Gary, > And so on to the questions: > As a relative newbie to Linux, will installing Debian cause > me too much sleeplessness? Opinions "out there" seem to vary. > I've been running Knoppix > 3.3 off CD to begin to reacclimatise myself with Linux.
You left out a vital point: what do you use you're pc for? General browsing, email and word processing? Or does it extend beyond that? > I'm planning on keeping the old machine around and hopefully > access Optusnet cable for both. What sort of hardware would > be needed to enable both machines to be connected to the net, > and for my machines to be able to exchange files with each > other (more from old to new)? A Router (there are many) that will connect to your cable modem and then to your pc's. They all usually come standard with an inbuilt 4 port switch, so that will serve you just fine. Examples that will do the job: http://www.everythinglinux.com.au/cat/hardware/routers (I don't have any association with elx, you could possibly get it cheaper at www.ht.com.au) ELX sell a linksys for $95.50. I have been running this same router for a couple years and its served well. Do you have any experience with networking computers? If not, I shall explain further on how to connect the machines to the router. For exchanging files, setup samba on the debian box and then you can browse the shared files on the debian box from the old machine. Cheers, Adam. -- SLUG - Sydney Linux User's Group Mailing List - http://slug.org.au/ Subscription info and FAQs: http://slug.org.au/faq/mailinglists.html
