tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6208406.post4309808049275164818..comments2024-03-28T08:26:58.108-04:00Comments on Our Odyssey: All the way to Fire LakeLouisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06306854459459257368noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6208406.post-13076851293653484312009-09-01T17:05:06.142-04:002009-09-01T17:05:06.142-04:00@Ned,
I keep hoping (and I have stated here in th...@Ned,<br /><br />I keep hoping (and I have stated here in the past) that my "next computer" will not have to have Windows of any flavor on it. And, yes, I would choose generic laptop hardware with any one of the better Linux implementations; the Acer Aspire One I just bought is descended from an earlier model that actually came with Linux pre-installed out of the box.<br /><br />Unfortunately, platform- and OSindependent software is not where it needs to be. While many of my favorite and most often used applications are available on (one might even say optimized for) Linux, such as Firefox, Thunderbird, Open Office, Sumatra PDF, and a raft of others, there is a good deal of software I use on a daily basis that only runs on Windows.<br /><br />Foremost among these is DeLorme's Street Atlas and Topo USA products, which I use on a near-daily basis to do route planning. Next in line would be the Blackberry Desktop software, which is the only way I have to back up and sync my cell phone. And the dedicated tools I use to manage our DataStorm satellite Internet system are Windows-only, including the tool I use to generate and post map links here.<br /><br />Beyond that, the American Red Cross is still a Windows shop, in no small part due to the fact that the folks in Redmond donate most of the software we use, in addition to cash. In particular, we use XP Professional in the field, and all our document collaboration is done in Office 2003. So I need to keep my XP skill set sharp, and I need to have Office available, notwithstanding the fact that Open Office will open most of those file types.<br /><br />And yes, like you I keep a copy of IE (currently v6) available for those web sites that absolutely refuse to adhere to standards, and won't work in anything else. The Acer unfortunately comes with IE7, and I understand that it is impossible to downgrade on an SP3 system unless IE7 was installed over IE6.<br /><br />I discussed our hardware and software environment extensively in this post:<br /><a href="http://ourodyssey.blogspot.com/2008/04/odysseys-it-department.html" rel="nofollow">http://ourodyssey.blogspot.com/2008/04/odysseys-it-department.html</a><br /><br />-SeanSeanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17930398671280529448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6208406.post-67747548731586659752009-09-01T15:21:04.925-04:002009-09-01T15:21:04.925-04:00Sean as an ex bell labs person I would have thoug...Sean as an ex bell labs person I would have thought that you would be a linux fan.<br /><br />But when i tried to sign up for my at&t retirement it would not accept anything but explorer and windows.<br /><br />uncle nedAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6208406.post-35115776528653326952009-08-29T14:03:25.147-04:002009-08-29T14:03:25.147-04:00If it were a couple weeks earlier I would have sug...If it were a couple weeks earlier I would have suggested you come to the Iowa State Fair - our state fair is a great state fair! :)<br /><br />Nice photo!APhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12944708110004495667noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6208406.post-41466043104702997532009-08-28T19:04:14.283-04:002009-08-28T19:04:14.283-04:00Hello Sean and Louise, I can't believe we are ...Hello Sean and Louise, I can't believe we are SO close to you folks. I've been reading your blog for over a year and follow it regularly. We left our home in Memphis today and we were going to try and make FireLake (not realizing you were there) but we stopped in Sallisaw, OK, at a KOA. It was just a little too far to make Shawnee today.<br /><br />We are on our way to our home in Palm Springs for a couple of months, the Coach will go into storage until we head out later in Oct.<br /><br />Mark G.<br />Monaco Dynasty<br /><br />PS. I'm impressed with your technical and repair abilities. I didn't get that gene. LOL!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com