Let's talk Linux!

[Rockrz]

OK, I've been thinking about getting a third computer to play with some progs that could replace Windows and MS Office. (I'm not that interested in Vista)

Linux seems to be the next best operating system (not interested in Mac) that is an alternative to the status quo. I'm thinking Open Office will probably work out fine to take the place of my MS Office progs.

So, what version of Linux is the most stable? I know it's been around awhile so there should be some good stable versions available (I like trouble free!)

Does anyone know of an eFax program that will work on Linux? I've been using the program from eFax.com (not their service, just their program cause it works great)?

This program saves documents in .efx format, but it's basically a .tiff image converted to .efx (Hopefully, I'll be able to find a prog for Linux to work with .efx extensions)

Anyway, what would you guys recommend as being the most stable version of Linux OS? Redhat, maybe?

[Rob]

I have used and had good success with Redhat in the past, but a very popular distro that is known for ease of use and stability is Ubuntu. I have used it, but not enough yet to grade it one way or another.

On the efax script I am not sure. There are a few results from google on efax linux, but cannot confirm that they will do what you need. Here is one of them.

[Rockrz]

Great info...I went of to the Ubuntu website and noticed that Dell is now offering that version of Linux on new computers.

Kinda what I had in mind is getting a good second hand laptop (not that I really need a laptop) and installing a brand new hard drive, which at that point would be a good time to install Linux.

Thanks for the links for Ubuntu. The reason I would have to have a prog that can handle .efx extension is due to having saved paperwork submitted by clients over the past 5+ years using the eFax program.

I've become very used to having is because I can incert graphicsm, text, and other modifications to documents as needed after they've been faxed to me by efax, which is how all of our clients submit paperwork.

So, if I were ever able to switch to Linux full time (which I'm seriously considering now), I'd have to have a prog that can work with .efx
Looks like Open Office would take care of getting rid of MS Office.

What would you recommend to replace Outlook Express?

[Rockrz]

Does anyone know if Open Office has an email client?

OR, should one consider using Thunderbird?
Does Thunderbird work with .dbx files like Outlook Express does?

[Alan]

No, there is no email client with OpenOffice.
Thunderbird uses mbox format. If you are going to switch from O.E. to Thunderbird, it will convert your email but only from the main identity (if you have multiple identities). You can convert other identies, its a little tricky, but can be done.

[Rockrz]

Is there an Open Source email client that uses .dbx file extensions?

Seems like there would be since there is an open source office suite that works with the same file extensions as Word, Excel, etc