My Linux experience.

 

I spent nearly three hours on it and towards the end, got dangerously close to being overcome with that 'throw thru the window' urge!

 

Yes, I've been there myself, first with Vista, now with Windows 10. At least Vista SP2 is now a very stable OS, now that it has the hardware support it didn't at release. Seriously, a few models were released with single core 64 bit CPU's, there was one that I once took a look at & said I could no nothing to help, there were no dual core CPU's I could find for whatever the socket was. 

I'm kind of suspecting this to be part of the case with Windows 10, much of the hardware, even that of some not so older models (unless one calls 2010-12 models antiques), is strained when Windows 10 is running. The other part is not the hardware, yet the OS itself. Way too many processes running & we thought that Windows 8 was bad? Windows 10 (or 'X') is a nightmare of an OS, and this doesn't take into consideration the privacy leaks that's steadily running. Anything that one does using Microsoft Edge, be it reading emails or shopping, Microsoft knows about it. Am not sure about how or if the 3rd party browsers (Mozilla Firefox & Google Chrome) shares this data. 

Fortunately, we have a 'opt out' of all of the Windows baloney with a Linux OS, and while Linux Mint 17 (counting the .1 & 2 releases) are popular, and my favorite, there's several other just as good choices, just depends on what one likes. I didn't choose Linux Mint for the Start Menu, as Ubuntu had a similar one at the time, it just seemed to fit me over most of the rest. There was one, had I been able to use my at the time ISP (a USB cellular based dongle), would have stayed with PCLinuxOS longer than I did (believe it was KDE based). Though it's not built on the foundation of Ubuntu, which many of the Top 100 Linux distros are. 

Am glad that you're enjoying your Linux journey & the more you use it, the more you'll discover the differences between Linux Mint & Windows. No dozens of background processes fighting each other for as many resources as possible, svchost.exe is a bad offender with several of these alone running, and what we don't know for certain is that one could be Malware in disguise. This is because many security choices ignores 'protected' Windows files, or sees all as safe, also one could have just opened a Malware laced email & running a Full scan will miss it entirely while everything is being encrypted. Then Bingo, one has to pay ransom to get files back, if the drive isn't imaged often, and after backup, ensuring the drive is disconnected or manually powered off (I prefer to power off & unplug the external). 

With Linux, while it's not impossible to get infected, one's root password is required to execute files, so the user sees what's going on. Plus it would take a Malware distributor to write a script for Ubuntu based OS's for it to run. As it stands, there's not enough user share to make it worthwhile to that person, normally they want a large, easily exposed group to target & Windows has way too many un or underprotected users. Relying on MSE (Windows 7, Vista & XP) or Windows Defender (Windows 8 through 10) doesn't cut it, have never, ever, seen Windows Defender 'catch' any threat, though in the early days, MSE would, yet often too late. That's why if running these with Microsoft provided AV protection, one needs a separate active anti-malware solution (such as Malwarebytes Premium) to pick up the slack. 

While there are security solutions for Linux & these has been discussed extensively in the last few months, the majority of users doesn't need it. Maybe someone who shares files with a Windows computer does, and we have Topics with complete details for some no-cost (other than time & patience) solutions. There's also inbuilt security, some can be obtained via the Software or Package Manager. Many Linux distros comes with ClamAV pre-installed, one just has to learn how to use it. If not installed, it's shown at the top the Terminal entry how to. 

http://askubuntu.com/questions/250290/how-do-i-scan-for-viruses-with-clamav

The other thing in securing any Linux OS that's Ubuntu based (including Linux Mint) is activating the inbuilt Firewall by the following command (copy/paste is OK). Password will be required after pressing Enter & no movement will be seen, this again is part of the inbuilt Linux security. 

sudo ufw enable

Afterwards it should show that 'Firewall is active & enabled on system startup' This is one of the most single important things that Linux users can to to improve their security, and best of all, if any resources are used, the amount is unnoticed or negligible. To check & ensure that the ufw Firewall is active from time to time, just type or copy/paste the below command. 

sudo ufw status verbose 

Here's a sample output of what one should see. Am doing some work on a Windows 7 OS at the time & can't post mine. 

