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You are a Windows user. You know the software, you know what to do, where to go, and even how to really screw it up. You've squished bugs, jumped through blue screens, and spent a small fortune maintaining the system. Now you are ready for something new.
Now you have probably run the Live disk, or maybe installed it on a separate hard drive, or dual booted, or whatever. If you haven't, you may want to review the section for new computer users as there are a few points you might want to review. You like it, and are intrigued by the prospect of running it full-time. So, now that you have your shiny new Linspire disk in hand, let's begin shall we?
First thing you are going to want to do is put the disk down and walk away. That's right, just walk away. Do nothing with that disk or even Linspire until you have established a few things.
What do you do in Windows right now? How important is what you do to your computing life? Internet, E-mail, and chat are all programs similar to those in Windows and will be easy to adapt to.
However, Linspire does not natively run Windows programs. So, you have specialized software like Print Shop, QuickBooks, or a third-party application you will probably not be able to run Linspire full-time.
There are emulation programs like Cedega for games, Crossover Office that can run Microsoft Office and other programs, and Win4Lin that actually runs Windows inside a Window in Linspire. These programs do cost extra to run so if you can find alternatives that do run in Linux or if you can do without, you will save money,
Now, you can just jump into Linspire with both feet, but it will make it much easier on you if you start one toe at a time. Download and install OpenOffice, GAIM (if you chat online), Thunderbird and Firefox or Mozilla Suite for Windows and start using them. All of this software is included with or available in Linspire.
If you learn how to use cross-platform software in a familiar environment, you will have a much easier time transitioning to Linspire. This advice is especially true in business when transitioning users to a Linux environment. Switching them over slowly will save support costs in the long run because it will not be such a shock to your users and your IT staff.
Once you are comfortable with the software used in Linspire, your transition will become much easier.
