My biggest concerns in this area:Any specific components to be used with Linux OS?( I am in the process to build me a 2GHz machine).My whole accounting system is based on Quickbooks 2001, including stationary, checks etc.
This is actually my biggest concern, since I am not aware of a QB for Linux...This is also a drawback for Linux since, many sofware developers do not share the enthusiasm of a new OS system.In any case, I will really apreciate any recommandations/tips in this direction since I am getting really frustrated with Windows.
I will be stepping out with my daughter for the next couple of hours, so I won't be able to answer right the way. Best RegardsDaniel Marino

This would be a good place to start. Read the Hardware HOWTO to ensure you pick the right components. Good luck, and feel free to freep-mail me any questions. I am currently a sysadmin/developer running both linux and sunos boxes.

/john

Couple things. Don't plunge directly into Linux from Windows. Do it slowly or you'll be overwhelmed. The first place I would go for timely info and good links for all Linux is Slashdot.org. You would most likely want to get one of the secure server Red Hat distros if you're going to do a business over the internet because it can be a daunting task of closing security holes in the standard Linux distro. Next, you will have a learning curve for either StarOffice or Applixware, whichever office suite you opt for, both of which are very good products. Applixware costs about $100 and StarOffice is from Sun and free. The good news is that Linux is extremely stable and when problems are found, they are found quickly and patched quickly as well because there are thousands of people who want to keep improving this product. But make no mistake, it is not as easy in the beginning to work with as Windows is, but it can be learned just like you learned how to deal with Windoze and it's problems. As far as applications for Linux, the amount is staggering, but you may be able to get QB working using VMWare or WINE which are windows emulators for Linux. I would also look to Usenet for help as well because there is a tremendous amount of support over Usenet newsgroups.

Any specific components to be used with Linux OS?( I am in the process to build me a 2GHz machine).

First of all -- you do NOT need a machine this fast to run Linux... Get a slower processor and use the money saved to extra MEMORY (that is, RAM).

Secondly, go to Google.com and do some searching, on "Building a linux machine" for example.

Then read, read, and read some more.

There is PLENTY of information out there to help you with such a task. There are also several companies that will build a linux machine for you -- you might consider this option.

This is probably not the best forum to ask, although there are a lot of helpful and very educated Freepers... There just happens to be a lot of information already on the net regarding Linux.

Good luck.

I'll start by echoing post #3: Don't jump into the deep end the first time. If you're building your own machine put in some extra disk space -- or better yet, a second drive. Install WinXX on one and Linux on the other and use the dual boot feature of either Windows or Linux to switch.

Most any modern distribution of Linux will work with all but the most exotic hardware. But beware of WinModems and WinPrinters. Linux has a few drivers for these, but it's best to steer clear.

I use the SuSE distribution (now at version 7.2). It is quite stable and was able to find all the hardware on both my workstation and my laptop.

Good luck!

Read the hardware compatability list for whatever distribution of linux you intend to install. Trickier devices are graphics cards and scsi devices, but they have pretty decent support nowadays. For most business machines it won't matter if you have bleeding-edge graphics drivers.

That said, I am very impressed with Windows 2000 server. Nice and stable. Of course, what OS to use depends on exactly what you intend to do with it. I'm pretty non-sectarian when it comes to OS. This extends to what flavor of unix you use as well, such as BSD of Linux. If you are a security freak, go with BSD.

Along the same lines, you might want to consider a "dual-boot" machine (i.e., put Windows and Linux both on the machine, in different hard drive partitions) to evaluate switching over to see if it meets your needs and you're comfortable using it. As far as applications like Quickbooks, a quick google search shows that there are at least some applications that provide the same functionality (such as Appgen) in Linux. You can use StarOffice as your word processor/spreadsheet/presentation/etc. suite.

Intuit doesn't touch the open source OSes, they're strictly Windows and Mac. So if you want to stay with Quickbooks Linux is out of the question.

That being said there's probably a Linux accounting package that can import your QB files. Start at tucows.com.

Since you asked for pro's and con's let me lay a few out:
Windows Pros:
Lots of available software
OS is designed to be "fire and forget" (regular maintenance and tweaking is not needed)
Out of the box installation requires very little actual knowledge of anything beyond mouse movement
Data is highly portable to other machines (largely because of desktop install percentage)
Windows Cons:
Windows systems are generally slower
OS is designed to be "fire and forget" (regular maintenance and tweaking tends to introduce instability)
OS security ranges between slim (NT series) and none (9x series)
Eventually all Windows boxes need to be cleaned and reinstalled
Linux Pros:
Very stable
Very fast
Highly configurable
Actually a secure OS
Problems fixed quickly
Linux Cons:
Not a lot of software
Expert friendly (which translates to newbie unfriendly)
Install of OS and most software require some smarts
Problems fixed quickly (lots of updates that you should use)

In the end it's all about what you want for your system. How much do you like to customize your machine? How much of a power user are you? How much time do you want to spend maintaining the machine? How much of your money are you willing to give Bill Gates?

For a small business where I don't want to waste resources maintaining the system and I'm not concerned about security, I'd go Windows. You install it and the software, if it works at the end of the day you should be trouble free for at least six months, at which time (when it starts getting twitchy) you store the important stuff off harddrive format and reinstall.