 

 

Status: active
Logging: on (low)
Default: deny (incoming), allow (outgoing)
New profiles: skip

It's as simple as that. With the Firewall active, one can feel free to connect to hotspots, as well as at home & be protected. This does not mean I'm endorsing making transactions on a hotspot or public network. The Linux user must still practice safe computing skills. that's why I use the Linux Mint 17.2 media on DVD (& not a Flash drive) to make purchases/conduct other business, by booting from the DVD & run in Live Mode. The session, once loaded, runs in RAM only, and the DVD can be removed one the OS is up & running. The reboot flushes away all traces of anything that's done in Live Mode. 

If only more folks running Windows just knew of all of the things that can be done with Linux, some would make the leap. If there's any downside from running Linux, it's printing, that's why it's best to check the constantly updated printers for Linux usage & HP ones are highly compatible with a Linux OS based on Ubuntu. There may be some functions that one cannot do, yet for the most part, much everything works. Here's one of several lists. 

https://wiki.ubuntu.com/HardwareSupportComponentsPrinters

jargos, enjoy your Linux Mint journey!

Cat

Hi cat1092;

Your 2nd paragraph in above post re W10 .. I'm glad YOU said it. A nghtmare .. it's like I was at some cheap circus.

About the Linux firewall - yep! Done. Nick Au told me about this early in the piece in the other thread. And 'the check it's active' command' Done - it sure is, and I wll check it from time to time.

Printing - haven't tried it yet, but I'm guessing it should be no problem - it just so happens that both printers in my house at the moment are HP.

Your rest, thanks for the valuable info and guidance.

Continuing with my ad hoc report on my Linux experience ..

There's much I haven't tried - I just get to things as and when I need them, because computers to me are not a hobby but a tool.

A day or two ago, I set up a new email address with my ISP and then proceeded to use Thunberbird Mail. Here's how it went.

Though my ISP is possibly obscure in the grand scheme of things, TbM found the incoming and outgoing servers in a flash, WITHOUT me having to sit there and type it all out. Wow !

It is the best email program I have ever used. It beats Windows Mail, G Mail, Outlook, mail.com, hands down.

It is fast, seamless, little to no delay. It is crisp, relevent, well set out, has everything I need, without the bloat, crap, useless garbage others such as G Mail virtually force upon you.

Again, to .. whoever . and to the Linux Mint folk for making this the default email, a job very well done, and thank you.

@jargos

Mate, I keep breaking into a smile when I read this Topic.

T-bird and its sibling, browser Firefox, are by Mozilla.org. I started using them at v1.0 - Firefox in November 2004 and Thunderbird a month later. Note that this was under Windows, as they are cross-platform.

Wait until you get into the Office suites! I started with v1.0 of OpenOffice in 2002, again under Windows. LibreOffice, which like the two above, ships as standard with many Linux Distributions, forked from OpenOffice in 2010. I only started using it under Linux Mint Mate a little over 12 months ago.

Over time, you will become acquainted with FOSS, an acronym for Free and Open Source Software, which has been around for 30 years now. Note that the "Free" is for Freedom, rather than nil cost, although in most cases, it is just that, as well. You, as much as any, will find it a wonderful Philosophy, and Linux is its Champion.

Wizard

Every day on Planet Linux is a new adventure. The world is our oyster.

Hi Wiz;

I disliked Gmail intensely when I tried it a couple of years ago, because of all the clutter and garbage links and prompts, but also because I foolishly clicked on a link that said 'find your friends' or something similar. Before I knew it, there was full details there of all my contacts from my other emails, and various other contacts and correspondents that I had not anything to do with, for some time. How did they do THAT ?? I tried to delete it but couldn't - never touched it again.

I found Microsofts Outlook quite servicable - nice, neat, crisp, uncluttered .. except for one HUGE issue; before you could get into account management, security. change password. etc, you had to create a MSFT account .. I dids so, and was bombarded with other services and junk I never wanted .. but had just joined .. assimulated into the Borg, as it were. Never touched it again.

The Windows Live mail attached to W7 is very good, but as I've said - I'm bidding MSFT adieu.

Browsers; yes, I've tried Mozilla under Windows - didn't like it. But now under Linux it seems to be a whole lot different - I like it a great deal. One small issue is the 'bookmarks' menu is too cumbersome, and has too many confusing varieties of the same thing.

Again, I didn't mind Internet Explorer 11 under W7  in fact, I liked it a lot, though what it's evolved into in W10 seems a nightmare, as discussed with cat earlier.

