Re: Looking for advice from the linux gods...
On 2012-02-19 12:16:06, timothy grey wrote:
> My father is the owner of a small business. He has 2 registers with pos
> software and a machine in the back for photoshop/pagemaker. I set up file
> sharing and backups in windows to hold the pos database and his other
> documents (ads, clip art, etc). He also has a laptop with access to those
> resources. The problem is that he also uses these devices for non-business
> things like web browsing -- and the performance is seriously lacking. I've
> had great success with arch on my systems, but need something very simple
> for him. I'd like to migrate his systems to debian, for its stability and
> ease of use...but i'd like some advice. Does it make sense to have debian
> do the file sharing, backup, and web browsing and then use a virtual
> machine with xp for his business applications (photoshop/pagemaker)? Any
> advice on how to get a nice, non-techhead friendly, setup would be greatly
> appreciated. Thanks, -Tim G.
Linux is efficient with hardware, but if you run Firefox you may
be using the same application on a different OS. Try different
browsers (firefox, opera etc). If browsing is really an issue
then I think you have other problems (malware, slow connection
etc).
It will be overhead managing a second operating system, so you
will have to figure if cure is worth the medicine. If you
introduce it you will have to support it. There is overhead in
virtualization as well and could be significant if you are low on
memory in the first place.
Have you played with VirtualBox? Maybe try run Linux under
Windows before you undertake the work to do the other way.
Consider buying faster hardware. Hosted services might be
an option for you as well if you have reliable internet
connectivity. Here are some backup options for instance:
<http://ostatic.com/blog/five-linux-compatible-online-backup-and-storage-services>,
<http://www.tarsnap.com/>.
/Allan
--
Allan Wind
Life Integrity, LLC
<http://lifeintegrity.com>
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