[Jim1938]

Today Yahoo Tech Column is promoting Windows 7 and Mac as "better" replacements for Windows XP.  Rafe Needleman at [email protected] wrote that Win8, Chromebook, staying with XP and Linux are all "bad ideas".  He wrote that Linux is "for nerds", implying that Linux is for nerds only.  My wife is very definitely not a nerd and she has been using Ubuntu for years and now uses Linux Lite.  Learning Linux is no more difficult than learning XP.  Set up for the first time user is the only problem, just as it would be for Win 7 and Mac.  Win7 is too slow and Mac is too expensive.  In my opinion there are several lightweight Linux distributions that qualify as excellent replacements for XP.

[Coastie]

Both Windows and Mac are too expensive and both abandon support for their users after a time. Windows is not as expensive as Mac. Mac doesn't abandon its users as often as Windows but still does.

My fellow bikers and friends who are computer gurus would find it hilarious that I am now a geek because I use Linux Lite.  :

[gold_finger]

Hmmm ... don't suppose MS and Apple advertise on Yahoo, do you?


Follow The Money!

[N4RPS]

Hello!

They call that outfit 'Yahoo' for a reason.

To read this garbage in its entirety, here's the URL:

https://www.yahoo.com/tech/still-on-wind...45810.html

Unfortunately, his recommendations on Linux must also be considered bad advice. This guy obviously hasn't used Linux very much (if at all), since he doesn't even acknowledge the existence of WINE. If you're going to write an article about something, at LEAST know what you're talking about.

Chromebooks? My sister swears by hers; I swear AT it. Then again, she pretty much lives her life in close proximity to an Internet connection. Just to make a point, I offered to install Chromium OS on her daughter's laptop. Both sister and niece politely refused my request.

I would have bought a Chromebook when they had decently-sized hard drives in them, so I could wipe Chrome OS off it and put a DECENT version of Linux on it. Now? For not much more, a REAL computer can be had - WITH Windows 8.1 pre-installed. I like the netbook concept; I guess I should get another used one off E-Bay, and put LL on it.

Macs? My sister-in-law and a former girlfriend use a Mac because that's about all the high-tech they can comprehend. As for my sister-in-law, she could not only buy a Mac, but most of Apple along with it. For the vast majority of the rest of us, one is simply out of our price range. OS X can be purchased, but why bother?

I guess I was 'Linux geeky' when geeky wasn't cool!

73 DE N4RPS
Rob

[Teddy]

First off, Yahoo! is owned by Microsoft the last I heard, or at least had some affiliation with Microsoft with their search engine technology deal that has been going on since 2009. That is problem number one. So in turn, it means that the Yahoo! editors are, in essence, being paid off to spread this non-sense BS about Linux and similar non-Microsoft products. Problem number two stated. Now for my thoughts.

Chromebooks are easily the simplest computer I have ever used bar-none. It doesn't take much to get going with a Chromebook. It may not do much, but since even Windows and Macintosh laptops are about just as useless without a Internet connection, it really doesn't matter. Windows may seem simple since the majority of us have at least used it before, but in reality, for a person starting out in computer's with no prior experience, Chromebooks or a simple Linux distro (like Linux Lite) is simpler to use than Microsoft Windows or Apple Machintosh, and there are studies done to prove this.

Linux Lite is one of the best options for lower spec computers of the Windows XP days, making it a awesome Windows XP replacement choice, if not the best one yet. Linux, by no means, is limited to "nerds", and considering that is guy works for Yahoo! Tech, he obviously should know better and know the right facts. Maybe he does know the facts, but is, instead, promoting Microsoft Windows 7 as "the best Windows XP replacement" simply because he is paid off. It is a very simple business practice done in Politics all the time, but I'm not going to get into that.

Microsoft Windows 7 and Apple Macintosh cost money, whereas Linux as a whole for the most part is free. Most commercial enterprise level distributions do cost money, like Red Hat Enterprise Linux and SUSE Linux Enterprise, but there are versions that are free. Fedora is derived from Red Hat Enterprise Linux and OpenSUSE is derived from SUSE Linux Enterprise. This is one key advantage that Linux has that others do not.

Anyways, just sharing my thoughts here.

[Coastie]

... Anyways, just sharing my thoughts here.

8) Well said!

[newtusmaximus]

The big concern I had about linux was what if I had t buy a new printer and new scanner (A3) because I might not get them to work on linux.  I played with early UBUNTU but the computer I had  was too slow and  also sound card problems. Before finding linux lite, I used puppy linux on a usb boot stick for my browsing and on line emails etc.  i.e. all to do with the "connected" world.  And then when I was doing "offline" work, went back to xp  with standard office bits and pieces scanning , faxing etc.

As understand it, if you do not use XP for browsing etc. it will be perfectly safe to continue to use it.?

Those not wanting to "dual" then LL  is proving for me  to be an excellent little package.  Using it now for full Office work with various add ons. Well worth the learning curve without the need to spend loads of money upgrading all the ancillaries. AND in the knowledge that once set up, then I will not be forced to change a thing because of the whim of the marketing boys of the OS provider. I am about to collect a small "second user" A4 USB scanner which is XSANE listed, and the existing printer works a dream without fiddling about.

The sooner they start teaching basic linux to school kids the better.  Here in the UK they are already is a drive to teach basic coding using the Raspberry-Pi as a vehicle; Why not basic command line linux as well ? 

LL Devotee and advocate.  Looking forward to seeing what V2.0 brings

[N4RPS]

Hello!

Most XP-era scanners WORK in Linux, so one doesn't HAVE to buy a new scanner. I have a post about that on here somewhere.

Additionally, HPLIP helps nearly every HP printer work the same way in Linux as it does in Windows, and a number of other printer manufacturers have at least SOME Linux support, even if it had to be developed by the community...

73 DE N4RPS
Rob

[newtusmaximus]

Unfortunately my scanner was an early Mustek A3 USB. Could not get it to respond to XSANE. Therefore cheaper to buy a second user A4  canon LED that listed as "complete", than spend time faffing about as a newbie . MUSTEK Europe have started supporting Linux for their newer  version of the A3 scanner. Small price to pay given the long term stability advantages of LL.

[N4RPS]

Hello!

You made a wise choice with the Canon LED scanner. It's one of the few older scanners that needs no external power supply, as it is powered from the USB bus...

73 DE N4RPS
Rob