I just switched to a MacBook, after years of PCs. Since the Mac X OS is based on Unix, it’s remarkably stable. I really love the MacBook!

I would encourage you to try Linux. But depending how you go about it, you may encounter difficulties that make you swear it’s a piece of junk.

Let me start by saying Ubuntu is NOT Linux. It is one fine distribution among many fine distributions of Linux. Too often I’ve seen people post something that boils down to this, “I couldn’t get Ubuntu to work with my wifi card, Linux doesn’t work”. I guess part of the “cost” of free Linux is that it pays to do some research. It wouldn’t hurt to spend some time reading about the various distros (distribution of Linux) and reading some blogs. Just be aware that there are small but nasty elements out there that are trying to steer people away from Linux.

To jump right in expecting to be up and running in an hour with a desktop that so similar to XP that you barely notice the difference is inviting disaster. Yes, Linux uses many of the same conventions but some people get confused because Linux is so much more powerful and configurable and I’m not talking about the command line. Speaking of the command line, if you choose your distribution well, you will never need to use it. The fright mongers out there often throw in a lot of command line this and command line that in their descriptions of how they “tried” Linux.

Linux is very easy to try without replacing XP. Method one is to simply download a Live/Install Linux CD and boot from it. Your BIOS has to be configured to boot from the CD first. Linux will run off the CD. It will be slow of course but you’ll get the idea. Another method is to replace the hard drive in you computer with a spare that you don’t mind overwriting. Then just do an install and try it. If you don’t like it just put your original hard drive back. I don’t think Microsoft will mind too much that your computer was MIA for a while.

Now for the recommendations. I use PCLinuxOS. I’ve tried about a half dozen distros and PCLinuxOS is the most trouble free. You might as well try Ubuntu, but if it gives you any trouble, don’t blame Linux. Mepis is good too. It would be my second choice if there wasn’t PCLinuxOS.

Now a word about window managers or desktops. Linux has a bazillion of them. There is KDE, Gnome, XFce, Fluxbox and many more. Some distributions allow you to use multiple managers, some don’t. Ubuntu comes with Gnome hard wired in. But there are other variants of Ubuntu that use other managers like Kubuntu (KDE) XUbuntu (XFce). PCLinuxOS comes with KDE but you can install XFce and possibly Gnome too. As far as I’m concerned look no further the KDE. When I first started using Linux I was stuck with Gnome. When I switched to KDE I was immediately able to do more with the computer. Many people swear by Gnome, others swear at it. Linus Torvalds uses KDE (he’s the founder of Linux), but it really is a matter of personal choice. Use whatever works best for you.

Ok, I’ve probably overloaded some limit on your site. Good luck and please keep us posted on your progress. I never get tired of hearing stories about people switching to Linux.

I would also encourage you to try Linux. A second hard drive added you to your computer will give you a safe place to try Linux, and a hard drive does not cost that much these days.

I use the SuSE distribution, now owned by Novell. It is relatively easy to install, and, if you don’t need networking, is almost painless. (If you do need networking, you need to turn off the firewall — or you need to have a lot of knowledge about SuSE.

Of course, I used Unix for many years; that means I can get along with the native configuration files. I have to admit that the full-screen configuration files are more often than not a little bit difficult for a new user to use. Heck, it is somewhat difficult for ME to use them, and I prefer to modify the configuration files in the /etc directory.

I have two XP computers (one laptop, and one desktop), a Vista computer (which I don’t use very much) and a couple of Linux systems. I use the Linux systems for GNUCash (a desktop accounting program) and for LaTeX (a typesetting program much easier to use than any full screen word processing program. (As Kernighan said years ago, with a “What You See Is What You Get” program, “What you see is all you get.” I also use Emacs, an editor one uses only if you are an old fart like me.

If you are familiar with Microsoft Office and Windows XP, you will have no problem using SuSE (which allows both KDE and Gnome)desktop and Open Office, which has a word processing program, a spreadsheet, and a presentation program. (Full disclosure, I don’t use the presentation program.)

Of course, it might be easier to buy a Mac; it uses a Unix based OS, and almost certainly has a better full-screen configuration program. I haven’t used a Macintosh in almost 20 years.

On other topics, unless the picture you post comes from years and years ago, you are not by any stretch of the imagination “old.”

And the only time I experiment with anything other than beer and scotch is on Saturdays, when the Wall Street Journal has a column about drinks. Even then, I don’t often experiment. A drink called “Between the Sheets” which I tried did not match Laphroiag in any way.

