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Hi, I have been looking at the Linux OP and am wondering whether to give it a try. As I only use the PC for basic photograpy, info from the web, eBay etc would this be a good move. The only other thing is would my kids still be able to use their all important MSN?
I have had enough of windows xp playing up and would just like to start from scratch with a new OP. Any views on if this is a wise move or not?
Thanks Richard.
You need to look at the software you run and see if it will run under Linux. I'm not sure if MSN will.
I've dual-booted XP and Ubuntu for a while. You can get Linux to do pretty much anything you want, with a little research. The community is extremely helpful with each other. You do have that "I'm safe" feeling knowing that viruses and malware are not currently targeting this OS and it's harder for them to 'infect' a Linux OS.
As for MSN:
Help using msn on linux - Linux Forums
Using MSN Messenger on Linux? - Linux Forums
Since I feel strongly people should stick to answering questions where they actually know something, I seldom answer computer questions. Occasionally I do give my opinion in non technical questions. If you were a geek, you wouldn't be asking. If you are dependent on others for help with your computer, you need to stick to an OS they are familiar with. I run Linux because that is what my kids and son in law know best. If you think you can manage with a little help from Need Karma and others, you might try it. It is more secure. I have been doing email and surfing the net since 1992 and never had a virus although never using any anti virus software. Before I was using Linux on this PC, I was using Mac 7.6, and before that, C+ DOS.
Be prepared to be a pariah. When I have problems with my cable connection, I have to reboot to Windows before the Bright House tech can tell if the modem is working.
Been using Ubuntu for a while.Yes it takes a little time to get used too,but at the moment,it is far more secure than Windows.However,if XP,or now Vista,which I use also,is the OS your familiar with,I'd stick with it.As Need has said (and does),you can dual-boot both Windows and Linux,but only attempt this if your comfortable.Windows can be a pain in the "you know what",but it is the OS most of us are use to.However,Linux is an excellent alternative,of which there are many distro's,and once you get the basics,you will find it easy.If you really want to play safe,save up a little cash,and buy a cheap second PC,and install the Linux distro of your choice.That way,XP will always have MSN for the kids,and you can increase your knowledge of another OS.Plus you won't have to keep Activating,once you are up and running,which is another simple,but annoyng "action",you have to do with Windows.
I've never used ubuntu, but I am a fan of Mandrake Linux. It has a pretty simple GUI, it comes with a few web browsers, and it's got a chat program that supports MSN on it already (can't recall the name... )
It's not so much that it's harder to use linux, it' sjust that everyone is already familiar with windows. Everything is just in a different place.
I'm probably too late in answering this querry. However, I was a steadfast Microsoft user from its inception 'till they dropped support for older Microsoft 98 and older software because they got tired of trying to make patches work like they were supposed too. I am now a full fledged linux user (by no means a guru, but I love the safety and security that comes with the software, and the amount of work that goes into the details for the end user (that's me, teehee) to make the experience as pleasant and user friendly as possible). Linux is by no means dummy proof, and yes I've made plenty of mistakes (helpful hint, with Linux, you find a live cd distro that works on your computer, then you make your computer whatever you want it to be with an ever growing list of free available software from gaming to scientific research). Coming off windows is a lot like growing up, it hurts a little from time to time, but the experience is well worth it (to me anyways). I really really really like not having to scan for viruses every couple of days, I really really really like not having to defrag all the time, I really really really like not having to constantly clean up junk files that windows leaves everywhere, I really really really LOVE not having to deal with the blue screen of death EVER!! I am running KUbuntu 8+ (the latest linux KDE operating system available) with all of the games, graphics, multimedia, and internet programs my old system can hadle (only taking up 8Gigs) on an old 550MHz Pentium with little more than 600Megs of RAM, a 60Gig Hard Drive, and a goofy little failing 64Mb Raedon graphics card (windows wouldn't even touch the video card anymore, what a wuss). Granted, my computer is by no means fast, but in a year and a half it has never locked up. The kids have come close to it though on a couple of occasions, usually by repeatedly dropping the keyboard, hitting the reset and power buttons, speed clicking through the menus and accessing things that they have no idea how to use, and no blue screen of death, no crashed hard drive, and no loss of any software!! Try that with windows 8-) Go ahead, try running the equivalent of windows vista on a motherboard released in 1996. I also like knowing that if I wanted to, I could install the oldest linux distro available and still have world wide support for it. The Linux community forums are helpful, friendly, and always there to support Linux users, even newbies like me. Linux and all of it's official packaging is released under GNU licensing (that means free to you and me).Quote:
Originally Posted by cornedbeef
When all is said, and all the cards are played, the choice is an individual one. To keep paying for Microsoft to make another OS that you have to buy because they dropped support for your old one? To always be haunted by viruses, blue death screens, and incompatible buggy software?
