Re: Cost of Debian software

[Mark Phillips <mark@ist.flinders.edu.au>]

> At present i am using an intel pentium 233MHZ computer with 4.3 GB
> hardisk I would like to acquire your debian software to help me
> perform mainly excel and word function . is there any authorised
> dealer in Malaysia? how much it cost Thank you.

Debian is a distribution of Linux.  Linux is an operating system.
What Debian gives you is Linux together with a huge range of other
bits of software.  Linux is basically a version of Unix.  It is
different from Microsoft Windows.  Indeed it works much better than
Microsoft Windows and it is free!  The only think you need to pay is a
small charge for a CD with Debian on it.

I would recommend that you install Debian Linux on your computer.  To find
out where you can buy a CD, read this web page:
    http://www.debian.org/distrib/vendors
You should be able to buy it fairly cheaply - probably at about US$5 for
a CD.

If you want to do spreadsheet and wordprocessing things, perhaps the
best thing would be to install Staroffice on your computer (after you
have installed Debian).  This is compatible with excel and word -- and
it is free for non-commercial use.

I would definitely recommend Debian, but I should warn you: Linux is
harder to learn than Microsoft Windows.  If you decide to use Debian,
it will take you a while to get used to things, and you will have to
do lots of learning.  But I think it is worth it in the end.  You will
learn lots about computers, and have an operating system which is much
better than MS Windows, and it will be MUCH MUCH cheaper!  But the
choice is yours --- if you're prepared to put in the time and effort,
you'll be glad you did.

If you have more questions before you decide whether to go with Debian,
send them to this list and I'm sure people will be happy to answer them.
Also, have a look at the web site:
      http://www.debian.org/
to find out more about Debian.


Cheers,

Mark.



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        "They told me I was gullible ... and I believed them!"