I guess the one thing you can do with the new Macs is to have an installation of Windows that can run in a separate window on the Mac. The good thing about this is if you have mail that won’t convert to Mac’s mail client and if there are some things you want to run under Windows that you can’t run on Mac.

This way, he could surf on the Mac – get new mail on the Mac… and still have access to Windows stuff if he needs it.

Of course you pay for this – Macs are more expensive – and there is a learning curve (regardless of what people say about its ease of use).

Then again I like Richard’s idea of creating a bootable Linux CD to play with – to see if you like it. I also agree – stick with the KDE desktop if you do.

I’ve been a linux user for far longer than I care to admit. It COULD work for you. But consider being without all of your software. Yes there are quite good office apps and “general communication” stuff.

It’s a major departure from a windows platform.

As for me I think the more “civilians” on Linux the better. But only if it makes sense.

I can honestly say that I have an extreme passionate dislike for Vista. My boyfriend, who will be gutting it once my computer is back in working order, agrees at this time. If he had known that Vista wasn’t being released with all the drivers it needed to run the hardware installed on the software (which with updates has been creating even more issues due to the fact that it makes them incompatible) he would have never gotten it.

Another thing is, when he ordered his laptop, they weren’t allowed to give out Windows XP at the time, so he didn’t have a choice.

I agree with you regarding keeping up with and dealing with the issues that come with Windows XP until the day it dies – or MS kills it.

Hmm…odd. I don’t even use an AV program on my XP box. I periodically run Trendmicro’s housecall, and various anti-spyware programs, but none are resident on my machine. I DO run Prevx2, however. I have never had a virus or a piece of spyware in more than 3 years. In fact, I even run root-kit checkers and have never found a problem.

So, not sure what he is doing, but there is definitely something wrong.

Here’s the dealio on Linux. Yeah…it appears more secure simply because no one has bothered to write a virus for it. As it is open-source, it won’t be long. Hell, I could whip one up in a few minutes. It isn’t more “secure”…it’s just “ignored”.

However, if all you use the PC for is to surf and check email, Linux will do the job. You want to get fancier, have fun. It would be less time consuming to re-install a Windows OS monthly than to go through Linux’s horrible build cycle for applications. Gak.

Oh, and before the Linux fanbois froth at the mouth at my heresy, just for shits and giggles, check out any of the apps at linux.org and tell me that a non-techy would want to wade through all that crap to find a simple program to do a simple thing.

Richard wrote: Ok, I’ve probably overloaded some limit on your site. But my brain had already exploded by that time!

Linux definitely sounds rather complicated for someone who just wants to boot up their laptop and blog. I don’t have a desktop PC that I use (I’ve gotta be mobile!) so adding a second hard drive is out of the question, unless I use an external one… and that defeats the whole mobility thing.

Using a bootable CD instead of actually installing it does sound like an option, particularly because I’d go insane if I couldn’t figure Linux out and didn’t also have the ability to immediately switch back to XP.

As for PrevX2, I love it. That program has kept my laptop spyware free for a year now, although I do also run a resident AV. The reason VH keeps encountering problems is that he doesn’t read the occasional popups — that would require, well, reading.

He got tired of seeing them and disabled PrevX at one point, which is probably what led to getting infected.

I never realized that Linux weenies had their own search engine for finding posts like yours. It’s amusing.

If you know what you’re doing Linux is good. If you don’t Windows is better.

I hate the idea of Vista. IMO it’s a bunch of graphical skins and slick motion effects on top of Windows XP. What bugs me more is that the new computers almost all come with Vista, and if you’re paying $1000 for a really good laptop, you don’t want to pay $150 more for XP, plus having to install it and listen to Vista whine about how much better it is.

Just my opinion.

That’s my impression of Vista, too. I use Stardock and DesktopX to skin my XP install. I can’t think of anything Vista can really accomplish for me that they don’t already do, and for a far lower price.

It’s not Microsoft. I’ve used only Microsoft products since the days of DOS 3.1, 4.01, 6.2, 6.22 and all flavors of Windows. I have NEVER had a virus (and I surf a lot) Now and then a bit of spyware that is removed with free software, but in 15 years of working on other peoples computers I WILL have to admit that it’s not easy to avoid getting infected. No comment about “don’t jump ship” or the failings of linux, or why Mac isn’t the answer either. just thought I’d chime in with “it ain’t always so”

One quick note about a great alt way to give him access. mojopac takes windows XP and puts it on a USB flash drive (2gb recommended) and keeps surfing, MS office apps, etc only on the flash drive – plug it into ANY windows 2000+ system and have your own computer with you – even outlook for send/rec email (but I’d use an online mail service like yahoo or gmail instead)
ZERO virus infection ability – ALL changes to the system can be rejected at “shut down” so the wipe and reload thing is a non-issue.

