emh Posted May 30, 2003 Report Share Posted May 30, 2003 My dad has been wanting to drop Windows for Linux for a while now, but he hasn't had the time to mess with it yet. There are some concerns he has. He wants to generally be able to do what he can do now with his Windows installation. 1. In addition to getting rid of Windows, he also wants to get rid of Windows programs, and use native Linux programs exclusively. So that's not an issue, so far, although you should see #2: 2. He currently uses Microsoft Terminal Services to connect to the computers at his work, kind of like PC Anywhere, etc. Is there an equivalent Linux program that can connect to computers that use Microsoft Terminal Services? 3. He needs to be able to read from MS Access databases, and write to the Access file format. Can Star Office do this? Are there other programs that can at least read and write Access databases? 4. General compatibility with MS Word, Excel, Power Point, etc. That's a no-brainer. I immediately blurted Open Office. However, I wouldn't mind learning about others as well. How does Star Office, Hancom Office, or Abi Word handle MS formats? Any help would be appreciated. I've already chosen the distro for him. Three guesses which one. :wink: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramfree17 Posted May 30, 2003 Report Share Posted May 30, 2003 2. He currently uses Microsoft Terminal Services to connect to the computers at his work, kind of like PC Anywhere, etc. Is there an equivalent Linux program that can connect to computers that use Microsoft Terminal Services? any reason why he cant use vnc? I've already chosen the distro for him. Three guesses which one. :wink: :roll: Lindows? no? :? Xandros? not that? :unsure: Mandrake? :mystilol: ciao! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theYinYeti Posted May 30, 2003 Report Share Posted May 30, 2003 Microsoft Terminal Services to connect to the computers at his work, kind of like PC Anywhere, etc.There are more than enough alternatives:- VNC - XDMCP - SSH (+X11 or not) - Telnet - Rdesktop ... 3. He needs to be able to read from MS Access databases, and write to the Access file format. Can Star Office do this? Are there other programs that can at least read and write Access databases?Not directly. Not a good idea also, even on Windows . However, I've read somewhere (don't remember where) that Access databases can be read/written through ODBC, for which OpenOffice has a nice Access-like GUI front-end. Yves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emh Posted May 30, 2003 Author Report Share Posted May 30, 2003 There are more than enough alternatives:- VNC - XDMCP - SSH (+X11 or not) - Telnet - Rdesktop ... But can they connect to computers that use Microsoft Terminal Services? He can't change the software on the computers at work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phunni Posted May 30, 2003 Report Share Posted May 30, 2003 However, I've read somewhere (don't remember where) that Access databases can be read/written through ODBC. I can confirm this is true - I used a JDBC-ODBC bridge from my Java programs to access Access (!) many times I didn't use access by choice I hasten to add... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DragonMage Posted May 30, 2003 Report Share Posted May 30, 2003 Googling for that particular problem net me this link http://www.cs.columbia.edu/~nieh/teaching/...6118/resources/ Look under Terminal Services, it seems that rdesktop allows you to connect to Microsoft Terminal Services (at least until microsoft changes the protocol again). Anyway, the only way to find out is to try it, so I think it's better for you to create a dual boot configuration where you can experiment with the linux section. If everything works the way he wants to, then you can set him up for a linux only configuration. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JaseP Posted May 31, 2003 Report Share Posted May 31, 2003 Isn't it posible to convert Access database files from M$'s format to another format,... like MySQL or something?!?!? In Access 2000 you can export a database file as one of any number of file formats... Why not have your father simply convert his database to a type that a Linux native app runs on? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theYinYeti Posted June 1, 2003 Report Share Posted June 1, 2003 For Terminal Services: - Win2000: protocol RDP4 - WinXP: protocol RDP5.0 - Win2003: protocol RDP5.1 RDP4: 256 colors, no sound RDP5.0: 16M colors + sound RDP5.1: almost the same To know: XP only allows 1 single remote connection, unlike Win200X. RDesktop for Linux is able to use RDP4, for now, which means any terminal server, but only 256 colors. RDP5 is on the works, though. If you want RDP5.X right now, then look at http://www.thincomputinginc.com/. Their commercial products seem to be excellent. I hope this helps. Yves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnyv Posted June 2, 2003 Report Share Posted June 2, 2003 Isn't it posible to convert Access database files from M$'s format to another format,... like MySQL or something?!?!? In Access 2000 you can export a database file as one of any number of file formats... Why not have your father simply convert his database to a type that a Linux native app runs on? you can use ODBC or mdbtools but the main thing that keeps users hooked on access is the forms and reports, you would have to write a front end if you just converted the data to another database. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emh Posted June 2, 2003 Author Report Share Posted June 2, 2003 I neglected to mention that the computers at his work are on Windows NT, and they're a small enough business that upgrading is not going to be in the works for a while, while these still work. Thanks for the suggestions so far. I'll ask my dad exactly what he does with the Access databases, whether he just simply reads them, or if he generates reports and forms with them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emh Posted June 2, 2003 Author Report Share Posted June 2, 2003 Isn't it posible to convert Access database files from M$'s format to another format,... like MySQL or something?!?!? In Access 2000 you can export a database file as one of any number of file formats... Why not have your father simply convert his database to a type that a Linux native app runs on? That's what we're looking for, but, if he makes changes, he also needs to be able to save it as an Access database, because his work still uses Access. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tyme Posted June 2, 2003 Report Share Posted June 2, 2003 I don't know access, so I don't know if this will work, but you may be able to import the files that are not in native access format, then resave them in access format from his work machine...in my mind this should be possible. but as i said, I don't know access all that well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gowator Posted June 2, 2003 Report Share Posted June 2, 2003 Erm, will the citrix client connect to MS terminal services ? I think the terminals ervices are just a cut down version of metaframe. If you have DSL at home you could actually run Access on the server at your dads work. The problem with a linux Access read/write is the messy way the jet database is put together with the forms, macros VB code and everything al mixed up. I'd concentrate on being able to open aremote session on the terminal server. The ODBC would mean writing input forms to/from the database. Also the database engine must run somewhere and that somewhere has to be a windows environment. You could make a webform easily enough andconnect to the database at work but it will be a lot of hassle and you'd still need a tunnel. If the ICA client (or another client) works and you have DSL this is absolutely your easiest way. you can check if it will work by installing the Windows version first. The client is free to download at http://www.cirtrix.com If this continues to be a problem email; me and I'll ask another friend who does this all the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emh Posted July 8, 2003 Author Report Share Posted July 8, 2003 Well now, I've let this topic go into the bowels of the forgotten topics of the Everything Linux section. :wink: Thanks everyone for your suggestions. I think what I'm going to do is just print this whole discussion for him to read, and I'll post back if he has any other questions. I meant to do this sooner, but alas, other things took priority (music gigs, girlfriend, etc). Thanks again everyone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BooYah Posted July 8, 2003 Report Share Posted July 8, 2003 3. He needs to be able to read from MS Access databases, and write to the Access file format. Can Star Office do this? Are there other programs that can at least read and write Access databases? http://dba.openoffice.org/FAQ/FAQ.html#msaccess Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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