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| To learn why Linux is so much a better choice than is Microsoft Windows, please see our article Gaël Duval Tells Why Mandrake Linux Is Better Than MS Windows |
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Office on the Linux Desktop
OpenOffice 1.1 -- A Complete Office/Productivity Software Suite for GNU-Linux, FreeBSD, MAC, MS-Windows, Unix, and more
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"What is KNOPPIX?"
"KNOPPIX is a bootable CD or DVD with a collection of GNU/Linux software, automatic hardware detection, and support for many graphics cards, sound cards, SCSI and USB devices and other peripherals. KNOPPIX can be used as a productive Linux desktop, educational CD, rescue system, or adapted and used as a platform for commercial software product demos. It is not necessary to install anything on a hard disk. Due to on-the-fly decompression, the CD can have up to 2 GB of executable software installed on it. (over 8 GB on the DVD "Maxi" edition)." Knoppix Information (Link in the Resources section on page 2.) Knoppix is based on the Debian Linux distribution.
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Notes
1). Reviews of the 4-GB Kingston Data Traveler Elite and the 1-GB SanDisk Cruzer Micro are in the works. Please check back for links when they have been published.
2). If Knoppix finds a Linux swap file on your computer's hard drive, it will use it for a swap file. This is an exception to the general rule that the Knoppix live DVD will not use your computer's hard drive.
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Would you like a better computer operating system than Microsoft Windows -- plus hundreds of great applications and an easy to read and follow user's guide for less then $30? Then grab a copy of Knoppix for Dummies.
Knoppix for Dummies (Wiley, MSRP $29.99) is an excellent introductory tutorial for the Knoppix distribution of the GNU-Linux operating system. It includes a live DVD with a bootable version of Knoppix. Just put the Knoppix live DVD in your DVD drive, boot your computer, and you are ready to get to work, play games, listen to music, play videos, or do whatever floats your boat.
Included on the Knoppix DVD are hundreds of great applications such as OpenOffice (functionally comparable to Microsoft Office), Gimp (comparable to Adobe PhotoShop), the Konqueror File Manager and Web browser (better than MS Explorer, MS Internet Explorer, Mozilla, and FireFox), KMail (the best e-mail client), and lots more. Just think, all that software and more plus the book and operating system for less than $30.
One thing that makes Knoppix Linux and the Knoppix for Dummies book very interesting is the live DVD, which comes with the book. If you have a PC that can be set to boot from its DVD drive, then using the Knoppix live DVD you can boot directly into Knoppix Linux, without ever installing Knoppix on your computer.
When you are ready to shut down your Knoppix session, do it. Then just remove the live DVD when prompted to do so. The next time you boot your computer it will boot into the operating system to which it usually boots -- and do it just as though you had never used Knoppix Linux on your computer. (There are some exceptions to this, but more about that further on.)
A nice thing about the Knoppix live DVD is that you can try Linux on your Windows-based computer -- without needing to actually install Linux on your Windows-based computer.
Another nice thing is that the Knoppix live DVD let's you have what amounts to a dual-boot computer without needing to repartition your hard drive in order to accommodate both the GNU-Linux and Microsoft Windows platforms.
Knoppix is a portable computer on a disc and USB key
Do you have a USB flash drive (USB key) such as the Kingston Data Traveler, Lexar JumpDrive, or the SanDisk Cruzer? If so, you can plug that into your PC while you are booted into Knoppix. Then you can save your data and your configuration files to the USB flash drive while using Knoppix -- without ever having to use the hard drive(s) on the computer.
Moreover, if you leave the USB flash drive in its original format, the MS Windows FAT32 format, you can access the USB flash drive when you are booted into the Microsoft Windows OS too.
That let's you run your Knoppix Linux OS and software on any up-to-date PC, anywhere, anytime -- regardless of which operating system is installed on the PC. You can think of your Knoppix live DVD as a portable computer on a disc and USB key-- and for less than $30 plus whatever you paid for the USB key.
For example, let's say you have a computer at home and a computer that you use at the office or at school. You are smart enough and wise enough to run Linux on your home computer but the system administrator or IT manager at work or at school is not smart enough or wise enough to run Linux on the office or school computers. So, the fool runs Microsoft Windows on those computers.
When you are at school or at work, just slip the Knoppix DVD and your USB flash drive into the computer you use there, reboot the computer, and you can be running your personalized Knoppix Linux system on the office or school PC.
You also will have your MP3s to listen to, all your bookmarks, and so forth from your home computer on your work or school computer -- and all the great software that runs on the Linux operating system too. Moreover, when you take your Knoppix DVD and USB flash drive out and reboot the computer, none of your data, files, music, bookmarks, browser history, and so forth will be on that office or school computer.
