I have almost completed my changeover to Linux and in a few weeks, I will not have any Microsoft software to worry about. People who want .doc files will have to either accept printed or faxed or text format documents or will have to do without. Microsoft is not going to tell me how I have to do business. I have functional literacy with every Microsoft product and will not be held for ransom by a megalomaniac who has world domination through selfishness as a chief operating goal.
In that light, I would like to recommend two things. First is the newest edition of the browser Opera. A couple of years ago, I played around with Opera but found it to be not what I needed. Yesterday, I fell in love with it. The program is less than 10 MB withits java extensions. It is the fastest browser I have ever seen, comes in every flavor known, it seems, including Windows and Linux. It has a built in e-mail and news routine and cooperates nicely with Eudora. As for comparasons with IE and Netscape, they aren’t even close. The only drawback is that it costs $39 for a seat license. The price drops for volume licensing, but you can use it for free if you do not mind an ad banner on the upper right hand side of the window.
The second alternative is to get serious about Linux. If you are on the fence about it, do what I did. Get Corel Linux and load it into a DOS file and use it from within DOS until you are convinced it will work for you.
