Here is a quick list of programs on Client computers.

At this time we are now installing SuSE 10.1 on all computers. (10.0 systems are almost identical.) We are doing a fairly complete install. We now include many programs and accessories that are considered optional by Open SuSE. We include Flash and some Xine extensions as well many extra programs. At present we do not include DVD playback software as none of the computers we receive have a DVD players nor are most of these computers fast enough to do DVD playback so we decided to dodge the questionable legal status of the DVD code in question. We strongly recommend that you work your way through the start menu trying the various programs. Most computers related jobs have programs already installed you just have to find it. The list below will help you figure out which program to use when you wish to do something with the computer. However, remember that this list is not all inclusive so even if you do not see what you need on this list look though the start menu or search on line.

CD BURNER - Your CD/DVD Burner program is K3b. While most CFA client computers only include a CD player we decided to let Yast install K3b as CD and DVD burners are becoming quite inexpensive.

CHAT AGENT - Most of our client computers have two universal chat agents installed. Gaim is the best know of all chat agents for Linux and I understand that a Windows version is available. The other is Kopete and comes default with the KDE desktop that our computers have installed as standard. Both clients are easy to use and set-up.

EMAIL CLIENT - The email client that we now install is Thunderbird. We find this to be both easy to use and setup.

MIDIA PLAYER - Kaffeine, RealPlayer, Totem, Xine. In reality Kaffeine and Totem are just GUI front ends for Xine.

IMAGE VIEWER - Gwen View, Kview, Img Seek & Kwik Show. Simple viewers Gwen View uses both thumbnail views and full size views so it can replace a image catalog program. Img Seek is a image cataloging viewers.

PICTURE EDITOR – Gimp, inkscape and carbon14. Gimp has the power of high end graphics editors like Photoshop yet it is free. The single largest gripe about Gimp is that it work in a very different manner than Photoshop. This is really only a problem for those that already know how to use Photohsop. Inkscape is a good solid editor/drawing tool. OO Draw is included with Open Office – it is still some what primitive but starting to become usable when working within Open Office.

OFFICE SUITE - Open Office and Koffice. Open Office (sometimes called OO) is a full featured full function commercial grade set of office programs. It opens and works well with 99.99% of all MS office files. In fact there have been times when Open Office managed to open MS Office files correctly when MS Office could not manage it. (This usually happens when you try to open a DOC or XLS file with a version of MS Office other than the one that wrote it). The only problem with Open Office is that It is big and sometimes slow especially on the computers we give out. If this slowness bothers you you may want to try Koffice – a smaller lighter office suite for Linux only – it does lack the full fledged support of MS products that OO manages, yet it is a good basic system.

FINANCE - Gnu Cash, Kmymoney are included. Both are check book balancing programs that can do simple bookkeeping as well.

WEB BROWSER - FireFox, Konqueror, and Opera are the main browsers included. FireFox recently has been taking the Internet by storm. The real joy in using FireFox is that it is quite safe to use even in Windows, however, the real selling point on Linux is that it can be easily extended. And there are hundreds of possible extensions available today. Please she hour instructions on Extending FireFox for both great extensions and instructions on installing them. Opera is a browser based on the same rendering engine as Firefox but with lots of built in features. Konqueror is in reality your system browser it is sometimes called the Swiss Army knife of computer programs. You launch it every time you click on your Home icon or My Computer Icon it is what you use on KDE as your file manager and yes, it makes a decent web browser as well.

WEB EDITOR - We include Nvu on your system for those that want to set-up or edit a web site. Nvu is a “What you See is What you Get” type of editor. Easy to use and understand even by a novice.

GAMES - As anyone knows that sees our computers we include a lot of games – many of them are children's games. You can also find children's games under the “Edutainment” heading on the main start menu. Some on-line games will work just fine (note that none of the games at MSN.COM will work – though the exact same games at Yahoo.com will work just fine). One of the major problems with game on CFA client computers is that these computers are too slow for some of them – this is what is happening when the game works but is running too slow to be enjoyable or is “jerky”. For running “Windows games” on your CFA computers please see – the WINE entry below.

WINE - Wine is a Windows environment emulator. This is much harder to do than one might think. We include Wine and a installer package on your computer. You may wish to go to TransGaming.com to get their version of Wine and its installers if you are looking to play Windows games on your computer. This is not a free software package but it will install and run hundreds of Windows games on your computer. The one thing it cannot overcome is the processor speed in your computer. Before purchasing any games we strongly suggest that you make sure that 1. The game will work under wine and 2. that the games specs say that that it will run on a computer of your processor speed or less.