If you're like me, you've considered eliminating Windows from your computer at some point. The upgrade scheme is confusing, and there's an endless stream of hacks, viruses, worms, and exploits that target Windows computers exclusively.

Linux, by comparison, appears to be more stable. It seems to require less maintenance, and there aren't any legal strings attached to it. It does, however, have a "geeks only" reputation that scares away many novices early on. Recently, Red Hat, a Linux software company, has made an effort to change that techs-only image.


Red Hat 8.0 is the latest Red Hat release. It is regarded as a major step forward for productivity and ease of use - you don't have to pore over manuals all night to configure the kernel. It is complete with a user-friendly desktop, firewall, office suite, networking tools, Web server, and more. It's just $39.95 for the basic package ($149.95 for the Pro edition, which includes a few more bells and whistles), or free if you have the right resources and some patience. That's a far cry from the $200 price tag for Windows XP.

If you'd like to give the latest version of Red Hat Linux a test drive, check out the following links for information on Red Hat 8.0. This just might be the release that popularizes Linux on the desktop.

If you're a long-time Windows user and completely in the dark about Linux, read through Control-Escape: Alternative Software before you get started. A word of encouragement here - it's a whole lot easier to install Linux now than it was when this page was originally set up.

Once you've decided to take the plunge, you can purchase Red Hat 8.0, including a few manuals and CDs, for around $40. Alternatively, if you have a fast Internet connection and some idle computer time, you can download it directly from Red Hat . That site may be slow for a few weeks since version 8.0 has only been out for a short time. Some other sites where you may download Red Hat 8.0 are listed on the FreshRPMs site.

"Psyche" is the name for this particular version (or "distribution, " or sometimes just "distro") of Red Hat Linux.

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Not sure how to get started, or what to do once the download is complete? Here's a page from Red Hat that can help. Read the instructions first before you start downloading; if the directions seem extremely complicated, consider purchasing the boxed version. Manuals for all Red Hat 8 users are also available at RedHat.com or here.

Totally lost and confused? Ask your question at LinuxQuestions.org. You'll need to become a member first, but it's free! Stick with the newbie forum until you master the basics. Advanced Linux pros can be a little unkind to squeaky new initiates.

I hope you've enjoyed this quick tour of Red Hat 8.0's basic resources. Next week I'll let you know what I think of Linux as a desktop computing environment. I'll look strictly at how usable it is for day-to-day computing, including the programs it arrives with and how easy it is to understand from a Windows user's perspective.

If you're looking for geeky comparisons of different distros and the virtues of GNOME vs. KDE, there are lots of other reviews out there that cover that material. The upcoming article is for the rest of you, who just want to know if it's possible to use without devoting your life to it. See you soon!

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Selling Your Products Through Affiliates... Differently By Rok Hrastnik

I have a client with 18 different domain names which all point to the same web site, all to the same index.html. I hesitate to register all 18 domain names for fear of being accused of spamming the search engines. The META tags on the index page have all been optimized for the main site domain name; most of the additional domain names are irrelevant to the text on the site. Should I walk away? Richard Zastrow Commerce Data Center Questions? Click Here!

Face it - no one needs another affiliate program to join and making yours successful requires standing out from the crowd.

1. Do not offer an affiliate program at all when starting to market a product.
Start by testing your copy and direct marketing strategies, generating satisfied customers and building your e-zine subscriber base. Do not even mention planning an affiliate program at all in your e-zine or anywhere else before you launch it. This will help you retain a feeling of exclusivity later on.

2. Offer the partnership program to your customers and subscribers first, without advertising it anywhere else.
Start when you generate at least 1000 satisfied customers and 2000 e-zine subscribers. Send them an e-mail explaining how you are now ready to prerelease your marketing partnership program (do not call it an affiliate program - it will help you look different), but only to the first 25 people that qualify. The small number of available slots and the exclusivity will increase the perceived value of the program and help it achieve its USP. Treat your program like a small marketing circle of a closed group of partners and tell them so.

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3. Build personal relationships with your partners.
Do not use sign-up forms or autoresponders to accept applications - give people an e-mail address that a real human will respond to. Ask the candidates to send you their applications with an explanation of why they think they should be chosen. You are bound to receive many questions and comments; respond to all of them with great care and start building strong relationships.

4. The affiliate offer.
Whether your program succeeds is also going to depend on the offer: we got the best response when offering 50% commissions and requesting no payment to become a partner.

Using this complete approach we received 127 requests (using a database of a little over 1000 customers) in just one day; and then put them in three groups of 25 people that were able to join our program over three weeks. They all received a personal response from our staff explaining the situation and giving them further instructions. Since they were already convinced of our product's quality they immediately started to generate sales without us having to convince them of either the product's or the program's quality.

Furthermore, to help them achieve maximum success we gave them a week to promote the e-book with additional exclusive bonuses that were no longer available even on our web site.

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5. Retaining your partners by constantly giving them a reason to promote your product.
The best way of retaining your partners is gradually sending them new promotional tools and materials, such as promotional articles, an offer to use a personalized viral promotional e-book, additional ads and sales letters, etc., while still keeping all communication on a personal level. Constantly create new techniques they can use to achieve better success, but never give them everything at once - rather prepare a marketing plan for them and help them implement it one step at a time.

There's no use in having an affiliate program no one joins or having thousands of affiliates that sell nothing. Use these 5 steps and your program will be different.

Click Here for More Tips on Finding Affiliates

For information about advertising within an iEntry email newsletter or via a targeted direct emailing contact Susan Coppersmith at susan@ientry.com.