[TriLUG] re: conversion

[Alan Porter]

I did the same thing in 2004 and I have not looked back.

Suggestion... do not put yourself into a dual-boot situation.  You will 
get an itch to do something in Windows and you'll boot into Windows and 
next thing you know, three weeks later, you realize you've forgotten all 
about converting to Linux.  It's too easy to get lazy.

Instead, copy your entire Windows disk to the external drive.  Format 
the 80G C drive using the Ubuntu install CD.  Copy the files that you 
like (the data files, your "home" directory) from the Windows (external) 
drive back to the Ubuntu partition.  Try to make do.  It's like moving 
to a foreign country... everyone else seems to be getting along OK, and 
you just need to be put on the spot to make it work for yourself, too.

Make a list of all of the apps that you run.  No, scratch that.  Make a 
list of all of the TASKS that you do.  Example: checkbook, sort 
pictures, digital camera transfer, play MP3's, print resume, read email, 
surf web, etc.  Keep track of which apps you installed to do each task.  
Some will take a long time to get moved over (it took me a long time to 
switch from Quicken to Gnucash, but in this case too, I am not looking 
back).

If you run into a snag, install vmware server or vmware player (player 
is a Ubuntu package, easy to install).  Make a virtual machine and 
install Windows on it (maybe Win98, it's lighter weight).  Then you can 
run the hard-to-replace stuff (TurboTax, etc) inside of a sandbox.  This 
gives you the capability to run Windows stuff, but it makes the 
experience a little less desirable than running Windows natively.  It 
also allows you to do the onesy-twosy Windows tasks without shutting 
down everything else and rebooting.  It helps reinforce the idea that 
you need to be finding replacement apps instead of finding a way to run 
Windows apps under Linux.

If you need any pointers, send me an email.  I'd be happy to share some.


Alan


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