I have used LibreOffice - absolutely impressed as to how good it all is, and I don't think I've even scratched the surface.

I'm finding I'm doing more and more of my work on my Linux desktop - I didn't really expect it to be this way this soon, I was just going to play with it for a while.

But its SO. DAMN. GOOD. !!!

My computer use today, has been 90% Linux, 10% W7 whereas, I expected, at this early stage, it would be the other way around.

Cheerio :-)

Edited by jargos, 06 October 2015 - 12:00 AM.

To all of the above ... cool!

I use gmail for notifications from this site, but T-bird for my ISP, billing from companies, etc, as it also has my comprehensive address book.

If you try another Linux Distro that utilises Thunderbird, and want to 'port your settings, mailbox configuration and messages, &c, it is easy enough to do, with tips from the Mozilla site, or sing out.

Newest sub-version of Thunderbird available today.

Wiz

 

 

Newest sub-version of Thunderbird available today.

Yes, this was the only update I received on my Linux Mint 17.1 install today. 

For most of my updating needs, am enjoying the Terminal for this, after 6 years for the most part of relying on either a notification or manually running the Update Manager under Administration options, which didn't show the Thunderbird update, that notification was afterwards on the PC for a couple of hours this afternoon. To update & upgrade installed software, all one needs to do is open the Terminal & copy/paste the below code, followed by the root password. 

sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get upgrade

The cool thing about updating in this manner is that packages no longer needed will be shown for removal, with a script to do the job (sudo apt-get autoremove). I'll type that in, hit the spacebar & copy/paste the package no longer needed & that will take care of things. It would be fantastic if there were a code that would cleanup the /home partition of unneeded junk files, this would help keeping the same /home partition for the next LTS version from being polluted with no longer needed garbage. While this is the exception rather than the norm, I once used the same /home partition w/out formatting from Linux Mint 12 through 17. Only when I purchased a larger HDD to split evenly between /home & Windows data (because I was running short of space for virtual machines) did I create a new /home by formatting & after moving what I needed to a safe place to an external by drag & drop. Afterwards, I moved the files back using the same method. 

One of the downsides is that sometimes we have to make a decision on whether to replace the script by the package maintainer (default is 'N' for no, which I normally stick with if all is fine). One can also select Y to replace the script or select another option to show the difference between the two. It's best not to fix what doesn't need to be repaired & that's why I usually select 'N'. There may be several prompts to make a selection, especially the first time or two & when a newer script is shipped. 

The other reason why I keep the default script is that not all of Ubuntu's current ones plays well with Linux Mint 17 (including point releases), since all of Linux Mint 17 versions are based on version 14.04. Installing a later package or script may cause instability & other issues, or that's what the Mint devs has said. That's also why Level 4 & 5 updates are hidden by default & even some Level 2 & 3 updates will have a red warning, though I still go through these & if I see one that may apply to me, will install it. Some of these updates are just there & may not apply to one's computer in any way. For example, very few of today's users has VIA graphics, yet a few does (some Acer models has this one). 

Though it sounds like a lot to learn, hopefully our combined experience will help.

When I started running Linux in early 2009, newbies were often treated badly on many 'Linux only' forums, especially if one mentioned dual booting with Windows while learning. Some of this mistreatment was by those we'd least expect it from, Moderators & other staff members would also participate in these actions & encourage others to chip in & I was once banned for refusal to openly apologise to the membership & denounce Windows. Back when I was distro shopping, it was only in secrecy that a very kind Moderator PM'd me with a private email address, and she informed me of what was at the time a still up & coming Linux Mint, and that I would likely find it suitable for my needs. While I agreed to delete the PM on my end & any emails (including contact information) exchanged between us, her kindness at the time was rare & very risky, and by far not the norm. Only the PCLinuxOS forum treated me decently out of all of the 'dedicated' Linux forums. 

The really bad part of this likely was, that these very same members also ran Windows at some point, and I doubt it took them a week to learn what I have in 6 years. Yet that's what was expected. Those who openly trashed Windows enjoyed preferable treatment & received more assistance. So I recommend to anyone who visits these forums, if you expect assistance, don't mention having Windows, period. 

Fortunately, this type of nonsense on this site is not allowed, per the rules of the Forum. 

jargos, continue your journey & I hope that you'll find Linux Mint an excellent alternative to the other side, which seems to be regressing, rather than progressing.

