 The magazine of the Melbourne PC User Group Corel Linux Major Keary |
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It is pleasing to see such a significant vendor supporting Linux with the
release of its own distribution, Corel Linux - which is based on the Debian distribution - and a Linux
version of WordPerfect Office 2000.
With the trend towards less hard-copy documentation, the 'official' Corel Linux guides published by
McGrawHill make the use of this powerful combination all the easier to install and use. There are two titles,
one dealing with the operating system, and the other with the use of WP Office 2000.
Corel Linux
The full title is Corel Linux OS Starter Kit; which suggests it is pitched at Linux beginners. Indeed,
it is; the authors write: "We believe that anyone can learn to use Linux at whatever level they want to. If
you just want a single-user and a copy of WordPerfect to do your work at home, you can do that. If you want
to run a powerful web server. you can do that too. We show you how in this book. Linux doesn't have to be a
mystery."
I am not sure about a "powerful web server", but if you want to have Linux on your machine to run
professional office-suite applications, then this is a very good place to start. A companion CD contains
Corel Linux and WordPerfect 8 for Linux.
The information is well presented and written in a style suitable for first-time users with much of the
material is in tutorial format. Even if you intend installing a different distribution, the information here
is amongst the best explanations for new users of Linux and all its bits and pieces that I have seen.
Considering that a boxed copy of Corel Linux sells for around $70, the extra fifteen is a steal for this
excellent guide for new users.
| Merlino and Wrightson: Corel Linux Starter Kit ISBN 0-07-212459-8 Published by Osborne McGraw-Hill, 650 pp. + CD, RRP $84.95 inc. GST |
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WordPerfect Office for
Linux
An excellent guide to the installation and use of the WordPerfect Office Suite on the Linux platform,
WordPerfect Office 2000 for Linux presents comprehensive explanations and tutorials for each of the
component applications: WordPerfect 9, Quattro Pro, Corel Presentation,
CorelCENTRAL, and Paradox.
The companion CD with Corel Linux Starter Kit includes a fully functional copy of WordPerfect 8, but
the Office 2000 suite has to be purchased separately. I have seen it advertised at $270 (inc. GST), which is
exceptional value.
The book is a full-blown manual suitable for first-time through to experienced users. For those who may not
have used Paradox, it is a superior database made all the more powerful when combined with
ObjectPAL, an object-oriented programming language that is easy for non-programmers to use. The book
includes an ObjectPAL primer that assumes no prior knowledge of this important development tool.
Not mentioned in the text is that WordPerfect is SGML-enabled, a feature that can be used to create XML
documents.
| Rackus, Wrightson, and Merlino: WordPerfect Office 2000 for Linux ISBN 0-07-212238-2 Published by McGraw-Hill, 787 pp. RRP $69.95 inc. GST |
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Reprinted from the October 2000 issue of PC Update, the magazine of Melbourne PC User Group, Australia
