Just want one that works ... or that I can figure out

Windows takes about one year after released to get all the bugs out with sp1. On winXp complexity, sp2 was necessary? Will Vista need sp3?

Software development often went astray. What not to do? Snakes do not eat its own tail?

Newbies need help in Linux world? Try this?

Virtualization is the rage. Everything you ever want to know about virtualization explained in simple terms?

If you like cross word puzzles, you might find some unfinished Linux distros that your can help to put them into production. Only interested party with coding skills need apply. Most of us don't have the time. No matter how small a job, it may be fun for you with idled time.

Does anyone know how to setup a dual boot with 2 linux flavor and windows?

When Linux kernels were strictly 2.4.x; drivers were in /dev. The ascii codes were strictly teleptype. Xvesa vga 791 and 792 were i386 platform. You can use i386, 486, 586 cpus and better.

In Linux kerenl 2.6.x, drivers are udev in /usr; the video drivers were changed to Xorg. The ascii codes wre i686 instructions. Since the console is the operating system, the entire operating system is restricted to i686 ascii codes. The platform change, forced people to use Pentium I and better. When you use Pentium 4 or better, you have ambiguous video chipset with Analog Devices DSP cpu. So, the ATi, Nvidia and Intel video chipset all require i686 platform.

Unstructure programming is easiest in Linux applications. You just add plug-ins and add-ons and extensions on firefoe, Konqueror or even Dillo. You have the choice of putting programs on toolbars or taskbars. Unstructured just means not sequentially important in the steps you take to do a task.

Structured is also easy once you decided the functions you want in the programs. Then you use a gui interface for each function in firefox type of browser. Gui interfaces will popup or pulldown to a menu of structured functions. Usually in native language files, whether you compiled them from languages or even mixed scripts. Very small modules as interchangeable parts in binary lines of codes are used.

In Linux operating system, every component of hardware is a software file. Which is the driver of the component. Linux started with the i386 platform, and all the backward compatible drivers are still Xvesa, soundblaster Pro, lineprinter, and external serial port dialup modem. Its been that way for many years and serving us well.

Now that Linux had gone distributed enterprise system(kernel 2.6.x and i686), the hardware had gone to drive ambiguous devices with firmware and operating drivers; the sophistication of software had changed.

Kudzu and Alsa are not enough, because of the chipsets are not the entire circuit. Generic drivers often do not work. I experimented with 30 video cards, and mostly only S3 chipsets worked. Today ATI and Nvidia have many models and drivers are not generic; unless you try those bloated drivers in Windows.

When linux 2.4.x was stable, livecd took over because its fast, using only ramdisk as operating system. Then Linux 2.6.x was added to 2.4.x base. 2.6.x under livecd is really the answer to server operating system. All server software should be in the livecd with 2.6.x package. You need huge flash memory to do randisk operating system with USB flash drives. Perhaps 127 of 2gb cards. Which will use 256 mb for the ramdisk operating system but the rest for database to run the server application.
If your server website requires bandwidth, then you have to have USB broadband channels upto 127 of T41 or T4 or T1 facilities. And use 3 gb of dram for database storage, using livecd ramdisk operating system.

Microsoft has Works.

Works included word processor, database, spreadsheet and a communication terminal. Linux has to replace it with a browser to communicate on the internet.

The combination can do anything server or desktop all within the browser environment. Meaning they are plug-ins to the browser, and they can import and export data among the software themselves.

I can do engineering model with such software defining purpose and goal in wordprocessor, if a model can be borrowed from some products in existance and its data sheet(database); just by refining some incremental numbers from a spreadsheet calculation. Research work can be done just with such a combination of software.