At least one of your HP printers should work well with Linux Mint, if not both. Maybe not every feature offered, yet many home users doesn't use a lot of a printer's functions, other than print, make copies of documents (which usually doesn't require the computer at all) & scan. There's other functions of the printer that may not require an OS, especially if your model has a small LED screen. There's also, if you run Windows 7 or newer, in the Control Panel, type in the box 'Turn Windows features on or off', and there's an option that allow for Unix sharing, though I don't know if that's to benefit Mac or Linux users. 

I still have one issue to overcome with my Kodak AIO printer & that's network printing through the Linksys USB share port. It would seem that if Mac users can use this, so would Linux ones, as Mac also uses CUPS, by chance which happens to be Apple software. Can print if plugging the cable direct to the PC, yet that's not what I want. With several computers, over half having more than one OS, only network printing meets my needs. Anything that I want to print, have to save to Documents, transfer to a Flash drive, and print on a Windows OS. That's not the way it's supposed to be. 

Yet I'll shall overcome, and these days print less anyway. 

Good Luck & keep up the great work!

Cat

Edited by cat1092, 06 October 2015 - 04:23 AM.

Hi Wiz;

Noted, thanks. Yep, I got the TBird update too. I really like the Linux updater. It's the way things should be.

Hi cat192;

Thanks for all the valuable info. Some of it is beyond my paygrade, but yes, this is a forum read by many and I'm sure its also relevant to others. There's one point you mentioned that I'd like to touch on, you said;

jargos, continue your journey & I hope that you'll find Linux Mint an excellent alternative to the other side, which seems to be regressing, rather than progressing.

But you know what ? I think the regression is not by accident, but by design. It would be trite to beleive that MSFT is doing all this through incompetence - I'm sure the organisation is loaded with very competent people. So what remains ? Here is my opinion;

Windows is being shifted from being a product, to a service.

The product being manufactured here, is YOU !!!

(just reading that back, cat, of course, by 'YOU' I don't mean you personally .. you know what I mean ..)

edit format, spelling.

Edited by jargos, 06 October 2015 - 07:52 PM.

 

 

Windows is being shifted from being a product, to a service.

Yes, that's accurate, and a statement that I've read quite often on various sites, and even Microsoft execs has made the same. The 2nd link goes as far to state that future updates will be aimed at newer devices, which may mean that Microsoft will pull another cat out of the bag like with Windows 8.1. Some devices running Windows 10 may not make the cut for upgrades, in essence forcing them back to Windows 7 or Vista (or Linux). It's likely a team effort between Microsoft & their OEM partners, which makes no cash from free OS upgrades, to get users to purchase new devices of all types. 

http://www.theverge.com/2015/5/7/8568473/windows-10-last-version-of-windows

 

IT'S ALL ABOUT WINDOWS AS A SERVICE

 

 

http://www.theverge.com/2015/4/7/8364355/microsoft-redstone-windows-updates

Personally I (now) believe that the seeds were planted for Windows to be a service with 8.1, as that's when articles started coming in, that many of us brushed off as just talk. Unfortunately, that 'talk' has became reality & will get a lot worse than better for many users with computers that's not too dated. 

Of course, rather than the purchase of a new device to run Windows, many of these same ones can make Linux run as though shot out of a cannon, and I've personally installed Linux Mint MATE & Xfce, as well as Ubuntu 14.04 on early Windows 7 models. Every one ran great. Most of these had dual core Pentiums or Celeron processors (as well as a few comparable AMD builds) that were manufactured between late 2009/early 2012. While Windows 7 struggled to run on these, Linux Mint or Ubuntu 14.04 made these computers run better than out of the box. 

As far as I know, not a single one has returned to Windows, some wanted more performance, others were tired of all of the needed maintenance that Windows requires, including keeping up to date security & imaging the drive near weekly if it was their only computer. Windows 10 would have made life even more miserable for these folks, so they were better off to hop off the train early (some as long as over 2 years back). There were others that I had converted to Linux Mint before that, yet it was for a different reason, having to deal with Malware infections on a daily basis running P2P clients. While I had a gut feeling that what they were likely doing wasn't exactly legit, I wasn't there to judge the folks, rather provide a solution to stop the Malware attacks. Linux Mint stopped the Malware attacks in it's tracks & had exactly what they wanted inbuilt, in the Transmission client. Later on, I helped all upgrade to Linux Mint 17 LTS w/out losing any data & recommended to them to avoid applying the point releases when they called, as I didn't want to go out & have to fix things that may have been broken. There was really nothing in either of the last point releases that would have benefited them, 17.1 brought Compiz, chances are they wouldn't have cared for that for the first second. 

