Got my feet wet - now getting cold feet.

[James Carruthers]

Hi,
This is the first time I bring a question to this group. I've only
started to get my feet wet with Linux. I installed it (RH 9 and 7.3) on
a couple of boxes at work to see how it might benefit us. It doesn't
look like management will go with it, however, I am personally quite
impressed. I've explored around a little bit in KDE and Gnome and
installed simple things like flash player.

I am considering installing Linux on my own inspiron 1100 (upgraded to
640MB RAM and soon to have an 80GB drive). However, I have some very
strong concerns. I'd like to hear some thoughts on this to help me make
the best decision.

Some of the many problems I have to learn how to solve are:

*	Will the Linux OS properly recognize all my hardware? I've done
some reading on the internet and found that installing Linux on the
inspiron 1100 "is not easy" and that certain things won't work no matter
what, like the power, but I don't know if that goes for all distros or
maybe I was reading out-dated material? Should I stop before I start?
*	How to extract the volumes of information from my outlook pst
file and import it into something like evolution? (I have noticed that
it won't import that format.)
*	How to synch with my axim X5?, and would I need a new OS for it
too?
*	Is there an open source pdf writer in the Linux OS?
*	I do graphic design and layout work, mainly using Coreldraw 10 -
is there open source software to replace this and will it read my cdr
files or would I need to save them all as eps or something else?
*	Will the Linux OS properly recognize my usb 2.0 wireless mouse
and my plextor PX-708UF external drive? Will I be able to "plug and
play" with the PC card slot - for instance I need to get a fire-wire
jack to connect to the semi-professional digital video camera I'll soon
be using?
*	Is there open source DVD creation software available that will
make full use of my px-708uf for creating and editing digital footage?
*	Plus, I'm moving to India in 2 weeks. My work will keep me there
indefinitely. If I make the shift and things start to go wrong how hard
is it to switch back to XP?
*	I don't want to have 2 OS on my laptop, as I'll be creating
videos and I'll need all my hard-drive space for memory swapping and
writing the movies and software (although, I might keep my old 20GB
drive apart and separate with XP on it, just in case, but I'd rather
plug it in to one of my USB 2.0 ports as additional storage - it's not
the biggest drive, but it is of good quality and speed.)
*	Which distro would be best for me?
*	And, finally, what questions did I forget to ask?

Cautiously curious,
James

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