Got my feet wet - now getting cold feet.

[Noah John Gellner]

I can answer some of your questions

On 21:08 Thu 19 Feb     , James Carruthers wrote:
> 
>   * 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?

I expect that the BIOS is similar to the 5100, which I have. There were initially problems with APIC, but there are now patches to make it work well.

>   * 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.)

Install Mozilla Mail under windows. It will act as a "swing". You can import your .pst into Mozilla Mail and then export to a Linux friendly format like mbox.

>   * 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?

There are a number of pdf writers for Linux. I write pdf files using open office writer but there are many other apps. Perhaps also of interest, there are apps to convert pdf files into text which can be very useful for extracting the information.

>   * 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?

Carefully check for hardware support. Best place to go is to check the various distribution websites for example SUSE, debian, Mandrake, gentoo, Redhat

>   * 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?

If you want to switch back to XP you will need to basically rebuild your system. My experience is that this is typically a 4-5 hour process. If you have the equipment you can speed this up considerably using software to take a "picture" of your XP machine and then rebuild using that image. The software I have used for this at work is Symantec Ghost. I don't know if there are free tools to do same.

>   * 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?
picking a distro is a very personal decision. I like gentoo, but it is a pain to first install because you compile a lot of your software. I compiled all of it. The advantage is that if done properly the system is optimized for your machine and use. The downside should be obvious.

I also use and recommend Debian for stability and ease of upgrades. I have heard good things about SUSE and Mandrake. I have used Redhat, but find their customized scripts and settings a hassle to upgrade.

>   * And, finally, what questions did I forget to ask
> 
> Cautiously curious,
> James

My advice, perhaps heretical, is that if you are leaving for India in two weeks and only have one computer you should be very sure that you want Linux. I have a mixed OS network at home because there are a sufficient number of annoyances that keep me from taking the full plunge. 

Best of luck.
> 

-- 
Noah John Gellner
J.D. Candidate (2006)
University of Toronto Faculty of Law
(416) 364-7550
noah.gellner_at_utoronto.ca
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