[NCLUG] Linux Alternatives & Necessities for Home Use

[Rich Young]

Hey, all, looks like we're taking the plunge (for the second time) to a
windows-free life.  To pull this off, I'm going to need to be able to
adequately replace certain windows-only applications, and I also will
need to know about a couple hardware issues.  I'm hoping the list can
help.

SOFTWARE
Open Office takes care of most of our application issues, but I'm
curious about replacing Paint Shop Pro.  The GIMP is a little too
unfriendly for the rest of the family, I think, but your basic kiddie
paint program doesn't do enough.  Any suggestions?

While we're on the subject of images, does anyone know of a favorite
family-quality photo organizer to replace Picassa?

I'm also wondering about anti-virus software.  Are there any free/open
virus protection apps you can recommend?  Any other apps I should plan
to use? In the windows world, I was used to needing Zone Alarm,
Ad-Aware, Spybot Search & Destroy AND an antivirus program to keep the
machine going, but I know the risks are fewer with linux.  I just don't
want to be complacent.

What about something to convert all my MP3's to Ogg?  
---

HARDWARE
Anyone have any experience with the automount behaviour of those
internal multi-card readers on modern Fedora installations?  I'd like to
get one, but I'm not sure I can convince my family to learn to mount
manually.

Does the WinModem issue still apply, or can I expect most new internal
modems to work with the machine?  (Yes, I'm still on dialup....)

Are there any issues I need to know about in adding a new (second) hard
drive to the existing system?
---

FINAL NOTE
It's been a couple years since my last (failed) experiment in home
end-user linux.  Things have definitely come a long way.  We're using
KRUD, and so far, my printer, digital camera and CD burner have Just
Worked.  Last time, the printer was a real struggle, and I never did get
the camera or burner working.  I know this reflects more on the
thousands of developers working on individual packages, but I'd like to
thank Tummy for their part in it anyway.  


--Rich

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I'm Rich Young, and I approved this message.