Hello all,

I posted this on the OT board, But I know not all of you go over there. I'm thinking about building a bare bones PC for my garage, and I was wondering if I will have trouble running the PET software in a non MS environment, probably Linux. Anyone done it? I can't wait to be able to view PDF's (ie workshop manuals) and fetch MP3's from my LAN so I can jam out while under the car. I'll need to get one of those protective keyboard coverings though...

 

I've lost track on the latest Linux news, but apparently that windows "emulator" WINE is getting pretty good these days. I wouldn't be suprised if you could run PET through that.. check out http://www.winehq.org/ for more info

 

You might check out the web site of the company that makes the database engine they use. they may have a linux version.

 

I must point out Wine Is Not an Emulator.
(It's actually a GNU/Linux native implementation of the Win32 API).
I feel bad recommending proprietary software to a fellow Free Software user, but if Wine doesn't work, you could try VMware. I used it at my last job to run Lotus Notes on my Debian machine and it worked great.
What is PET anyway?

Hey Roberto, if you're using GNU/Linux anyway, you might as well ditch your mp3s for ogg vorbis. I did it one album at a time. The sound quality is much better and the files are smaller.
Don't convert them though, rip them again. If you convert, you'll combine the lossiness of the two codecs and get a lower quality file.

It's nice to know there are at least two Penguin lovin' Porsche owners in AZ.

 

Ag, I know what WINE stands for, hence the quotes around "emulator"

 

I just wanted to say the recursive acronym.

 

Thanks all,

AG951, I have not officially put on the "red hat" but I have wanted to give the old penguin a try for awhile now. If I'm going to build a second PC, I am going to go Linux. The only reason I still run Windows on my main comp is because of my other addiction, my first addiction, Video games. As for PET, I don't know what it stands for, but it is the Porsche parts database. It is a graffic database of all Porsche parts and part numbers. There are newer revs, but who cares, It's not like we need any part numbers newer than the 968 ones.

 

As long as you already have a copy of Windows, I would say to give VMWare a try. Looks like a 30-day trial is a free download. Plus, it's really neato.

 

recursiveness rules
vmware works very well . . .
where can one find PET?

 

I wouldn't use redhat (and I don't). It's not a bad distro, but it's not great.
With both debian and gentoo, I can type in a single command like "emerge mplayer xmms MozillaFirebird" and it will install those programs and every library and program required by them. It makes installing and upgrading easy.
Both require quite a bit more computer aptitude than redhat, but in the end it's worth a little extra work at the start to save hours each time you upgrade or install packages.

 

I vote for Mandrake, at least the last time I used it (I think it was version 7.1) it was pretty much like Redhat, only more "finished" ... or, if you can say so, user friendly. http://www.mandrakelinux.com/en/

Of course there are as many opinions as there are different distributions, debian is cool too

 

I'm not sure of what version of Windows your other PC is running, but it may be possible to find a freeware Remote Desktop Protocol client and bring the Windows display back to your Linux box over your LAN. I know Server 200x has this capability. I'm not sure if you can do remote admin on the desktop Windows OSs or not. Just another idea.

jp

 

jp944, regular windows 2000 and XP both have that feature built in. Any windows OS that has Terminal Services running can do it . . . . . .

 

I know theres a freeware RDP client for Solaris. I'll see if I can turn up a URL for a linux version. Might be a cheap fix.

jp

 

yeah, there's also a RDP client for OSX . . . .
with M$'s attitude towards Linux, though, I'd be REAL surprised if they made a client for penguins . . . . . .
the only way it'd exist is if someone reverse-engineered it, like the samba group did with CIFS . . . . and I haven't heard about that happening, but that doesn't mean it hasn't . . .