Content Category Reference Information

Reference Information (5 items)

Some lists of information that I keep handy.

Replacements for Microsoft Applications

Alternative software that runs under Microsoft Windows.

Comparison of Linux email clients

Thunderbird, Kmail, Claws, and others -- what email program meets your needs?

Running Windows Software Under Linux

Six ways that you can still run Windows applications after installing Linux.

Linux Distributions for Newer PCs

Good choices if you have at least a 400 MHz Pentium II and 256 MB of RAM.

Linux Distributions for Older PCs

Good choices if you have a Pentium I or a 486, or less than 256 MB of RAM.

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Newcomer's Glossary

applications: The software that lets you do things with your computer (word processor, Internet browser, email, etc.). The programs you see and use.

distribution: Also called "distro." An operating system (usu. Linux) combined with a selection of application programs, in a ready-to-install form. Different distributions are customized for different purposes, e.g., desktop computing, music editing, Internet server, and so on.

FOSS: "Free / Open Source Software," a catch-all term. Sometimes F/OSS or FLOSS.

free software: Refers to free as in freedom, not free as in free beer. Specifically, the freedom to run, study, share, and modify the software.

howto: A short tutorial telling "how to" perform some task. See, for instance, the Linux HowTos.

Linux: Strictly, GNU/Linux. A free operating system, modeled on Unix, developed since 1991 by volunteers around the world.

open source: Refers to software whose source code can be examined, modified, and redistributed. Similar to but not exactly the same as "free software."

operating system: The software that manages your computer's hardware (disk drives, display, network connection, etc.). The stuff "under the hood" that makes your computer work.

repository: An on-line library of application programs for a particular distribution, in a ready-to-download-and-install format. In many distributions, programs can be installed from the repository with just a few mouse clicks.

Unix: A computer operating system originally released by Bell Labs in 1970. It is still widely used in several commercial variants, and in the open-source BSD Unix.