[Mono-list] Stoked about what you guys are doing.

[Gabe & Emily Gunderson]

.mono folks,   First I should say that I was raised on windows.  I'm self employed and write my business solutions in VB.  Why? Easy, RAD, Ubiquitous.  When I found out that a project done in the .NET scope could in the future run on a Linux system - BOOM - downloaded my first three distros to see which one was going to replace all of my windows systems (20 copies of windows, office, etc can get pretty spendy).  Anyway I think you guys are up to something sweet.  I'm redoing my business apps in VB.NET and will deploy them on our Wintel systems until that fateful day when mono sets my office F R E E  (PUN VERY MUCH INTENDED!!!).   I think one thing that would greatly improve your site is a discussion board.  People like myself who are unfamiliar with all of the Linux talk need help every-now-and-again.  There are lots of places to read about your work but no good discussions.  I have no where to go for help/info; No one in town even knows what the heck .mono is even after explaining it.   Lastly, I have a few questions.  I truthfully don't expect anyone to answer my questions, as you probably get many, however, here I go! (and these my seem dumb)     What do I need to watch out for when programming in VB.NET so that I'm sure to be able to run those apps on Linux?     Will I be able to use Microsoft SQL Server 2000 or will I need to switch to a specific Open Source Database.  Will I need to recode?     Will built-in reporting be supported for crystal reports?  This is a heavily used part of our system.     Who about writing to the registry? As I understand it, Linux does not have a counterpart to the registry.  Should I avoid relying on that feature?   I could go on (but not without felling like I'm taking advantage of someone's kindness).  If I knew where to get this type of information I could accelerate the rate of development of our app and not trouble you with these questions.   Thanks for letting me chatter, Gabriel