-=> CHARLES ANGELICH wrote to WAYNE CHIRNSIDE <=-

 WC> As long as I can save in an MSWord and W.P. convertable
 WC> format I'm happy.

 CA> I've fiddled with other OS, not just Windows/DOS/Linux, and
 CA> tend to favor plain text files for that reason - maximum
 CA> readability regardless of the OS/app doing the reading. :-)

Sure, I like plain text but HTML is a close second for me
with modern operating systems.

Most browsers save and read saved HTML just fine and I
can use them in either 98 or Linux.

PDF, bleck.
HTML is as portible a document file as I need.
Seems Open Office saves in .doc format as well so Abiword
is no big deal now.

 WC>> Still prefer Firebird browser though which is included and
 WC>> the same release I've got in 98 :-)

 CA>> Firebird is OK but I prefer the full Mozilla myself. :-)

 WC> Well it's in there, haven't gone there yet.

 CA> I'm using the 'modern' scheme (skin).

Haven't messed with those options yet.
Setting up Mozilla's mail - news and browsers independently
carries over to the "full Mozilla" so I've now been there.

Snip.

 WC>> The syntax for telnet transfers is going to take some
 WC>> research on my part. I've seen references to a BSD - Linux
 WC>> hack of ztelnet but as yet no download link.

 CA> --8<--cut

 WC> I've already discovered this but it doesn't look any worse
 WC> than logging onto the internet straight out of DOS
 WC> software. I'll just figure it out, write it to file and
 WC> make the file executable... a script!

 CA> That too. No, I was referring to how zmodem is invoked from
 CA> within an active telnet connection. :-)

Yeah, I've got to figure that one out myself along with how environ
sets up in the telnet app.

 WC> I figure three years before relatively profficient if I
 WC> work at it, far less for what I _need and want_ to setup
 WC> for day to day use.

 CA> The good part is some things you can 'learn' in a few minutes
 CA> and only a few require longer. It's not like you have to sit
 CA> and wait three years before doing something useful/interesting.
 CA> :-)

 Nope, it's as usefull on install to me as
 Win 98, the install is shorter and easier for me and
 the only thing lacking for me right now is figuring out
 how to download QWK packets zmodem.

 CA>> If you make copies of a mini-install the nice part is if
 CA>> you trash it you can restore in minutes. :-)

 WC> Less, use the Knoppix root GUI image file creation and
 WC> compression utility :-) Found I could have installed
 WC> Knoppix as a compressed image the size of the CD and saved
 WC> configurations to either FAT 32 or a small Linux native
 WC> partition as well.

 CA> Loopback?

Not a clue yet only glanced at it.
Haven't been able to find the imagining utility again since I removed some
desktop icons as root user.
The boot image from disk option is in the dialog knx-hdinstall
script as an option.

Need to look into environ in /usr/share/info or /usr/info, whichever

 CA> If you could locate a local 'user group' for Linux there would
 CA> normally be CDs available from members who have fast(er)
 CA> connections and for a few dollars each you could get enormous
 CA> amounts of software to test/practice/learn/use.

That would be ideal, I'll do a search on it later.

 CA> --8<--cut

 WC>> Got GIMP, haven't used it yet.

 CA>> I found the user interface to be a bit confusing.
 CA>> Multi-level menus make finding the tools a bit
 CA>> frustrating. Memorization of where the tools are 'buried'
 CA>> in those multi-level menus seems a necessity for ease of
 CA>> use.

 WC> Roy T. says much the same though he states it's quite
 WC> powerful once you've a handle on it.

 CA> Interesting thing about how Linux software is 'reveiewed' is
 CA> that even after admitting they hardly ever use it they say it
 CA> is 'powerful'. All Linux software is either 'fast' or
 CA> 'powerful'. I wonder if this is really true and compared to
 CA> what?

 Once I've got a handle on this I may hack it down somewhat
 drastically.

 CA> My opinion is that the user interface has become the new
 CA> location for 'power' or lack of 'power'. If the interface is
 CA> confusing and causing mistakes it's not 'powerful' regardless
 CA> how fast the algorithms are and the user interface for _all_
 CA> Linux software I have used could use some tweaking. ;-)

 
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