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Running a business on desktop Linux —
by Howard Fosdick —
Foreword -- This paper surveys Linux's suitability for use by owners of very small businesses and the self-employed. It was written by Howard Fosdick, a self-employed database consultant who finds Linux fairly well-suited to his needs, and reckons it has saved him thousands of dollars in recent years....
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13 reasons why Linux should be on your desktop —
by Kim Brebach (Oct. 16, 2007) —
 In this guest column, technology marketing consultant Kim Brebach, who last month published an essay titled "13 Reasons why Linux won't make it to a desktop near you," discovers why desktop Linux has thrived despite what he terms its "troubled childhood."
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An in-depth look at Puppy Linux —
by Howard Fosdick (Oct. 8, 2007) —
Foreword: Guest columnist Howard Fosdick has previously used Puppy Linux to successfully revive "mature" PCs. Now, he takes a broader, deeper look at the parsimonious distribution and its potential value on normal desktop PCs, covering its features, flexibility, capability to peacefully coexist with Windows, ease of use, and limitations....
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13 reasons why Linux won't make it to a desktop near you —
by Kim Brebach (Sept. 11, 2007) —
This guest column by Kim Brebach, a consultant with an Australian technology marketing group, examines the Linux phenomenon from the perspective of a marketeer wondering why it hasn't caught on more, and what it would take to move it forward. ...
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Is Linux Really Ready for Simple Users? (Part 1 of 8) —
by Kim Brebach (Sept. 11, 2007) —
This engaging and insightful eight-part series by Kim Brebach, a consultant with an Australian technology marketing group, explores the suitability of desktop Linux for ordinary computer users. Follow Brebach's often-amusing foils and fumbles as he investigates a veritable alphabet soup of Linux distributions -- from Damn Small Linux to Zenwalk....
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Newbie flunks Firefox update —
by Murry Shohat (July 18, 2007) —
 OK, Desktop Linux heads, I'm a confessed newbie trying to switch to Linux from XP. My simplyMEPIS install from an ISO went well, but now, on day two, my attempts to install the just-released Firefox update have failed....
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SLED 10 SP1: a great Linux desktop gets better —
by Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols (July 2, 2007) —
Sometimes, a service pack comes along that really makes a big difference. Take NT. Before SP3, it was garbage; afterwards Microsoft had its first server operating system that was worth anything. XP before SP2 was so-so, but after SP2, it became Microsoft's best desktop operating system ever (sorry, Vista). ...
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Seven steps to Feisty Fawn bliss —
by Rick Lehrbaum (May 4, 2007) —
 With the release of Ubuntu 7.04, aka Feisty Fawn, I naturally couldn't resist taking Kubuntu, my preferred Ubuntu version, for a quick spin on my trusty old Thinkpad testbed. ...
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Desktop Linux distributions -- from A to Z —
(Updated April 26, 2007) —
There are hundreds of Linux distributions. This handy reference guide includes the ones we think are especially interesting for desktop Linux users -- from Arch Linux to Zenwalk -- and we plan to update the list on an ongoing basis....
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A first look at SimplyMEPIS 6.5 —
by Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols (April 4, 2007) —
 I have a nomination for the "Worst possible situation to review an operating system" award. Review it, SimplyMEPIS 6.5 release candidate 2, while stuck in a hotel room 2,000 miles from home with food-poisoning. ...
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A Vista vs. Linux Matchup - Part 4: Software Wars - Bundled Apps —
by Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols (Feb. 21, 2007) —
Foreword: This is Part 4 of a series that pits Microsoft's new Vista OS against MEPIS, a Ubuntu-based Linux distribution. When we last left our fearless curmudgeon, he had his system dual-booting Vista and MEPIS. In this episode, he compares the operating systems' bundled games, browsers, and instant communications applications....
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A Vista vs. Linux Matchup - Part 3: Hardware Wars —
by Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols (Jan. 31, 2007) —
Foreword: This is Part 3 of a series that pits Microsoft's new Vista OS against Linux's fair-haired boy, Ubuntu. At the conclusion of Part 2, our fearless curmudgeon had just finished configuring his test system to dual-boot Vista Ultimate and SimplyMEPIS 6.01, an Ubuntu-based Linux distribution with a KDE desktop. ...