When Mint 18 is released, I'll likely be paying most all of these same folks a visit to assist with a new OS (roughly 30-35 users). Over 20 of these are seniors/disabled folks just wanting to check out the weather, make transactions safely, read email & general Web browsing. The rest, I have no idea what they're up to & don't ask questions, just keep their LTS version up to date (minus point releases). Since I go to them, rather than them coming to me, it's far easier to keep them on Mint 17/Ubuntu 14.04 & they simply keep the system up to date, the same will apply with future LTS releases. If only I were younger & healthier, I'd go on an evangelist tour of the town pushing Linux Mint, yet my health permits me to be able to serve so many & note that I don't ask for pay for my services, it's all pro bono. Though I have been blessed greatly, getting components from HDD's, routers, monitors, notebooks & even computers. Most of the computers goes to charity (or someone I know in need) after the drive is nuked with DBAN (two autonukes for best privacy). as well as monitors & other equipment that I cannot use. 

No, we're not bound to Windows 'services', by now many has heard of Linux & has voluntary chose not to use the platform. When my sister-in-law was here browsing with Google on one of my computers, she made a statement that in the end, tickled me pink. That she'd never use Linux because it was 'no good', and when she was finished, I minimized the page & told here to 'look here'. All that was there was the Mint 7 Gloria wallpaper (the Mint with raindrops), her mouth dropped open & she asked me 'what's that?'. I told her that 'no good' brand that she had mentioned & was in a state of disbelief. She was under the assumption that Linux was still all like the old MS-DOS, with no real GUI, and was very surprised, had even commented on how fast the computer was while running it. 

See, that's the propaganda that Microsoft wants it's users to believe, that Linux is stuck in the prior century (1990's), and that's far from the truth. Sure one can run in that mode if desired, today that's for advanced users. 

So as far as I'm concerned, Windows 10 users can enjoy their service & whatever comes with the ride, while I'll enjoy my Linux Mint 17 OS along with jargos, with an occasional boot to Windows 7 or 8.1 to keep things up to date. As for that last computer that wasn't upgraded to Windows 10, I won't bother, since 2011 models are 'antiques' & I care about my privacy more than an OS of any brand. 

Hopefully we'll never endure this crap from Linux based OS's, and as long as we have Linus Torvalds on our side, that's not going to happen. Richard Stallman is also against the mass spying on citizens across the globe & has worked tirelessly (& well underpaid, as well as under appreciated for his efforts). Thanks to the two of them, we have our own 'opt out' policy that doesn't involve installing 'privacy software' that may or may not be legit, and at some point will break Windows 10 anyway. One can only disable so many services & still have a usable OS, this likely applies to any brand. 35 services is a lot to have to disable to have privacy, and that number will increase as Microsoft finds workarounds to these offerings. At some point, it could mean the EULA has been broken, something that few Linux users has to deal with. 

Isn't it great to be free?

Cat

Edited by cat1092, 06 October 2015 - 11:43 PM.

Yay, jargos!  Linux has come a long way in a year.  I hated it three years ago.  Now, it's generally easier than Windows.  Only two complaints, the jargon in the folder labels drives me nuts and the permissions.  Considering all the pluses, those two complaints don't compare to the many I still have over newer Windows.

And Linux husbands my fav XP machines.  I'm gonna make some sticks for my business partner and key customers.  Could make them and sell them too, but am too old.  You can sell your labor in making the finished product, leaving open source (no proprietary code) and no charge for it either.  That's what the Linux community needs to learn to value: their LABOR.  People really do want to pay for it.  Prizix gets that, sells sticks in Amazon, but doesn't configure them.

Someone needs to sell configured sticks, because,  as you so cleanly put it: the default green and gray etc is offputting.  Gimme a turnkey system with all the stuff bundled, only a few clicks, turn the many commandline thingies into GUI (with Mint you can create menu items to do just that!) and you'd have a million dollar business.  Selling the STICKS.  Low cost for the hardware, something almost anyone can do from the home on ebay, Amazon, whatever.  High volume would be a different issue, but still.. STICKS.

