Introduction

[paulkruger]

New member here...new to linux so a real dummy so far.

Excuse me if I ask what seems to be stupid questions but I am just starting out with Ubuntu on a spare machine to learn how to use it.

I plan to eventually eliminate the use of Windows assuming I can make linux do what I need for my business.

I am ok with the basics of finding and installing packages. I do have problems learning how to configure some things such as mounting NTFS partitions etc. so I can test my WINE on windows apps I need to run such as Quickbooks and Photoshop.

I know I can learn GIMP and probably do without Pshop but I have to keep Quickbooks because of my accountant and good old IRS.

I do try to find answers on line first however sometimes when I find an answer related to linux it just makes me scratch my head because many responses assume the viewer knows many things I don't.

Hope someone does not mind talking down to a newbie ! :p

[jenkinbr]

We were all n00bies at one point in time...

[xuCGC002]

I know I can learn GIMP and probably do without Pshop but I have to keep Quickbooks because of my accountant and good old IRS.

Acutally, instead of getting used to GIMP, you could get GIMPshop. (http://www.gimpshop.com/) It basically has the same interface.

[darrenn]

Keir Thomas is pleased to announce that his new book, Ubuntu Pocket Guide and Reference, is now available. It's a compact yet comprehensive guide to all aspects of day-to-day Ubuntu use.

Keir's book make be purchased online from Amazon.com for a recession-busting $9.94. It's approximately 5x8 inches and 166 pages (ISBN 978-1440478291).

Uniquely, the PDF Edition of the book is available entirely free of charge from http://www.ubuntupocketguide.com. What's more, people are encouraged to share the PDF Edition file with friends, and even upload it to file-sharing networks. The PDF Edition is exactly the same as the Print Edition.


Your timing is perfect they just released this book. This should really help you out a lot for free.

[Sealbhach]

It looks like Quickbooks does not run so well on Wine - see here:

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=506316

You could perhaps run it in a virtual windows machine. Virtualbox is easy to set up, but you would need at least 1G of RAM, preferably 2G.

Or you could just dual boot.

Or you could try some of the alternatives mentioned in the thread.


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[I-75]

New member here...new to linux so a real dummy so far.

Excuse me if I ask what seems to be stupid questions but I am just starting out with Ubuntu on a spare machine to learn how to use it.

I plan to eventually eliminate the use of Windows assuming I can make linux do what I need for my business.

I am ok with the basics of finding and installing packages. I do have problems learning how to configure some things such as mounting NTFS partitions etc. so I can test my WINE on windows apps I need to run such as Quickbooks and Photoshop.

I know I can learn GIMP and probably do without Pshop but I have to keep Quickbooks because of my accountant and good old IRS.

I do try to find answers on line first however sometimes when I find an answer related to linux it just makes me scratch my head because many responses assume the viewer knows many things I don't.

Hope someone does not mind talking down to a newbie ! :p

Another new member, welcome aboard!

I suggest hard drive swapping. I have a test machine where I run Windows XP, Windows 7 Beta, Ubuntu 8.04, Linux Mint 5.0, Knoppix 5.3 all on separate hard drives. I just physically unplug a hard drive and plug another in.

The benefit of this, if you want to try different distros and not sure which one you want to end up with...this is great since you wipe the hard drive clean and the other OS's are not touched...not to mention there are no problems with partition resizing if you wanted to uninstall something.

Whatever choice you make, we are all here to help. There are a lot of great helpful people here from all over the globe at all hours of the day or night. Again, welcome.