These are the reasons I am using Linux.
The way I see it, when Microsoft gives up support on their software, it's like giving up on all of the customers that have supported them. Please don't think I'm mad at Microsoft. Heck, stores sell moldy loaves of bread, rotton milk, and std tainted tomatoes all the time, and with some of those cases, people actually die. In the end, it's just an OS, and if you want it, buy it. (helpful hint, keep up with you backup disks, cd's, or dvd's, Microsoft never did figure out how to properly manage the system restore to actually restore the system properly let alone try to restore personal files which it was never meant to do anyway. Neither have they figured out a way to provide anyone with a useful backup program that will work, so use Norton: look up the term bloatware) Norton, Avast, Ad-Aware, and Zone Alarm will protect you better that Microsoft ever could or will: get them, learn them, use them you won't regret it.
Ok, I'm done, sorry to have offended anyone. Hopefully, this is still a free country. And these are just my opinions. (although I have helped wean several friends and my dad off Microsoft, to which they have said they would never go back, hmmmm, my mom won't, she's skeered)
By the by, yes, Linux has software that can use the MSN messenger protocol, but without the video feed. (check out Skype, you can message, chat, talk, video, conferrence, and for small fee even make a call to any telephone worldwide for less than cost of phone cards)
Hi, thanks for your lengthy post on linux. If I can find the nerve I may now give it a try.
Cheers.
I have to comment on this. Microsoft is not the only software company that sunsets products after a time. Its not because they tired of patching it, but because the number of users had dropped to where it was no longer cost effective to continue spending resources on it. Lots of companies do just the same thing.Quote:
Originally Posted by melondrift
You are quite correct Scott. My apologies for possibly expecting too much of Microsoft. My point of view remains, though, and the reason is, not all of us are able to constantly buy the newest and hottest hardware with which to run Microsoft's latest powerhungry software. My computer might just barely be able to boot Win XP (which they've tried to drop support for a couple of times now, being thwarted by investors: even so, I wouldn't expect support for it much longer), but I would never be able to put enough memory on my machine to even cover the 1Gig requirement just to be able to boot Vista, not to mention the large amount of memory needed for running any other software on it. In short, to go with Microsoft (leaving aside all the negatives for doing so) I would have to buy a brand new machine (dual core w/ 2Gig Ram minimum for semi-stable running, quad core w/ 4Gig Ram to reduce crashing) which for me would be a rather large investment. Naaa, if I had a machine like that, I'd still stay with Linux and save all that horsepower for running software instead of just feeding the OS.
I understand your reasons and don't denigrate them. I just think you were a bit harsh on Microsoft.
Progress does result in obsolesence. It's a fact of life. Very few Model Ts are on the road and the few that are cost a pretty penny to restore.
Y'all have been most gracious in listening to my bantering, and I thank you for that. I'm just another sucker who's still kicking himself in the rear for having wasted so much time and energy on a particular type of software when the alternative is free and oh so much better for me to use. I'll stop listing reasons for leaving Microsoft now ( including a plethera of instances that currently have Bill Gates and his company in some very serious legal boiling oil ), and I'll not mention of the previous comment on cars ( sensibly keeping lid on another can of worms ), and also wish you guys the best of luck in whatever path you choose. 8-) Enjoy life. Why fight with your computer if you don't have to. Ending with my opinion, "Linux OP" in my opinion is very good, and again, yes, you can use MSN Messenger protocol with Linux just without video as of yet (this will change as Linux developers are able to write more code for the program). Linux is free, and the central groups do not release unstable software unless you really want it.
Shropshire Beef! I've found a program that is cross OS compatible ( means it can be used on windows, linux, and any other OS that is able to use some form of current C+ language. It's called "Pidgin Messenger" and can be found easily with a Google search. Another cross platform program is "Tux Paint" ( designed for youth 3 years plus ) which also uses C+ programming. The Tux Paint program we've been using on both linux and windows computers for some time now with no problems from either. I will be installing Pidgin on my brothers computer with Ubuntu Linux on it ( their Windows crashed for the last time and his wife got tired of asking me for help ( recap, mine is 550MHz - his is 1800MHz which means more than three times the processing power, mine was as fast as his when he had windows, now he has Linux and can feel the speed! )). I will let you know how the Pidgin project goes. My bad, am so excited that I forgot to say what Pidgin does, it erases the need to have a bunch of different unsafe advertisement owned messenger programs installed by combining the messaging protocol of many different services into one program. From what I've read, you can even be logged into several different messenger services at the same time. I.E. chatting to one person on MSN line while talking to another on Yahoo Chat line. AWESOME!!
I've heard of pidgin, but I prefer the browser based Meebo at meebo.com
No download necessary for that one.
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