 |
 |
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Chances are that if you already are not a Linux user, sooner or later you will want to try Linux. So, if you buy computers and computer-related items that are compatible with both Linux and Windows, you will be all set when you decide to try Linux. The GNU-Linux operating system (OS) is superior to the Microsoft Windows operating systems. The underlying operating system architecture of the GNU-Linux OS is better than the underlying architecture of the MS Windows OSs. Linux is more secure. And perhaps even more important, Linux is Free and Open Source Software (FOSS). Please see our article Gaël Duval Tells Why Mandrake Linux Is Better Than MS Windows. The Pogo Altura64 Workstation is for Linux and Windows UsersIn the computer system department, we suggest the Pogo Altura64 Workstation. It's a well designed and a well-built desktop computer. You can get it with GNU-Linux or MS Windows pre-installed. Or, you can get a Pogo Altura64 Workstation with both Linux and MS Windows pre-installed in a dual-boot configuration. That way whenever you start your Pogo Altura64 Workstation, you can select (at boot time) whether you want to launch a Linux session or a Windows session. By the way, you should be able to access all your MS Windows files while you are booted into Linux. Also, we recommend that if you have both MS Windows and Linux that you use Linux for all your Web surfing and e-mailing. MS Windows is very vulnerable to privacy and security exploits -- particularly where Internet activity, including Web surfing and e-mailing, is involved. Linux is very secure, especially compared to MS Windows. Linux has one of the best Web browsers available, the Konqueror browser, and an excellent e-mail client, KMail. Both Konqueror and KMail are free and come with most major Linux distributions. They are part of the K Desktop Environment (KDE) applications suite. With Konqueror and KMail, you no longer have to put up with all the Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE) and MS Outlook problems and security vulnerabilities. Pogo computers generally are designed to be shipped, and usually are shipped, as multi-boot Linux and Microsoft Windows computer systems. In part that is because one of Pogo's objectives is to help people migrate from MS Windows to the GNU-Linux operating system. If you now are a Microsoft Windows user, getting a dual-boot Pogo Altura64 is a great way to get your feet wet Linux-wise. With a dual boot Pogo Altura64 you still have an MS-Windows computer. But you also have a Linux-based PC too. That way you can try Linux a little at a time while still having MS Windows available until you are ready to make the complete switch to Linux. Top Quality Under the Hood of the Pogo Altura64
We have such a Pogo Altura64 here. It works great and is a real workhorse. The Pogo Altura64 is an excellent machine. Our Pogo Altura64 Workstation came with 64-bit SUSE 9.0 pre-installed. Since the Pogo Linux Altura64 arrived at our lab, we have added 64-bit SUSE 9.1, several editions of Mandrake Linux, and 64-bit Fedora Core to what now is a multi-boot, Linux computer. One thing the Pogo Linux Altura64 Workstation is not is an el-cheapo, five and dime store toy. Rather than the typical, mass-merchandiser 32-bit, 2-GHz CPU, the Pogo Linux Altura64 Workstation comes with a high-speed 64-bit processor. And rather than the el-cheapo 20-40 GB old-style IDE hard drive, the Pogo Linux Altura64 Workstation comes with a 120-GB serial ATA hard drive -- the new standard in PC hard drives. The five and dime store el-cheapos still are using older style 32-bit CPUs and IDE hard drives. They are selling you the end of the old line of now outdated hardware. With Pogo, you get the latest publically available, yet well-tested, technology. Of course you are going to pay more for a quality Pogo Altura64 than for the mass-market el-cheapos. The Pogo Linux Altura64 Workstations start at $999 for the standard configuration. But they are well worth the price. The hardware Pogo uses is top quality and Pogo customer service and technical support is as good as it gets. Pogo Customer and Technical Support Are Top QualityPogo supports both the hardware part of the computer systems it sells and the software it puts on them. Thus, none of this nonsense where the system provider tells you the problem is in the software and to contact the software provider or where the software provider tells you the problem is the hardware and to contact the computer system provider. With Pogo, you get support for both the hardware and software. During the course of our evaluations of the Pogo Altura64 and the several Linux distributions now installed on it, we had many occasions to discuss Pogo Linux, the Altura64 and other Pogo computers, and the Linux distributions (distros) with the Pogo people. They are very impressive people. The Pogo people are exceptionally professional. They are very knowledgeable about Linux, software, and hardware. The Pogo folks have a distinct commitment to excellence, an uncanny pride and honesty in their workmanship, and a profound dedication to getting things right. Oh, yes -- the Pogo Linux people are well-committed to Linux. If all that sounds to you as though we like Pogo Linux, you got it! We asked Pogo CEO Tim Lee and Pogo Linux Engineer Jesse Keating:
The Altura64 Workstation Is For Home, School, Business, and Enterprise UseThe Pogo Linux Altura64 Workstation makes a great prime computer for home or school use. It is something of which you can be very proud. And you ought to be able to do just about anything you might want to do with a personal computer with the Pogo Linux Altura64 Workstation. In many ways, the Pogo Linux Altura64 Workstation is an enterprise level computing system priced where home and school users can afford it. Don't let the name workstation fool you when it comes to the Pogo Linux Altura64 Workstation. This machine also makes a nice server. Homeonwers plus small to medium sized businesses (SMB) can use the Pogo Linux Altura64 Workstation for both workstation and server duties. And it makes a great workstation for the enterprise environment too.
The Pogo Linux Altura64 Workstation is very well designed, works well, and works with Linux and MS Windows. Moreover, the Pogo Linux Altura64 Workstation is a very powerful computing machine. Thus, it provides a particularly notable bang for the buck -- especially if you factor Pogo's great customer and technical support into the equation. Therefore, the Pogo Linux Altura64 Workstation gets a MozillaQuest Magazine Editor's Choice Award. Resources
SanDisk Digital Audio Players for Linux, Mac, and Windows Make Nice Gifts (Editor's Choice) Under $30 Stocking Stuffer for Linux, Mac, and Windows -- The Lexar USB JumpDrive Christmas Season Holidays & Computer Suggestions 2002:
Free Software for Your New Computer -- Or Any Computer Linux Gifts for Christmas, Holiday, and All Occasions |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
