ANCH Operating System, based on Fedora Core
Office Suite: Open Office
Web Editing: NVU, Xinha
Video Editing: Cinelerra
Audio Editing: Audacity
Save thousands on software costs. In many cases, free software can do the job better than paid software. Call (907) 277-0951 for consulting and support.

ANCH OS is the most up to date operaging system available and it's practically immune to viruses (though social engineering might be possible). We start with Fedora Core and then completely upgrade it to the latest packages (roughly 400MB download). Then we add close to a gig of free software not included in the original DVD, including the ability to create Word and PDF documents, view flash and java in the browser, listen to mp3, watch DVD videos, play mpeg movies, RealAudio and more. We also include Wine, so you can install and run many of your favorite Windows programs. We don't yet have an install disk for this. Each installation is done by bringing the PC in and connecting it to our network. That way we can make sure everything is the latest version, tailored to your specific needs.

Linux TCO higher than Windows.

Being free software, you can pay whatever you want for Linux configuration and support. We hope you try our services before believing the hype.

Hardly anyone uses it.

Media numbers are often incorrect because a lot of people buy computers with Windows pre-installed. Many folks simply erase the pre-installed OS and install their own free software. Linux saves you money and frees you from licensing restrictions.

It can't possibly be as good as Windows.

Wrong! The new Linux desktop that we set up is an awful lot like Windows XP. In fact, you can do anything that you would expect; you can upload and view pictures from your digital camera, create wysiwyg web sites, scan, copy, print, video chat with your friends, record and publish music and videos, play games and even edit Microsoft Word, Excel and Power Point documents, access databases, create PDF documents and more. The only things you might miss are those friendly pop-ups, spyware and viruses; Linux has none of those. That and plunking down $299 for a copy of Office, which leads me to another subject. Many Windows users, though they might not admit it or even know it, are using illegally downloaded software, shared software, music or "warez" borrowed from friends. I am stating this as fact because I see it on a day-to-day basis. (I repair computers in people's homes.) I admit; I used to be just as guilty as the rest. I had all kinds of illegal warez on my computer before I turned over a new leaf and started using free software. What price can you put on a clean conscience and the ability to sleep well at night knowing your files won't be raided by the FBI or worse (Many warez titles contain backdoors which expose, or even broadcast, your private information, such as eBay, bank account and PayPal passwords.)

It's hard to set up and use.

While this may have been true with earlier versions of Linux, the new Linux is fully graphical and you actually never have to go to a command shell, unless you are using a backwards distro, like Gentoo, or following some outdated instructions on the web...

There is no support.

Do you think you can get support for Windows? Try it sometime. I installed Office 2003 just the other day. It wouldn't validate. I called Microsoft and sat on hold for 5 min. When they finally answered they said their comptuers were down. Some kind of virus, evidently. Try again tomorrow.

There is actually better support for Linux, in my opinion (This opinion is probably shared by many other Linux users out there). Linux users tend to be smarter (again, our opinion). And helpful Linux users can be found in Internet chat rooms and forums across the country. Plus it comes with extensive documentation and source code, so you are able to fix any problem yourself, given enough time and motivation. There is no shortage of information on the web, if you know where to look. If you want, you can even hire somebody to come over and set it up for you. We offer a service like this through our commercial site, comptune.com

Currently we build upon Fedora Core as the free operating system of choice. It supports the widest variety of free and reliable open-source software in one tidy package. You may wonder how we can make any money with free operating systems. Fedora Core is a big download. It won't fit on a CD. We make a little money selling DVD copies. We also collect donations to support our research.