[thelist] Linux: was: Unix

regarding your evolt question. you can get linux for under $20 with
shipping from http://lsl.com/  I use redhat 6 and like it very much. You
should install Windows first then Linux. Be sure to make a boot
disk--redhat will prompt you to do this when doing the install. if you
use linux for connectivity you should use encryption where possible (eg
ssh instead of telnet). some really great books for Linux are:

A practical quide to linux (just for users--no installation and minimal
sys admin info),
running linux (more an intro to sys admin but covers many aspects that a
practical quide does and also installation of common distributions),
linux in a nutshell (command reference--very handy if you get tired of
reading man pages from the screen and/or have a hard time remembering
commands).
I've also heard that Linux Network Administrator's Guide is an excellent
sys admin book(current edition is very new and probably the best in-print
book).

I recently began using Linux at home and Unix (var flavors) at work and I
can almost guarantee that once you learn the basics of using the shell, a
good editor like emacs or vi, and the fundamentals of your flavor of
Unix, you will be way happier and have more freedom and flexibility in
computing in general. It'll be an excellent investment of your resources.
If I can be of further assistance in any way please don't hesitate to
email your questions to me. I'm no expert but am working toward that end
and also have a tremendous number of resources at my disposal.

Jim

PS with regards to vmware, note that running apps using vmware will not
give them access to your hardware and will place a greater demand on your
resources. I do not recommend it unless you have some very specialized
need. I considered it with Adobe Photoshop for windows and came to the
conclusion that it would not run on my p2 266 and 128mb ram pc well--with
vmware--so i will probably be a dual-boot person for some time to come.
-jim

delta_helix@juno.com