Migration from Windows to Linux

[David Ecklein]

Cole-

I fully appreciate your point.  Perhaps the dish does have too many flavors.
And is too large.  But I don't expect such a universal solution as you
perhaps imply.

However, to repeat my example, consider that most people running Windows are
today on the internet and are probably using Outlook Express.  A good part
of the difficulty in migration is right there.  If they have been at it for
a few years, their email archives are voluminous and constitute a
significant value to them.  Their address books and various settings have
grown like Topsy.  A utility to transfer such OE accounts into even one of
its Linux equivalents would go a long way to getting people off the fence.
Some sort of cataloging such aids to migration would be a good core for a
migration manual, and a powerful promotion for wider Linux usage.

This was the point of my post.  Not really to grouse about learning
something new.

Your Stereotypical "Grandpa" User,

Dave Ecklein


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Cole Tuininga" <colet at code-energy.com>
To: "David Ecklein" <dave at diacad.com>
Cc: <gnhlug-discuss at mail.gnhlug.org>
Sent: Wednesday, October 27, 2004 2:57 PM
Subject: Re: Migration from Windows to Linux


>
> David,
>
> First of all, welcome to Linux!  8)  As with learning anything new, it
> can be frustrating at times.  It can also be very liberating knowing
> that once you've learned what you need to, you can do what you need
> without being encumbered by horrid proprietary software that you can't
> affect.
>
> With regards to a "Migrating from Windows to Linux HOWTO", such a
> document would be rather difficult to create.  As there are so many
> different versions of windows, so many different versions of linux, and
> (possibly more to the point) many, many different types of users out
> there, such a document would be absolutely enormous.
>
> My own opinion (and I would be very interested to hear from folks who
> have a different viewpoint on this) but having such a document would go
> against one of the principles of unix - do one thing and do it well.
> Something that described a full migration of every possible setup (or
> even a reasonable subset) would be enormous in scope.
>
> I look back at when I first got started with linux in the mid 90's.  It
> was difficult at first and frequently frustrating.  I had to read a lot
> initially, experiment a lot and not a few occasions, break things before
> I really learned.
>
> Of course, it depends on the type of user you are.  If you talk about a
> stereotypical "grandma" type user, their needs are likely to be less.
>
> -- 
> "I have one plan for linux.  World Domination."
>  -Linus Torvalds
>
> Cole Tuininga
> Lead Developer
> Code Energy, Inc
> colet at code-energy.com
> PGP Key ID: 0x43E5755D
>
>
>