[Glastonbury] Re: agenda for next meeting & a couple of queries

[info at wccl.co.uk]

Thanks for helpful comments, Tim

> I don't know anything about using Windows stuff under Linux. 

It's for WordPerfect mostly, and Excel occasionally since I still have one or 
two problems with the OOffice spreadsheet - if I can't do it in OOffice, I 
can do it in Excel or Quattro Pro since I have a manual for QP, and save from 
one to the other. I'm not v.experienced with spreadsheets, never had to use 
them much until very recently.

When the WordPerfect new version for Linux comes out (continually promised), 
when I get that I'll hardly need Win at all. I missed out on getting it 
originally, it had just disappeared and my order for it was cancelled. We'd 
had a cut version of it on the server but I didn't have much chance to use it 
before we upgraded server OS  and it no longer worked in there. My son 
thought of seeing if he could make it work on my machine, but we seem to have 
lost the copy anyway. 

WordPerfect is marvellous for certain types of work because of the graphics  
and the unique visible codes. Even OOffice is not up to that standard - 
because no visible codes, mainly. And when a non-WordP user says what codes, 
how can that be exciting, surely it can't be any different to Word or 
OpenOffice, well have a look at WordPerfect with someone who knows how to use 
it and you'll see. Once used, never want to be without. Save a lot of time 
too. 

> I migrated 
> lock stock and barrel over two years ago and I haven't looked back.

I can't do that entirely, for some business reasons. I do nearly everything in 
Linux. WordPerfect presents a slight problem because my OOffice doesn't read 
WPerfect files (I know there's a facility to do this available somewhere but 
haven't found it or have forgotten where it is or whatever) but even if it 
did, it doesn't offer the visible codes so I still need WordPerfect for some 
work. I expect OOffice will produce the same results but with no visible 
codes it's more hassle. 


 simply suggest using OpenOffice, but then I'm quite happy to mark stuff up
> using a text editor too. If X-over office doesn't work, I guess the other
> option is WINE?

Perhaps the editor you mention will help re codes. I shall have to investigate 
it when time.

KWord will read the WP docs if they are simple but loses a lot of the 
formatting even then.

As for Win, I loathe it, always did! But it has occasional uses.

I'm giving Crossover a try anyway. I imagine my son suggested this one to me 
because he prefers X-over to WINE. 
> 
> > I was frustrated the other day when working briefly in win because I
> > couldn't access files in the Linux partition. My son has sent me :
>
> No, you can't. Linux can read (and write IIRC) the Windows partition,
> however.

Yes. No problem. Very useful. 
>
> > explore2fs-1.00pre6.zip

According to my son, this facility will read the linux files from win - ie he 
has it loaded and uses it. How much it will do so, remains to be seen!! I'm 
not seriously worried about it, this is one of my amusements to find out and 
if it works as I want, will be useful occasionally. I am a believer in if 
there's a gadget for what I think would be useful sometimes, try it.

> The safest way to do it is to make a FAT32 partition (If you're using
> Win98, you will already have at least one) and save all the data you want
> to share between the two OSs there. 

OK, will look into that idea. 

> Both Windows and Linux can read and 
> write to FAT32. It does involve a bit of pre-thinking from the Linux side.

Noted.
>
> I work the way I do because I've found learning to use native Linux tools
> to be a lot simpler than this sort of messing about and much much more
> extendable. 

The Crossover and the other facility are also because I like playing around 
with the system to see if these will really be useful (and will work as I 
want). I'm not as adventurous as I'd like because this is a business machine 
and I can't risk it getting into a mess! 

> I'm finding it noticeably easier to introduce people to Linux 
> who are not used to any particular OS as well,

I'm sure that's right in most cases. It seems to me far easier to use most of 
the time because almost everything one needs is there and straigtforwardly 
organised. I find the Gimp much more complicated than Photohouse in Win and 
used to revert to Win for that kind of work, but am gradually finding out how 
Gimp works. 

> which leads me to believe 
> that GNU/Linux systems are not innately more difficult to use, 

I had no real problems at all simply going into Linux enforcedly when it was 
an instant decision, a business necessity to keep working, keep the emails 
coming and going, etc, when Win had been very odd for about 4 days and then 
suddenly died completely in front of me and my assumption was a virus attack 
even though the AV checker was updating continuously and "swore" there 
weren't any viruses (there weren't, it had done its job...) Well, I said, 
that's it, Win's kaput, Linux is loaded, I know how to access it, let's see 
if I can use it.

Have never used win again other than as an accessory! For me major selling 
points are that Linux is interesting to explore (very important), 
well-organised (pleases my sense of order), attractive on the eye (well with 
my setup it is anyway), unstressful, welcoming, cheerful.

> however 
> migrating data, procedures and skills can be time consuming and difficult.
> Probably your best bet is to find some convenient workaround for now.

I just wait for my son to visit! Or he can sort it out remotely much of the 
time. I do need to learn gradually how to do some things for myself, hence 
questions because if he hasn't got the answers, you people might have. He 
doesn't some of the apps I use continuously so he can't always answer my 
questions.

Thanks for all help. Will eventually report on the win file reading thing if 
you like, what it actually does do.

Regards
Ros