If security is important don't allow MS software in the building. If your big enough to have an IT guy or department, go Linux. Keeping a Linux box up to date and tweaked to perfection can be a full time job, the benefits of doing so are HUGE, but you need a business with enough manpower to afford it in the first place.

WINDOWS: OS is designed to be "fire and forget" (regular maintenance and tweaking is not needed)

You definitely need to stay on top of patches with windows just like you do for linux, especially if you are going to expose it to the internet. Just think of 'Code Red' or 'SirCam' worms that have been wreaking havok. They would have been stillborn if people had applied a couple of patches.

Ditto to the sentiments expressed by Nyralthotep and bcoffey. If you try to force your way into using Linux, you'll regret it, and probably revert to Windows.

Take your time, learn about the operating system. Find out what software is available that you can use to get your work done.

When you feel comfortable enough with it, you can transition easier by using VMWare, which will let you run Windows in a window in Linux. $49 for personal use, and it works with pretty much everything other than games.

Linux's chief down points are its complexity and flexibility (which is also a strong point), its compatibility with new, cheap peripherals, and the selection of games (for those interested in gaming).

Its strong points are the lack of licensing hassles, the tremendous (and growing) amount of software available, customizability, and the fact that you have the source code and no one can ever take it away from you. The biggest strong point is how much you learn about your computer and operating system, and how much power you have over your computer.

Keeping a Linux box up to date and tweaked to perfection can be a full time job,

Just FYI, Debian GNU/Linux, although it is a little more of an "expert" distribution, is extremely easy to keep up to date:

apt-get update
apt-get upgrade

New version out? Need to upgrade?

apt-get update
apt-get dist-upgrade

Suggest you start with an OLDER machine, just to install Linux on to play with and to learn. It is highly compatible, but the drivers are not always right up to date, but that is changing fast too. Your P2 sounds like the ideal candidate for Linux!

Suggest you install Mandrake Linux retail edition ($20). It contains StarOffice 5.2 which is a full service Office Suite compatible with Microsoft Office, and is VERY easy to install. Accept all the defaults. You can always go back and customize later, even reinstall if you want. Can't stress too much the importance of just getting it up and running and getting some experience before making additional decisions. When you get Linux and StarOffice up and running you will have enough software to run many offices.

Red Hat Linux is also very good, but I find Mandrake a touch easier for beginners to start with. The costs are trivial, so you may want to get both. But easy upgrading is important (as with windows), and both Mandrake and Red Hat have good online software upgrade features.

Just ask if you need help. Lots of PRACTICAL experts here on FR.

Intuit doesn't touch the open source OSes, they're strictly Windows and Mac.

QuickBooks is not available on the Mac right now. So - unfortunately - he'll have to stick with Windows for the present time.

Perhaps that will change in the future. William V. Campbell, the chairman of Intuit, is a member of the Apple Board of Directors.

Furthur suggest you do NOT fool around with such things as Dual Boot, etc. to start with. You want a nice clean first time install and run, to keep your confidence up. Getting a little "saddle time" is far more important than riding the finest horse, to start with.

Around here we install removeable Hard Disk trays ($15) in every machine so we can swap HDs quickly. Since new Hard Drives are cheap (well under $100) you may want to buy a new small HD and install Linux on it so as to keep everything separate. (Several Gigs is plenty.)

I personally have both, a Linux server that provides DNS, FTP, Web Hosting, etc., and a Windows 2000
machine that provides FTP and acts as my main workstation.

Based on your information, I would recommend Windows 2000.
You're main needs seem to be a solid workstation, which Windows 2000 excels at providing.

Despite what you'll read here, Linux has it's share of security holes. You don't here about them because
Linux doesn't hold a 90% market share. Most Windows 2000 security issues would never apply to your
situation - web serving, email, ftp, etc.

If your experience is Windows, Linux will be a steep learning curve.

One possibility you should consider is a "fresh install" of Windows. When Windows gets flaky a fresh install can do the trick. It means you need to save your files, reinstall all your programs after you have reinstalled the operating system, and before you format the C: drive make sure you have a boot disk that will let you access the CD drive; but it's an alternative you should at least consider.

Being a Macintosh user, I've no technical advice to offer you, but hope you'll find this of interest: Bill Gates has been a major contributor to Handgun Control, Inc.

The Powerpack version of Mandrake 8.0, $69 at CompUSA, comes with over 2300 programs including one that's compatible with Quicken. It also comes with 30 days support.

Comes with the latest iteration of XWindows that'll run just about any MS app including DirectX controls.

>The Powerpack version of Mandrake 8.0, $69 at CompUSA, comes with over 2300 programs including one that's compatible with Quicken. It also comes with 30 days support.

> Comes with the latest iteration of XWindows that'll run just about any MS app including DirectX controls.

Thanks! I was not aware of that. Sounds like a better deal for this new user than the 3-disk $20 version if he insists on keeping Quicken.

Hello everyone, As I have hoped, the response on my request has been more than expected.
I knew from the beginning that I can rely on Freeper's expertise when "fit hits the sham", like in my situation.
Your insights is above and beyond my expectation. Thank you all, very much.