"JJG" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > [...] > I will have to think about it some more. Especially since fat 16 looks like > my only choice of common ground. It might not be worth the hassle.
That is true, but I may have made it sound more dire than it is. My work notebook is set for dual-boot between Linux and Windows 2K. A small FAT partition for file transfer between the two suffices. The bummer will be if you want EVERYTHING on the two big drives to be shared between the two. You might just do a 50:50 split on the first drive for now, and avoid filling the big drives until you'r ready to commit to one or the other. I'd hate to lose you to the Microsoft Matrix now that we got you so close to seeing the truth! :) I can tell you from having travelled that same path a few years back: Installing Windows will by far be the easiest, and you'll initially revel in the ability to pop things up in a familiar interface and make magic happen. But one day, you'll run into something that Windows can't do, can't do well on your hardware, or that you can do with a significant outlay of cash. At that point (and this happened to me), you'll look over and realize that Linux CAN do it, CAN do it well on your hardware, and CAN do it for almost no cost other than the time you're willing to invest in learning something new. One approach sucks your wallet dry, the other leaves you with new knowledge and understanding. The capabilities are the same. I jokingly made a reference to the pills from the movie The Matrix in my last message. I'm often asked by parents what sort of computer they should buy their kids. The easy answer is of course to point them to Dell or Gateway and suggest they buy one of the ever-cheaper desktops. That makes them happy, the kid happy, and I don't get phone calls. But I'm increasingly tempted to dig up an old P200 with 64MB RAM -- something that CAN run Windows and games, but not especially well -- and give them the "red pill, blue pill" choice. Take one, and you'll wake up and nothing will happen. You'll be able to do basic application tasks, and even play a few games. Life will be OK. Take the other, and you'll waken into a new world. It will be a difficult path at first, but you can use this same computer to learn about computers and networking. You can delve into programming and find that you can write your OWN games, and your OWN applications. You can understand the Internet and the systems that support it, and the need for openness and compliance to standards, while still not restricting individual freedom to make the computer truly personal. One choice leads to a path of endless hardware upgrades and licensing fees. The other leads to still other worlds, with the only cost demanded being that you enlighten yourself enough to make it happen. Please, DON'T TAKE THE WRONG PILL! Or at least stick the other one in a pocket for a later day. (OK, that would've made the movie pretty lame, I admit. :) - Bob To unsubscribe from SURVPC send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with unsubscribe SURVPC in the body of the message. Also, trim this footer from any quoted replies. More info can be found at; http://www.softcon.com/archives/SURVPC.html
