[scribus] Which linux for scribus in virtual box ?

[John Beardmore]

Jeffrey Silverman wrote:
> On Thu, Dec 11, 2008 at 8:02 PM, John Beardmore <John at t4sltd.co.uk> wrote:
>> Jeffrey Silverman wrote:

>>> The real solution, if dumping XP is your goal, is the other way
>>> around: Linux as the main OS and Windows XP as the VM guest.
>> That would probably preclude our running folding jobs on the GPU for example
>> ?
> 
> What do you mean by this?

See http://folding.stanford.edu/English/FAQ-ATI for example.

Essentially a technique to use the GPU as a maths coprocessor for rapid 
number crunching.  Unfortunately I don't think there are yet GPU clients 
under linux, and even under windows, a very specific driver is needed.


>>> Otherwise
>>> you can;t very well dump XP, can you?
>> It's a stepping stone that gives us access to Linux tools.
> 
> Right. But, the stepping stone will be easier to step off of if you
> have WinXP on the VM and Linux as the host.

Possibly. On the other hand, windows is already installed and 
configured.  In the short term it's less grief to establish Linux as the 
'colony' and may allow better folding.


>>> You will be surprised at how
>>> little you have to fire up the VM.
>> I probably wouldn't be having already lived in both worlds.
>>
> <snip!>
> 
> I have not used Windows for anything[1] since around 2002. For a while
> I was dual booting, then using windows in a VM, then Crossover Office.
> (This is starting to sound like an AA meeting or something)
> 
> Anyway, I really have found that I don't need to ever run Windows.
> Even many Windows-only things, such as Quickbooks, run well under
> WINE.

Never got wine to work historically.  Maybe better now.


> My wife uses Quickbooks Online in MSIE 6 under Crossover Office
> WINE. Everything I do I can do without booting into Windows. Including
> my job as a sysadmin.

We have used Open Office to work on MS Office files but have had some 
frustrating incompatibilities, particularly re headers and footers in 
complex documents. Not what you need when getting a tender done in a rush !


> The reason I don't use Windows is because, frankly, I don't like it.

I'm not wild about it myself.


> Not because of the MS monopoly quasi-political crap. It is because I
> prefer the interface, tools, flexibility, and non-nagginess of Linux
> desktops. And the fact that it is free (as in no money) doesn't hurt.
> (Actually, I'd say that's my number 2 reason.)
> 
> Anyway, good luck. I understand the weaning process. If you ever have
> questions about Linux this or that, fire away.

Many thanks !

Though we're not totally inexperienced. We've used Redhat, Mandrake, 
Debian, Ubuntu, Kubuntu and Gentoo as well as a couple of 'boot off CD' 
variants, but mostly we've used it as a server platform on AMD and DEC 
Alpha EV4 CPUs.

I have some experience of compiling things, but no detailed knowledge of 
many modern build tools, or for that matter, much experience of Linux 
GUIs. Even the simulation of the retail wine market that I wrote for 
training accountants over the internet was just built using vanilla make 
at the command line, so in many respects I'm still very new to this stuff.


> I know the Scribus
> mailing list is not technically the right place but eff it, it seems
> like half the scribus users here or more use Linux and Linux users are
> always eager to talk about Linux. Because they are goofy, yes, that's
> why.

:)   No problem with that !


> [1] Slight exaggeration, obviously. But pretty close to true. The only
> thing I currently own that requires Windows is the tanning salon
> software my wife's business needs to run. So her business,
> unfortunately, runs Windows. I've run into a situation here or there
> where I had to boot into Windows. For example, Gotomeeting.com's
> shitty conferencing software. I say shitty because there are at least
> a half dozen or more conferencing tools that really are cross platform
> and I get pissed to no end when some client uses crap that makes me
> boot Windows.

:)


Cheers, J/.
-- 
John Beardmore, MSc EDM (Open), B.A. Chem (Oxon), CMIOSH, AIEMA, MEI
Managing Director, T4 Sustainability Limited. http://www.T4sLtd.co.uk/
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