[olug] Linux Adventure

[Amy Mason]

Hello to all of my wonderful Linux Friends,

I have a plan, and to put this plan in action, I need a lot of advice, which
is where you all come in.  I have found that although I now have a system
dedicated to Linux, I never, ever, use it.  I am too comfortable in Windows,
and honestly, I don't want to be a windows weakling any longer.  I have seen
the power of Linux, and I know a handful of commands.  I've installed Ubuntu
on average twice per OS upgrade since 7.4, and really enjoyed fiddling with
it.  However, when its time to get "real" work or play done, I turn to Win
XP, and the Linux machine collects a lot of dust. Therefore, it is my
intention to go Win-Free during my spring break from school.  (It's a
slightly longer spring break, about 12 days, as it is time to change
quarters.) I would appreciate any feedback on my plan, or the best way to
set up to make this go as smooth as possible, so here it is, please feel
free to critique, and offer advice as you see fit.

Distro: Vinux 1.3 http://vinux.org.uk/  For those who don't know, and
haven't bothered to visit the webisite. Vinux is a remastering of Ubuntu
with the express purpose of including and improving access for the blind and
visually impaired.  This will allow me to have a screen reader/magnification
for when I need it, the Ubuntu/Debian package management I prefer, and for
the most part, the ability to use the Ubuntu forums to get answers to what
are likely to be miriad questions.  Also, as an aside... I have no choice,
for accessibility I have to use Gnome, or the console, which Vinux obviously
provides.

System: Dell Inspiron 530 Desktop
             Intel Core2 Duo E4500 at 2.20 Ghz
             3 Gb Ram
             NVidia Geforce 8300 GS 256 Shared Video Memory
             21 inch widescreen dell monitor
             Epson NX400 All-in-one Scanner/Printer/Copier
             20 Gb partition of a 320 Gb SATA hard drive. (XP: 20 Gb, Vista:
20 Gb, Dell Utilities: >1 Gb, Data: 280 Gb Approx.)

I'll be wiping my Vista partition for the install and accessing my data from
the data partition of the main SATA drive, and if drivers exist, backing up
all data to an eSATA drive connected to the system.  Otherwise, backups will
be conducted between the system and a USB drive.  I'm doing this on my
primary system because I can't seem to get proper video support on my
dedicated Linux machine, and I am going to want to do everything, (i.e.
game, watch videos) from the Ubuntu machine that I normally do.

This brings us to a few preliminary questions.

1.  XP and Vista each are on their own 20 Gb partitions.  I've never
installed ubuntu on a system with as complex a partitioning scheme before,
so how do I know that I am wiping the Vista partition instead of XP?

2.  Does anyone have experience with Audible and wine, or know if its
possible?

3. My favorite recent toy is a Wacom Bamboo tablet, is there anything fun I
can do with it under Linux?

4.  Any resources you would reccomend to me for getting info on other
questions that are likely to pop up?

5.  Any general flaws in the logic that you would like to point out?

If this is simplistic enough to get me trounced on by grouchy Linux trolls,
fair enough, I know I am a newb, point me to the right man
page/forum/mailing list/(insert your favorite explative here) or feel free
to ignore me.  I've been to OLUG meetings for 10 out of the 12 last months,
and I am honestly trying, I just seem to be slow at the learning of it, and
thought this might be the best way.  I appreciate all the help you have
provided in the past, and hope you are willing to help me again.

My eventual goal is probably never going to be entirely dumping windows, (I
like games) but to try and use Linux as my primary OS, so this is a step in
that process.

Thanks,

Amy