Small Project: Migrating Windows to Linux

Currently I'm working on a migration projet from windows to linux. You know "recently" the "goverment" enforce legal software usage. And in my country, using legal software is something very expensive. So the "only" solution is migrating current software to open source or something cheaper (if any).

Some people choose to migrate to FLOSS and they ask me to set the system. Well, I'm no a linux guru to start with. So the best solution is to choose the easiest distro available. Considering some option I decide to choose openSUSE. Perhaps the only reason I choose openSUSE is because the yast. I'm a windows centric in a way to do everything in computer, so yast is good, i mean really good :-). To setup the server use yast, to setup the printer use yast, to setup the user use yast, to setup the dos emulator use yast. Just kidding, you can't setup dos emulator with yast. But you can install dos emulator easely. My choice is dosemu, openSUSE rpm is available (use google to locate). It performs very nice. In some machine it performs better than windows :-)

But the problem is not simply solved with yast. Main function like file server is no problem. But some problem (some is not quite perfect word to describe it) like printing, print sharing, office program can't solved by yast. Not all printer supported by linux, the only printer nicely supported is HP the other need a lot of struggle to setup.

The office package included in linux is openoffice. Personally I think openoffice is good enough for daily task. But the faithfull user of MS Office can't easely accept the way openoffice works. Some example is the page format menu. MS Office user will find page format/setup under the "file" menu, but in Openoffice page format available under the "format" menu

But still the hardest part is how to change users attitude. Hey where is drive C? What linux? my friend send me file from linux, and I can't open it. Oh my, we must learn linux, why not using windows? That's the hard part. Honestly I don't want to train ther users, but who will? oh well.. just wait and see I guess. Wish me luck :-)