Hey Rob, FWIW, here's what I do, your mileage may differ! I have an Ubuntu dual boot XP SP3 box that I use for Ham Radio Stuff. There is lots of stuff that simply doesn't have linux equivalents. I too got sick of rebooting so I installed Wine. (from the Ubuntu repository)
Now, from Wine in Ubuntu, I can go to the "real" C:\ directory and run Windows stuff by clicking on C:\Program Files\whatever-program.exe. Haven't found one yet that doesn't work, since they appear to be using the native Windows API' and DLL files??? Only been doing it for a couple of weeks so haven't given it a real test yet. Be interesting to know other folk's experiences 73 de Norm, VK3XCI Mildura, Australia The Wintersun City QF15bt. On 13/08/2010 20:43, Rob Farquhar wrote: > Hi, everybody. Sorry for not posting in a while. > > A month ago, I blew my stack over some issues I was having with my > current desktop PC setup. At the moment, I run a dual-boot of Windows XP > SP3 and Linux Mint. There are some basic tasks I do in one OS that I > seem unable to do in the other, and resetting the computer several times > a day is winding me up. > > I'm hoping that you fine folks might (if you have the time, of course) > give me some advice on getting one operating system doing as much of > what I want as it can. Although I'm currently running Mint, I'm more > than happy to skip back to Ubuntu should Linux wind up being the basis > for my system. > > Now, I must warn you that I'm still very much a novice to the terminal > and the like, and while I'm willing to learn, I'm still leery of > solutions that seem overly technical, like OS emulation. > > Anyway, to kick things off, here's what I want from my PC, with some > notes on how it's working (or not) right now: > > - I'm starting to get back into serious writing at the moment, so this > is the main thing I want from my PC. I use OpenOffice under Windows as > well as Linux and I've been using Dropbox to ensure I'm working on the > most current version no matter which boot I'm running. However, if I > want to use my Brother MFC-465CN multifunction unit (printer, fax, > scanner) I have to boot under Windows; I have no idea how to set it up > under Linux and naturally Brother's website isn't the most helpful. > > - While I'm writing I'd like to be able to listen to music. My main > music collection is on Windows, managed by iTunes, which also manages my > podcast subscriptions and syncs with my 8GB iPod Nano. I've bought a > couple of tracks from the iTunes Store but I'm not too fussed if I lose > access to these. > > - Naturally, I browse the web. In theory I can do this under either > boot, but I've noticed that Windows seems to manage the multimedia side > of the web a little better, especially when I'm trying to play high-def > content. > > However, since mid-last year, Windows XP has had serious browsing > issues. No matter whether I use Firefox or IE, it's a coin-toss as to > whether any given site I go to will actually load: > > * Sometimes the browser will load the page title then sit and think. > * Sometimes it'll partway load the page then sit and think. > * Sometimes it will give me a 404 or similar for a site other than > the one I was trying to get to. > * Sometimes it'll load the page source, sometimes for an entirely > different site than the one I was trying to get to. > * Sometimes it'll load a single graphic from the page and insist > that that's everything. > > Stopping the load and refreshing rarely works, either. > > Oddly enough, this problem started recurring within a week of the last > time I reformatted my hard drive and reinstalled everything. > > - I use Thunderbird under Mint, but it's still version 2 and I have no > idea when the Mint folks will be updating Mint 8 (Helena). I was > starting to like using Version 3 under Windows, but I'm a little > paranoid about having my correspondence under that platform. > > - I'd like to use Skype a bit more often than I do, as I can't get Linux > to recognise the microphone that plugs into my SoundBlaster Audigy 4 and > I have no idea whether there's some switch tucked away in alsamixer that > I need to flip. > > - My mobile phone is a Motorola RAZRv9. In my ideal computing world, I'd > like to be able to sync its address book up with Thunderbird, which I > can't even do under Windows. I'd also like to access (and maybe even > edit) the .amr format voice notes I can make on the phone. > > - The last thing I do with my PC is play games, like Dawn of War II, > Left 4 Dead and Team Fortress 2. This is becoming less and less of a > priority (especially as I have an Xbox 360). > > Ultimately, I'd like an “at my fingertips” computing experience, where > everything I want to do is a handful of clicks and a smattering of > seconds away at any given moment. I'd be willing to tolerate a dual-boot > setup if all I used Windows for was gaming, though. > > So what do you think? Can I accomplish my dream? What will I need to do? > > Cheers, folks, > > Rob Farquhar > > > > > > No virus found in this incoming message. > Checked by AVG - www.avg.com > Version: 9.0.851 / Virus Database: 271.1.1/3067 - Release Date: 08/13/10 > 04:34:00 > -- ubuntu-au mailing list [email protected] https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-au