Good Lord, Neil. The man already thinks I’m a control freak when it comes to computer security. I can only imagine how he’d respond to “Honey, you can’t have your own computer anymore, but here’s your USB drive.”

Chelle – you may be in some trouble there. Depending on the computer, you may not be able to make XP run on it. My boss had this problem with a laptop he bought that had Vista. He hated it and thought… “all I have to do is wipe out Vista and install XP… it didn’t work! XP won’t install period.

Just be aware, if you buy a machine with Vista – you might not be able to revert back to the earlier OS. *sigh*

Kate –

(1) dont do vista; a friend that does IT curses it and the horror stories are rampant,

(2) do try a ‘live’ cd – slow to load but will
give you the feel of things. There are many
linux live cd’s available, some which can run
off a USB thumb drive.

(3) if you are feeling chipper you can be a bit
different and give Frenzy a try – its a live
CD based on FreeBSD.

Oh good grief, don’t even consider Unix, unless you are a computer geek. I run Norton 360 and Spysweeper. I haven’t had a virus in a long time, since one slipped past PCcillin. MS is vulnerable because it is the biggest target. If yo go to weird OS, you won’t be able to get half the programs you want to run on it, and support is a nightmare in most cases, and expensive.

Kate, honey,

Try Xandros 4 with Crossover Office – it will actually install MS Office & run it, as well as things like Quicken.

Two more words: dual boot. I’m teaching on Fedore 7, and you can set it up to dual boot (select fedora or Windows) at system boot time. You can get a DVD ISO image from Fedora, and load it from there.

Yes, Linux is a bit of a science experiment, *but* – my daughter, a reasonably sophisticated user, was on my laptop loaded w/ Xandros, Open Office and Firefox, and didn’t know the difference from Windows until she wanted to to a control-alt-delete.

Ubuntu ain’t bad, either.

More off-line if you wish.

get Ubuntu Linux, you’ll never look back

I’d look into Ubuntu. It’s specifically designed to be layman-user friendly, which is why I got it.

You can also set it up so that you’ve got both operating systems on your computer, and can switch between them–that way you can get a trial period without entirely doing away with your Windows stuff. Then, if you find it to your liking, you can drive the stake through the old OS’ heart once and for all

Is this a week to be driving stakes through the hearts of the big computing names or what?

It’s certainly a gratifying experience

One word …. APPLE!

I’ll join the chorus and say that you should give Linux a try. There are a huge number of distros out there. Fortunately, you don’t have to mung up your hard drive to test drive them. Most of the best have Live CD options, wherein the OS and applications get bundled onto one compact disc. You can find out which one suits your needs and style best. Here are my suggestions; feel free to ignore them:

Free
——-
MEPIS (an Ubuntu derivative, but one which uses the KDe interface rather than Gnome. Kubuntu exists, but I think MEPIS is more robust)

Ubuntu: the single most downloaded version for the last year or so. The community/forums are vital and full of information if you have any questions or problems.

Linux Mint: another Ubuntu derivative. Very attractive and functional.

Actually, the three listed above are all Debian derivatives, but I wouldn’t recommend going with Debian itself, as it can be more work than its polished children. Also, I wouldn’t suggest Slackware or its offspring unless you really like geeking out on a full-time basis. I will make an exception for Slax because it’s designed to be ONLY a Live CD distro.

Commercial
———-
Want a drop-in replacement (mostly) for XP? Check out Xandros. You can bundle it with Versora’s Progression Desktop software, which will migrate most of your current Xp settings. Your new environment will look and feel quite similar to your old Windows desktop. Oh, and it might come bundled with Crossover Office. If not, grab that software. In fact, you should add Crossover Office regardless of which linux you test. It allows you to run all MS Office products, Quicken (not fully functional for 2007) and a bunch of other Windows type software.

What will you find with the distros above? Well, you’re system will be a lot more responsive, since you won’t be running the enormous overhead that Windows requires to keep its security flaws wide open. Also, you won’t find the need to run anti-virus/anti-spam software anymore, although it does exist. And you’ll find that you’ll really enjoy being able to update your OS and all of your applications with the click of a button, free of charge.

One final thought about the Live CDs: make sure that you burn the images on a CD only writer and burn at the slowest speed available. If the drive also writes DVDs, you’re most likely to end up a CD which doesn’t work. This is the voice of ugly experience. I have an old USB 8X CD writer which I use just to burn Live CD images.

Good luck. Keep Vista at the curb where it belongs.

One more thought if you don’t want to partition your hard drive just yet: Wubi.