Uncle Roger's
Linux Conversion

I was about to embark, however, a project that required a pretty peppy Windows machine -- for the time. I needed at least a 486-33, with at least 8mb of memory, running Windows for Workgroups 3.11. So it was time for a new computer.

After much comparison shopping and magazine browsing, I settled on my current laptop, an AMS TravelPro 5300, sporting a blazingly fast '486DX2-66. I went all out on the memory and hard drive -- 16MB and 340MB, respectively -- but skimped a bit on the screen and got a monochrome system. All told, it came to over $3,000, but it was worth it.

Jump forward to mid-1999, and that laptop now has 32MB of memory, 2GB of onboard disk space (plus 3GB of SCSI disk space at home), three docking stations, nearly a dozen batteries, four power supplies, an external battery charger, and more. I also have three identical backup machines, purchased used over the years. (One is currently running Linux and serves as the gateway between my home network and the Internet.)

But it also lacks a sound card, the floppy drive died a long time ago, and the screen looks awful small and bland these days. So once again, it's time for a new laptop. This time, however, I don't want a Windows machine; I want to run Linux full-time if possible.

Unfortunately, the Real World still manages to rear its ugly head, and I have to do more than play MP3's and place bids on eBay. Now, I know I can do everything I need to under Linux; I just don't know how to do it.

That's where you come in. I've compiled a list of the software I currently use most often under MS-DOS and Windows, (as much for my reference as for this project,) along with descriptions of what those programs do, and any Linux versions I'm aware of. Look over the list, and e-mail me with your suggestions for Linux replacements.

Note that the most important programs are listed in Strong text, and known Linux applications are emphasized. I am not set on any of the Linux programs I know of, so feel free to suggest alternatives that you prefer. Please include URL's whenever possible so I can actually find the software you mention. Thanks!

Applications

Dashboard

A sort of control panel that replaces the program manager. Kind of like that MS Office thing, only better. Frequently used programs are one click away; windows program groups become drop down menus. Also includes printer management, resource info, etc.

Issue Manager

A project management utility that lets you track multiple tasks with different statuses.

Microsoft Excel

Spreadsheet. I don't necessarily need Microsoft compatibility, but I would like to be able to convert my existing spreadsheets.

KOffice, StarOffice

Microsoft Word

I use Word a fair bit. Compatibility is not necessarily required, but it would sure make my life easier.

KOffice, StarOffice, WordPerfect

Intuit Quicken

I don't use this too often, but I should. I would like to be able to import my existing quicken files as well as use Checkfree. This will probably end up on a dedicated Quicken machine running windows for my wife.

Time and Chaos

A PIM with a cool name. It has Calendar/Appointment functions as well as address books and a to-do list.

Development

Edge Diagrammer

Flowcharting software. Didn't see the need for it in high school and college; it's turned out to be a big help when figuring out 20,000 lines of spaghetti code.

Programmer's File Editor

Fantastic editor. Handles plain text and is quick and lean.

Search and Replace

Searches through multiple files for a specified string and, optionally, replaces it with another. Great for global web site updates.

Visual Basic

Microsoft's updated windows-y OOP basic. I occasionally use this professionally.

Java?

Communications

Bookmarx

Checks your bookmark file for changed or broken web pages.

Eudora Pro

E-mail. Handles multiple e-mail accounts, filters messages, and more. Far more features than what I've seen from others, and a much better interface.

Free Agent

Usenet News reader. Great interface.

WS_FTP

Incredibly easy to use FTP program.

WXFTP

Reflections

Hewlett-Packard terminal emulation. Note that HP terminals are not VT-100 or ANSI terminals. They are unique to HP and a virtual necessity for HP 3000 connectivity. Without this functionality, I could not even think of switching fully to Linux. This is (mostly) what I do for a living.

mIRC

IRC client. Used it once, may use it again, could definitely live without it.

Netscape

The web browser. Runs on Linux already. Yay!

Netscape

Graphics

GIF Construction Set

Makes it easy to construct animated gifs. Not that I use them much, but every once in a while, they're useful. (And someday, I'm going to find the time to build that animated dictionary of tap dance.)

LView Pro

Image viewer with basic editing capabilities. Crop, resize, color adjustments, just the basics, but boy are they necessary!

PowerPoint

Okay, so I've only used it once. But it was fun. And I got paid for it.

Paint Shop Pro

Full-featured image editing. I wish I could actually make more use of this, but I just don't have the skills or talent. Still, I use it for scanning and some basic image editing.

GIMP?

Sound and Music

Jupiter CD Player

CD Player with database. Would like to move up to something that can access the CDDB (or its freer replacement).

Reference

As You Like It

Book reader. Not a necessity, but I would like to find something that lets you read on-line, especially if it can display the words one after the other centered in the screen.

HTML Reference Library

This is an HTML reference in Windows Help format. I'd love to find a small, portable, easy to use reference in, say, HTML format.

Accessories

Acrobat Reader

Adobe's fancy-schmancy document viewer. For all the effort it must take, I'd just as soon have HTML documents, but of course there are those who still use Acrobat.

PentaCalc

Really nice calculator with financial functions and RPN. I would love to find an HP-11C/12C emulator.

Utilities

Atomic Clock

Updates the system time to match one of the atomic clocks on the internet.

File Manager

The old Windows 3 style File Mangler. I'm used to the interface, and would just as soon stick wtih it.

Applications

PC-Write

DOS-based word processor. This is still what I do 99% of my HTML coding in. Absolutely a necessity.

VI?

QBasic

I've got some applications written in-house in QBasic. Sure, I'll get them ported to Java one of these days, but that's right after somebody figures out how to get 48 hours into each day. In the meantime, I still need to run these apps.

Timeslips

Time and Billing. Enter what you did, how long you did it for, who you did it to, and it prints invoices for you. It can also act as a timer if you want exact time. It tracks different rates for different clients, projects, and activities, and has a pretty flexible report writer. I gotta get paid!

Utilities

Smartkey

Keyboard macro program. The best feature of this program is the "SuperShift" key -- one key that acts as another shift-type key (although in sequence with other keys, rather than simultaneously). You could press the SuperShift key than, say, C, and it would be just like you had typed "cat * | grep 'fred'" only it could pause and prompt you for the filespec and search string, or increment counters, or set variables... A great program if someone needs an idea of something to work on.

WordFinder

TSR thesaurus. It stays in memory, and pops up when a particular key combination is pressed, offering synonyms, antonyms, and the like for whatever word the cursor is on. Incredibly handy if you do any kind of writing.