- Capitalism and Alternatives -

A few quick answers.

Posted by: Farinata ( L'inferno ) on October 21, 1999 at 00:44:24:

In Reply to: I know this is off-topic posted by bill on October 21, 1999 at 00:24:41:

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: Thanks for your informative posts!

: I know this is off-topic, but would you know of a site that can answer some dumb questions like:

They're not dumb; but I can answer them myself...

: 1. If I save all my Word stuff (a lot) to some Zips, can I reload into a Linux OS? Will they be translated into the Word Perfact compatable format?

Right. If you save Word files in Word format (.doc), you can open them in Wordperfect for Linux; you can get a limited version for free (it has a limited number of fonts and so forth, but is otherwise fully functional; you get it included in most new Linux distro CDs. It'll open .doc files no probs.

: 2. Can saved documents from Netscape be transferred? Can Eudora saved files be restored?

Netscape was originally written for Unix; as far as I know the browser saves files in standard HTML (with a few Netscape-specific extra bits); but there's no real functional difference between the Unix and Linux and Windows versions; I think you can even transfer bookmark files between Windows and Linux flavours.

As for Eudora, I don't know. But a) you can use a dual-boot system (i.e. run Windows and Linux on two seperate partitions) if you want and boot into Windows if you feel like it or b) you can use Wine, which will run most Windows apps (including Eudora) perfectly happily inside Linux.

: (Or does dosemu let me run these programs)

Dosemu does as well. Wine's still at v0.99; but it's pretty stable and functional; it's worth giving it a whirl. If there are any questions about Wine, the best place to go is Wine HQ

(I mean, you can run things like Lotus Notes and Starcraft perfectly happily on Wine...)

: bill (still fearful of taking the plunge)

We all are initially; I'm still a little unsure after 1.5 years (every now and then), but it's worth it. As I said, if you don't want to go in at the deep end straight away, you can run a dual-boot system and run either Windows or Linux; but when you've had Windows crash and lose data for the 59th time, you start to appreciate an OS that doesn't...

Hope this helps!

Farinata.

(In fact, going to the Wine HQ page, it gives Eudora v3 a 4/5 rating (see here); it says that apart from a few graphical glitches, it works fine on Wine. Version 4 is a bit more problematic; it's a 32-bit app, which aren't completely compatible yet... )


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