The May 2009 issue of "Linux Pro" magazine has a "Knoppix 6.1" live DVD included. I set my Vista machine to boot with CD, and with the DVD in the CD/DVD drive, it will boot up with Knoppix Linux (similar to Ubuntu).

Too make life easier, I used a utility (on the DVD) to burn the Knoppix OS onto a 8G Flashcard which also allows about 4G to be used to establish a read/write sector. Now I can boot up without the DVD, and just have to press the Esc key during boot up to switch to the Flashcard and the Knoppix OS comes up.

I still like Ubuntu better, maybe the next Ubuntu release will show up as a live DVD on one of the Linux magazines. Just love to say goodbye to that lousy Vista OS!

Hey you can also try virtualization. Many people prefer Vmware player, but I like VirtualBox.

You can download an Ubuntu live CD from here (are there are a lot of tutorials on how to put it on a USB drive), but Knoppix is better IMHO because they have tools like GParted for repairing the system. https://help.ubuntu.com/community/LiveCD Also, there is a netbook version if you don't already know https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UNR

You can also request a free ubuntu CD be shipped to you, no shipping fees or anything. I used to use that when i had dialup internet .

https://shipit.ubuntu.com/

Hope that helps!

Hi Paul

I'm using Ubuntu here and I use a combination of wxWidgets and Geany, sometimes with wxGlade or XRCed to create GUI's.

Iv not really played with any other toolkits for long - wxWidgets seemed to make the most sense to me when I first looked, so I stuck with it.

I use Geany because it allows a single click to test/run your application, although there is nothing like a debugger involved, and it is quick and clean with a tabbed interface.

I noticed a short discussion about apt/synaptic: I don't see much difference between the two, except of course that synaptic makes a whole lot more sense to anyone who has used Windows for any length of time. Really its just about using what you are comfortable with.

As for databases, I have only used sqlite3 for fairly small scale apps, but it seems robust and is quick and easy to use if you have even a basic idea about SQL statements.

If you have any specific questions (just generalities, I'm no expert!) by all means drop me a line - You have my email address.

regards

Max