No Windows user should be without one.  Especially now, with MSFT imploding via Win10 and its (ahem) aka.ms/msa 'license'.

And you know this, jargos! 

@cat1092, and by inference, @jargos

Isn't it great to be free?

 

Cat

 

... reminds me of Mel Gibson's last word in Braveheart - "Freeeddoommmm!!!" - but it's true and I am glad we did not have to die to learn this. Instead there was Linux.

@brainout

was just about to respond and your Post slipped in. Hi brainy. Your input is always interesting, girl, and particularly relevant as one whom works with puters for an income - hope that tax stuff is going OK.

 

... Only two complaints, the jargon in the folder labels drives me nuts and the permissions....

Got answers for at least one of those, likely both - just define folder labels bizzo a little more. May take me a few days, busy with Mageia 5, and men can't multitask, as you are aware.

We can deal with both elsewhere - any probs with Linux I for one like to see addressed and hopefully solved.

Speaking of Mel Gibson -

@jargos

Another one of his films I liked was "The Conspiracy Theory" - sounds like you are coming along fine with your own, and I endorse that.

Wizard

I wonder if a horse that has blinkers on ... when they are removed, thinks "Wow, now I can see!!". Embrace Linux.

 

Could make them and sell them too, but am too old.

Stop that, You are never to old to make a few bux that the tax man don't know about.

 

 

Could make them and sell them too, but am too old.

Stop that, You are never to old to make a few bux that the tax man don't know about.

 

+1!

Many retirees 'supplements' their income with small jobs every day & never reports the income. Just be sure to do it in an untraceable way and do not use PayPal or Western Union for payments, these are reported to the government. Yet one can send cash in a heavy card (an old birthday one will do) by certified mail, to ensure delivery. 

In fact, some who are legally disabled are working full time jobs for cash only. I once seen a man who said his doctor told him not to lift more than his dinner plate carry a 100+ pound dog house from the front of his yard to the back where it was fenced in, because neighbors were complaining about the dog being chained in the front. While I agree in full that's a more humane act, giving the dog the freedom to roam a large backyard, that act showed he was abusing the system. When he goes to the store, or normally outdoors, always uses a walker. 

Another neighbor told me that the same man put the roof on his home (before I moved here), after removal of the one beneath & removal & installing some new wood to replace what was starting to rot, this was while we were talking & seeing him move the dog house. And gets more than I do in monthly benefits. Yet I tend to my own business & and am not a snitch, these type of folks are often seen as the lowest of the low, even the police has no respect for them, they're used & kicked to the curb (in most cases) once they get the information they want. 

So if any of my retired neighbors wants to make a little side cash, that's their business. While I'm also disabled, volunteer work doesn't count towards earnings, and neither does gifts. Anything that I do for anyone is on a volunteer basis only, have never asked for payment of any type, other than reimbursement for components, including software. I work on computers to help others & learn, so that I can keep up my own & offer assistance here. Sometimes, I have to learn what to do while there, and that's why I say Google is the best digital assistant one can have. Rarely has Google not led to an answer, as it's probably been asked many times before I needed it. 

Plus during the growing season, am rewarded with fresh veggies, and sometimes other food items, was once given a deer shoulder in return for a Windows 7 install. One can't place a monetary value on such an item, as it's illegal to sell wild game where I live.

One is never 'too old' to learn new things, unless the person has simply given up. While I've been disabled since the first month of 2006, have learned a lot about computers (as a hobby). Actually at first as a desperate need, as I had only one notebook & needed to replace the hard drive. Went around the recycling bins on recycle day, this was when I lived in a business district, sure enough within an hour found two notebooks in a box, with PSU's & XP Pro reinstall CD's. Both were better models than the one I had, but only one worked, the other had what I thought to be a MB issue. So removed the HDD & using Clonezilla, which was simple then, cloned my 40GiB HDD to a 100GiB one, and when I started it, fired right up! 

Became an enthusiast as of that day, after some Google searching, learned on the 2nd notebook, it was likely the keyboard, either the connection had loosened or a new one was needed. So this is where I got my first does of really tearing apart (to a degree) a notebook. Turned out the ribbon cable did in fact came loose (my Toshiba did the same recently) & then all I needed was another HDD & would have three notebooks. After asking around, a neighbor had a broken PC that has been dropped & the MB was broke, but he told me that I could have it, and with that, after Googling how to, used one of the XP reinstall CD's & performed a Full format (what today's OS's doesn't do) of the 100GiB HDD & used another CD in the box that said 'Drivers & Utilities' to install the drivers & wireless connection. Ran great!

