Set Up Your Home Office on Linux: a Guide for Windows Users - Take Stock of What You Have and What You Use
(Page 2 of 4 )
The odds are that you have a Windows-based computer sitting in your house right now. The odds are good that this is the machine on which you will be installing your Linux. Before that happens you need to look at this machine, what is on it and how you use it.
Go ahead and open your control panel and select the install/uninstall programs icon. Don’t worry, we are not going to delete anything. We are just looking at the entries. Each entry has a "last used on" date. Which programs have you used in the last six months? In the last year?
Go ahead and make a list of these programs. The odds are that you will be surprised by the results. Now you are going to strike anything from the list that falls into one of the following categories:
1. Programs you only used once.
2. Programs that are not yours or programs that have nothing to do with your line of work. Sure, Call of Duty was fun to play, but you do not really need it on your home office machine.
3. Anything that is a system utility, your anti-virus software and duplicate function programs.
Now you have an honest list of the programs that you need in order to function. If this is your first time setting up a home office, then you may want to be sure that you at least have these basics on your software needs list:
1. An office suite.
2. An image editor.
3. A media center or manager.
4. A VoIP setup (if you are using a VoIP line for your phone setup).
5. A billing or invoice system (if you will be managing your own clients and not telecommuting from a day job).
You will need to replace these needed and used programs in order for you to be successful. Don’t worry, you will be able to find what you need on Linux. You will be able to get most or maybe even all of them for free. Now let's move on to your files.