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A Vista vs. Linux Matchup - Part 2: Dual-booting Vista and Linux —
by Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols (Jan. 26, 2007) —
Foreword: This is Part 2 of a series that pits Microsoft's latest wares -- Vista -- against Linux's fair-haired boy -- Ubuntu. When we last saw our fearless curmudgeon, he was busy preparing a level playing field for Vista and Linux to play -- and work -- together on....
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Results from the OSDL's 2006 Desktop Linux Survey —
a guest column by the OSDL (Jan. 25, 2007) —
Foreword: The OSDL's Desktop Linux Working Group has released a report summarizing the results of its 2006 Desktop Linux Client Survey. The report appears below; be sure to click each question in the list at the bottom of the page, to view a graph of each question's responses....
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Desktop Linux 2006: The Year in Review —
a guest column by the OSDL (Jan. 25, 2007) —
Foreword: The OSDL's Desktop Linux Working Group has published its first year-end report on the state of the overall desktop Linux ecosystem. The report provides insight into the year's key accomplishments in terms of functionality, standards, applications, distributions, market penetration, and more. ...
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A Vista vs. Linux matchup -- Part 1: Leveling the Playing Field —
by Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols (Jan. 24, 2007) —
In this multi-part series, DesktopLinux.com columnist and operating system curmudgeon Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols pits Microsoft's latest wares -- Vista -- against Linux's fair haired boy -- Ubuntu -- to see how the pinnacle of commercial desktop operating systems stacks up against the free, community-developed Linux upstart. ...
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"I tried Linux and was very disappointed" —
a guest column by Andy Stone (Jan. 11, 2006) —
Foreword: Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols received a thoughtful response to his recent column titled "4 Reasons to Dump Linux." Since many of the points expressed by the writer may be typical of issues facing Windows users who try switching to Linux, we obtained the writer's permission to share his comments here. ...
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Baby Linux steps —
by Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols (Dec. 26, 2006) —
So, you want to give Linux a try, do you? Good for you! You'll find that desktop Linux can work well and doesn't come with a tenth of the security problems that makes using Windows such an adventure....
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The well-tempered Debian desktop —
by Rick Lehrbaum (Updated Dec. 23, 2006) —
I recently reported on my good results with migrating an old server from RH7 to Debian Sarge, beginning with the network-install CD. Responding to my comments that an install of a Sarge desktop on my old Thinkpad left me less than impressed, several readers admonished me for not installing Etch....
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Debian: server yes, desktop no —
by Rick Lehrbaum (Dec. 12, 2006) —
 I recently decided to retire Red Hat 7 after seven years of loyal service as a firewall/router-OS on my home LAN. Like a red-headed stepchild grown old, it had become cranky from extended neglect, and no longer would even shutdown or reboot without issuing nasty messages....
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Putting openSUSE 10.2 through its paces —
by Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols (Dec. 8, 2006) —
 Sooner than anyone expected it, Novell Inc.'s openSUSE community Linux distribution project has delivered a new version: openSUSE 10.2. As a dyed-in-the-wool SUSE user since S.u.S.E Linux 4.2 first appeared in 1996, I decided to immediately give this version a try. ...
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Firefox 2.0 RC 2: better, not perfect —
by Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols (Oct. 10, 2006) —
I've been using Firefox since it split off from Mozilla back in 2002, and it's easily my favorite browser. It's safer than Internet Explorer; it's open-source, unlike Opera; and I vastly prefer its interface to those of Konqueror, Epiphany, and Safari....
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What's the best Linux for beginners? —
by Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols (Oct. 9, 2006) —
I recently received a letter from a computer pro who's nearing 80. He's disgusted by "how [Microsoft] things have developed, and how most software is put out there full of errors and omissions. Help is virtually none existent. One really has to dig to find answers."...
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Seven Linux distros fight over one old ThinkPad —
by Rick Lehrbaum (Oct. 4, 2006) —
 Like most companies, my employer has a stash of old, "obsolete" PCs and laptops that won't run the latest versions of Windows worth a darn. Naturally, this represents a great source of systems for testing the latest Linux distributions....
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