When discussing ways to switch to GNU/Linux, one of thebiggest difficulties I’ve found is finding answers to the question,”What can I replace this program with?” It’s completelyunderstandable; people don’t want to lose functionality. However, Googling for answers can easily lead to confusion andfrustration if you don’t have the background or knowledge to be able todifferentiate between the wheat and the chaff. Is there a comprehensive resource for finding GNU/Linux replacements for Windows software?

I have always been a fan of fringe operating systems.

Between 1989 and 1992, I learned and used VMS, OS/2 2.0, NeXTStep on those beautiful cubes, GeoWorks, AmigaOS, and probably half-a-dozen others that I don’t recall at the moment. I loved the diversity, the differences, the similarities. Booting an unfamiliar operating system for the first time always gave me a rush of geeky machismo, usually accompanied by the irresistible urge to grow a thick mustache and learn to fence with a saber.

Perhaps it’s a sickness peculiar to geeks. Or maybe it’s just me.