Since I started my quest to transition from Windows to Linux last week, many Ubuntu Linux (not Linux Ubuntu!) devotees have asked me why don’t I just get someone to do it all for me? The short answer is Linux is supposed to be free therefore I shouldn’t have to pay for it.

 I know. It’s not the software that costs. It’s the services. In my case it’s the services involved with moving all my systems from Windows to Linux. Actually, the honest answer is, I’m really starting to enjoy the challenge. I’ve even picked up a new nickname, ISO. But I can see now that this is going to be a long and winding road.

Since I only have a very short amount of time, today’s lesson for me is importing my Outlook data to Evolution. Now everybody has been telling me that I should always first check the Ubuntu Wiki. Well I did that. There are exactly four entries there about importing data to Evolution and not one of them has anything to do with Outlook.

OK then, there is always Google to try before I go begging for help on the Ubuntu Forum or elsewhere. I typed in “how to import Outlook to Evolution”, hit return, and three or four entries down the page there it is an entry on the Ubuntu forum which outlines an 8-step process of how to import Outlook to Evolution.

It seems I first have to boot my machine in Windows, install Thunderbird and import all my Outlook folders into Thunderbird. Then I reboot my machine in Linux and do some file importing into Evolution from the Windows partition. Now, what the hell’s Thunderbird? It’s late, so I guess I’ll find out tomorrow.{moscomment}