Re: [vox] a dual-boot system?

[Jonathan Stickel <MAPSjjstickel@sbcglobal.net>]

Cylar Z wrote:
<snip>
> Most likely I would accomplish this by converting his
> computer to a dual-boot system, offering the option of
> either Windows XP or Fedora Core 4 w/ GNOME.
>
> At this point, let me say that I am already aware of
> Linux's superiority to Windows in terms of stability
> and vulnerability to security exploits.
>
> My hesistation to implement Linux stems from two
> potential problem areas:
>
> 1. I'm concerned about how smoothly an inexperienced
> user such as my dad will make the transition from
> Windows to a Linux-based GUI such as GNOME.
>
> 2. I'm concerned that the devices attached to the
> system (digital camera, CD burner, printer/scanner/fax
> unit) may not function properly under a Linux OS.  I
> would imagine that many people can and do use a Linux
> workstation with these devices, and that it's mostly a
> question of finding the correct drivers. It seems,
> however, that most manufacturers' driver download
> pages don't include drivers for Linux OS's, only
> Windows and sometimes Mac.
>
> Open query: Is Fedora Core the best choice of the
> available Linux distros given the background I've laid
> out?
>
> I wanted to use a dual-boot system because of #2, and
> because I've recently learned to set one up. I figured
> in a worse-case scenario, my father could use Linux
> for day-to-day websurfing (he uses DSL), then reboot
> into Windows for the infrequent occasions that he
> wants to hook up his camera or print something.
>
> As a third potential problem area, I'm only a novice
> Linux user myself. I'm taking night classes on the
> subject and reading books to try and improve my skill,
> but at this time I'm going to have trouble fixing any
> technical issues that arise from the use of Linux,
> having been a Windows user for years before beginning
> to dabble with Linux.
<snip>
There has been a bunch of good advice already, but I didn't see anyone 
comment on the dual-boot issue.  I find dual-boot setups to work well 
enough; just make sure you set aside a large FAT32 partition for data to 
 be accessed from both Windows and Linux.  Also, the easiest way to 
proceed is to install windows first, and then whichever linux 
distribution you are most comfortable with.  Personally, I am a KDE 
user, which I find much more analogous to windows than GNOME.  Fedora 
has all of KDE; you just have to choose to install those packages.

Jonathan
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