This week’s email and on-line newsletters are now available:
*   free weekly Terry”s Computer Tips email newsletter
*   weekly on-line Terry”s Computer Tips newsletter

This week’s online articles include:
*   The Eee PC Arrives
Last week, I was anticipating the arrival of the newly released Asus Eee PC. This week, my new purchase arrived and was amazing…

*   Updates Last Week
I watch a few operating systems and programs for updates — mainly because these are the ones that I use or in which I am interested. What updates or versions were new last week?

*   Eee PC – The Hardware
What’s in the Asus Eee PC?

*   Eee PC – The Programs
Unlike Windows, the Asus Eee PC comes with Linux and plenty of pre-installed, useful programs…

*   My Computer Security Software Recommendations
Want to know which Antivirus program I recommend? Which firewall program? Which Antispyware program? Which Antispam? Or, which router for your home network?

This week’s email and on-line newsletters are now available:
*   free weekly Terry”s Computer Tips email newsletter
*   weekly on-line Terry”s Computer Tips newsletter

This week’s online articles include:
*   The Tiny New Asus Eee PC
More about the Eee PC

*   Updates Last Week
I watch a few operating systems and programs for updates — mainly because these are the ones that I use or in which I am interested. What updates or versions were new last week?

*   Same Email Received Again and Again
A reader keeps receiving the same email again and again — it’s not sent again, but he keeps receiving it…

*   HowTo: Screen Print – Print Your Computer Screen
Getting the monitor’s contents, or a window’s contents, into an image…

*   My Computer Security Software Recommendations
Want to know which Antivirus program I recommend? Which firewall program? Which Antispyware program? Which Antispam? Or, which router for your home network?

*   Lojack for Laptops
Sometimes, a Call Home program is a good thing…

I’ve been reading recenly about the beta of Windows Home Server from Microsoft. This is supposed to be almost a plug-and-play server, but it seems fraught with problems for anyone who isn’t a “techie.”

One of the features that I think will be the most troublesome is the RAID data storage. RAID stands for Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks. That might make you think that it is the installed cure for backups — you couldn’t be more wrong.

RAID requires special thought even for normal use, other than what plug-and-play functionality Microsoft builds into it.

One problem with RAID is that many versions of RAID actually “stripe” data from one file onto multiple hard drives. This makes access much faster. But, it doubles your chance of a hardware failure taking out your data.

Another issue is: when a drive goes bad, how do you identity which one is the bad one? According to Robin Harris’ article Why home RAID won’t fly, even the people using RAID now will frequently will replace the wrong one!

At this point, I have no interest in Windows Home Server. If I decide to have a separaterserver machine, mine will be based on Linux — current Linux distributions make it too easy and too cheap of an option to skip.

Are you a Windows user who has been wondering about this Linux thing? Now’s your chance. Several of today’s Linux distributions are designed to be easier for Windows users to make the transition to Linux. Some of them even let you boot a CDROM and try out Linux without installing it on your computer.

Xandros Desktop (http://www.xandros.com) is designed almost as a Windows clone, with many functions duplicated in familiar places. Xandros is available in multiple different packages, from the free Xandros Desktop 3 Open Circulation Edition to a couple of business desktop versions and a server version for business.

SimplyMEPIS (http://www.mepis.com) is not quite as smooth a transition, but is still a good alternative for the Windows user. MEPIS has the added bonus of arriving as a bootable, runnable version of Linux run straight from the CDROM. After you try it (or play with it) for a while, you can click on the “Install Me” icon. It couldn’t be much simpler.

Another newcomer is the Ubuntu distribution (http://www.ubuntu.com). Totally free for all versions, Ubuntu is available for Intel x86, AMD64 and PowerPC processors. Similar to MEPIS, Ubuntu has a free downloadable, bootable, runnable Live CD. Ubuntu has a separate CD for installation, and it’s free, too. You can even request CDs and they will mail them to you for free.

Updates to Xandros, SimplyMEPIS and Ubuntu, all of which are based on the earlier Debian distribution (http://www.debian.org), are easy and managed by each’s package manager. Other Linux version have similar update mechanisms.

Continue reading Linux for Windows Users

Publication Day is here again.

Today I published my email and on-line newsletters:

• free weekly Terry”s Computer Tips email newsletter
• weekly on-line Terry”s Computer Tips newsletter

Comment about these articles using the Comments Link below…

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