SpiffyCharts for LINUX.

We have recently investigated a number of Linux distros with the idea of replacing our aging SUSE Linux (9.0)

Distros we either installed or tried to install were: openSuse, Xandros, DSL, Mepis and Ubuntu

- all downloaded over the web for free. (If you are looking for advice on Linux installations, you should really look to experts such as DeskTopLinux - not us. What follows is just our very limited experience.)

openSuse would not install on our admittedly old Dell Dimension with its 1 gHz P3 processor. (Next year maybe.)

Ubuntu installed easily (more later) and is graphically pleasing.

Xandros installed easily and is a VERY polished work. It's great, I recommend Xandros - but its not free.

DSL is free but we could never figure out how to use it! I may be too old but I do like all of my OS's to work in a similar fashion. Since I work with Mac, Windows and Linux, I want my Linux to look and work at least vaguely like them.

Mepis installed and worked fine.

I tested SpiffyCharts on each of the above installations and found one thing which worked with Suse 9.0 failed on all of them and that "everything" else worked normally. So it seems that I can select one Linux for routine testing. (The one failure is cosmetic and I can handle it.)

I first selected Ubuntu 6.1. (I do recommend it.)

BUT. I'm very annoyed with the installer which came with Ubuntu. It may be my fault for not being a Linux expert but it screwed up my Dual Boot system. I can no longer boot into Windows, which I need for testing SpiffyCharts. What I needed was an installer that knows a lot more about disk partitioning, LiLo and GRUB then I do. Ubuntu is not alone in partitioning your hard disk to suit its own desires, so I had a really messed up hard disk and no access to Windows. There are several web tutorials about installing Ubuntu to allow a dual boot computer. (So why isn't this capability in the Ubuntu installer is such a way that non-experts can muddle though.) My old SUSE 9.0 could do it!

Anyway, after some hard work, I did the impossible and installed a second hard disk in my old Dell Dimension L1000R. Windows XP is on my orignial disk and now MEPHIS 6.0 os on my second disk. (The Mephis installer is much easier to use than the Ubuntu installer.)

So MEPHIS is IT and I even have printing working from SpiffyCharts. All remaining Linux issues involve small graphical layout differences and it will take some time to completly fix all of those.

And we need to learn how to make a linux package installer. (Ugh!)

We would very much appreciate Linux users who test this version and let us know what happens. (Good as well as bad!) Serious testers will recieve a one year Pro license for free.

info@spiffycharts.com

Make sure the subject line contains the word SPIFFY.


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