That began my journey on recycle days to look for disposed computers, or components of, and I had a red wagon with me, ended up the next time finding a Dell desktop PC w/out a HDD, but another of those green Dell reinstall CD's was taped to it. So I signed up for Facebook in hops of meeting locals who wanted to swap components. Bad idea. While I did get a HDD, was also getting a lot of unwanted 'pokes' & friendship offers, so stopped participating & eventually deleting my account. Yet I got what I wanted & was hooked up with others who would trade components, so my recycle day collection began even earlier & that's when I began to strike it big, one time, 4 PC's on two hours, plus another trip that paid off with a box of HDD's & a few optical drives. One was a WD 40GiB SATA-1 HDD that I have to this day, it clicks, but still runs. Kept it as a keepsake, at the time, didn't know what that type of HDD was for. 

So while living there over the course of the next two years, collected a lot of computers & volunteered at a local food ministry, which started a computer collection for the needy, and I helped show the volunteers where to look. 

That's how I began, and didn't have my first PC with a SATA HDD until late 2009, by that time had moved here. If it weren't for the work I had done, something to do other than look at 4 walls, would have sank into a depression or went insane. Was in no mood for music or TV, prior to my surgery, was working 72-84 hour workweeks, so going from that to nothing was driving me nuts. 

Am glad that just because I'm disabled, was not too much so to learn. 

Otherwise would have never known of Linux & been another of Microsoft's sheep. 

Cat

Yay, jargos!  Linux has come a long way in a year.  I hated it three years ago.  Now, it's generally easier than Windows.  Only two complaints, the jargon in the folder labels drives me nuts and the permissions.  Considering all the pluses, those two complaints don't compare to the many I still have over newer Windows.

 

And Linux husbands my fav XP machines.  I'm gonna make some sticks for my business partner and key customers.  Could make them and sell them too, but am too old.  You can sell your labor in making the finished product, leaving open source (no proprietary code) and no charge for it either.  That's what the Linux community needs to learn to value: their LABOR.  People really do want to pay for it.  Prizix gets that, sells sticks in Amazon, but doesn't configure them.

 

Someone needs to sell configured sticks, because,  as you so cleanly put it: the default green and gray etc is offputting.  Gimme a turnkey system with all the stuff bundled, only a few clicks, turn the many commandline thingies into GUI (with Mint you can create menu items to do just that!) and you'd have a million dollar business.  Selling the STICKS.  Low cost for the hardware, something almost anyone can do from the home on ebay, Amazon, whatever.  High volume would be a different issue, but still.. STICKS.

 

No Windows user should be without one.  Especially now, with MSFT imploding via Win10 and its (ahem) aka.ms/msa 'license'.

 

And you know this, jargos! 

Hi brainy:-)

I'm ambivalent bout the folder name jargon. Yes, the permissions are certainly noticable, however, I heard it said in another thread that this is an essential part of the security approach, and one of the reasons why one doen't need as much protection as, say on Windows. Anyway, no big deal.

I hear what you say about 'someone needs to sell configured sticks'. Could be a gold mine for some bright spark who had the hunger and ability. I sure would have bought one, though I'm also glad of the learning curve I've gone through in doing it myself.

BUT, BUT, BUT .. thinking it through more, how RIGHT you are. I know plenty people who ..

- are peed off bad with W10

- totally disinclined and unlikely to ever make the effort to do anything about it.

Most likely, MSFT knows this too. Submisson by attrition, perhaps !

Edited by jargos, 07 October 2015 - 06:47 AM.

 

Speaking of Mel Gibson -

 

@jargos

 

Another one of his films I liked was "The Conspiracy Theory" - sounds like you are coming along fine with your own, and I endorse that.

 

Wizard

I wonder if a horse that has blinkers on ... when they are removed, thinks "Wow, now I can see!!". Embrace Linux.

I wouldn't call it a conspiracy. The 'service, not product' issue is admitted by MSFT (as detailed by cat here in above posts) and their EULA (as brainout has elucidated in other threads) informs users, of MSFT's intent to avail themselves of any and all f the users information. No conspiracy about it.

PS - the only conspiracy I believe in, is the conspiracy conspiracy