[techtalk] Re: [grrltalk] Linux for Kids???

[Elizabeth Fallon]

Sheryl Weidner wrote:

>[lurk mode off]
>
>For those of you who still wrestle with having both a Windows box and a
>Linux box - and who vastly prefer the latter for everything but one or two
>applications - I have been doing some contracting work with a company that
>has a pretty reasonable solution.  (I don't actually work for them, so you
>can consider me an outside source. :)
>
>TreLOS (www.trelos.com) has just released their "Win4Lin" product.  It's
>similar in some ways to VMware, in that it provides a virtual Windows
>machine for running Windows applications, but unlike VMware, it doesn't
>dedicate hardware and resources only to that session (which, in VMware,
>means you have to have a very beefy box to get any use out of it).  Win4Lin
>provides a Windows operating environment and supports the use of Photoshop
>and Photodeluxe as well as all of the popular "productivity" software out
>there (Office, Visio, Act, Lotus Notes, blah blah blah).  It uses the Linux
>filesystem for your Windows applications and files, as well as sharing RAM
>with Linux, so it can run nimbly on a workstation-class machine.  I can say
>that for certain, as I'm currently testing it on Celeron 300A with 128MB of
>RAM and an 8-MB Matrox video card.  My Windows apps run faster (as a result
>of the superior filesystem) on the Linux box than they do on an identical 
>PC
>running Windows.
>
>It's actually quite different from WINE (most people want to know how it
>compares to WINE moreso than VMware), since it has an operating environment
>instead of bypassing the need to run Windows at all in order to run a
>specific application.  In some cases (e.g. apps or drivers or devices not
>supported by Win4Lin), WINE may still be a better solution.
>
>There are limitations (for example, Win4Lin won't resolve your need to use
>your Parallel port scanner in Linux) to the software, but it's quite
>impressive for the $50 price tag if you still need to use the occasional
>Windows app but would rather not dual boot or have two machines.  I know
>they plan to have an eval version available in the very near future, for
>those of you who would rather see it before you buy it.
>
>And yes, I know that for many people this concept runs counter to the idea
>of the open source movement and the use of alternative tools or those
>developed for use natively on Linux.  It can, however, prevent many of us
>who can't afford a week off for new product education in the short term the
>ability to use our operating system of choice. :)
>

Sounds like a dream come true!  However...I don't have Windows anymore.  I 
reformatted the drive, and now cannot get Windows back on it.  Can I use 
Win4Lin without having Windows installed anywhere?  If I can, I'll run out 
now and get a copy! :)

Liz

>
> > > > Regrettably, I am quite addicted to my Windows box.  Primarily for
>Adobe
> > > > Photoshop and Photodeluxe, as well as my scanner, and the wide range
>of
> > >ISPs
> > > > available for it and NOT Linux. :(
> > >
> > >as someone else said: try the GIMP instead of Photoshop, especially the
> > >developer versions are _sweet_ *claps himself on the backhead for
> > >suggesting the use of a developer version to anyone*.
> >
> > I've been playing around with the GIMP a bit (not enough to be able to 
>use
> > it successfully), but I'm sure I'll be fluent in no time. :)

______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com