save you little time if you write it down.     StarDivision, I think it is located in Germany, will send you to a mirror site to download the file. I went to the University of North Carolina at Chapple Hill. The file you download is about 70 megabytes, so it may take a few hours. After you download it, just click on the file and follow the instructions. StarOffice is also available in a Windows 95 version. Both versions are free for personal use (there is a very reasonable charge for office use). By the way, they use different registration numbers, so you will have to re-register if you download a second copy for Linux or Windows.     WordPerfect comes in a version for Linux. It's free, but I've been very happy with StarOffice, so I haven't tried to download it (I'm using both the Linux and the Windows 95 versions).     Things are happening very quickly in the world of Linux. TAPCUG has started a SIG (Special Interest Group), for our members who want to help each other with this cutting edge technology and learn more. Web pages like www.linux.com, www.linuxtoday.com and www.freshmeat.net are good sources for current information and have links to many other resources.1     As for me, I'm going to take a break from writing this series of articles. During the next few months, I will be experimenting with new software, as well as playing with my flight simulation programs. I'll write to you again next year, from the Bleeding Edge.     1 See also http://linuxtech.dyndns.com where the lesson outlines for the TAPCUG Linux SIG sessions are posted.
Number 201 - February 2000