Samuel W. Heywood wrote: > > In the Linux world, are there any full-fledged word processor > applications having wysiwyg screen editors suitable for use by > dummies? I am speaking here of something that might be comparable > to M$-Word or WordPerfect for Windows.
There are several Linux wordprocessor that would fit the bill. However, the one most comparable to WordPerfect for Windows is Wordperfect for Linux! On my 486 (running Slackware 3.5), I use Wordperfect 8. It's bloated, but useable. > If so, can anyone recommend any particular such applications > and let me know how much they cost? Wordperfect for Linux is free. So are the other Linux wordprocessors (except for one, I think). > It was a Pentium 100 with a 1.6 MB hard drive and a 48x > CD-ROM drive and 32MB memory. > Does anyone think that this machine might be a good candidate > for a Linux box? Sure. It's better than my 486 with 28meg RAM, and that works fine. > Would it be just as easy for a total novice to computers > to learn to work with Linux as it is to learn how to use > Window$ 95? Yes. A pre-installed and pre-configured Linux GUI is just as easy to use as a pre-installed and pre-configured Window$ GUI. Point and click, no problem. However, installation is another issue. On old hardware, you will find it easier to install Win95 than Linux. > If anyone thinks I should try to install some version of > Linux on this machine for this person, please give me some > advice on how to start. I have never installed Linux before. There's the problem. With an up-to-date computer, you can use an up-to-date Linux that does most of the installation for you. However, with a survivor PC you need to do the work yourself, and this necessitates climbing the learning curve (some of us consider this fun). > IMHO, Linux will never become a very formidable threat to M$ > until computer newbies start talking about how easy it is to > learn to use. This will only happen when retailers sell their computers with Linux already installed. A computer OS is a bit like a religion -- most people tend to stick with the one they were born with. Cheers, Steven
