[ale] Taking the plunge

[Greg Freemyer]

Okay,

My desktop office computer died yesterday.  I got a new Dell and it
came with Vista.

After 5 minutes use, I put in a new blank drive and installed OpenSUSE
10.2 as my new desktop OS.  I've been using UNIX/linux on servers for
years (okay decades if the truth be known.), but this is my first
desktop experience.

So I expect to have some basic questions as I come up to speed.  I
tend to use both the ALE list and the opensuse list to ask questions.
Any thoughts of which is better for my forthcoming basic questions?

My first basic question.  Should I go ahead and throw in the towel and
install a Xen VM with XP on it just so I know I have a fallback for a
couple Windows only apps I run?  (The new machine is a core DUO.
Should have VT to allow Xen to run Windows.)

My second basic question is which office solution to use since I have
to be compatible with the rest of the company/clients.  ie.
Interoperability is key.

1) Open Office 2.2 from the suse build service
2) Sun Office (from ??)
3) MS Office via wine (does it work?)
4) MS Office in a Xen VM.

Question 3:
I need to make a Viseo type drawing today.  I can deliver it to others
as a PDF.  What tool should I use?

Thanks
Greg
-- 
Greg Freemyer
Litigation Triage Solutions Specialist
http://www.linkedin.com/in/gregfreemyer

The Norcross Group
The Intersection of Evidence & Technology
http://www.norcrossgroup.com