Windows 7 support ends. So where to now?

Microsoft suggests upgrading to windows 10. That would be fine... if it worked. They offered free windows 10 upgrades. I tried that, and it was disastrous. It seemed to work well at first, but as time went on, updates would cause different parts or functions of the the computer (like SOUND) to stop working. Turns out, that unless your computer hardware -all of it- has been "Windows 10 certified", Microsoft does not guarantee that it will work on YOUR computer. Wish I knew that before I installed it. By the time I discovered this, it was too late to roll it back from Windows 10 to Windows 7.

So if you want to "upgrade" to Windows 10, you are probably better off getting a computer with it already installed and certified for that hardware. Then, the Windows 10 fun can begin. It has some good features. Yet, some things never change:

But... what should you then DO with your old Windows 7 machine? You can keep using it for a while longer of course, but as time goes on, without security updates, it will become riskier and riskier to use.

Personally, I found a solution with my aborted Windows 10 computer, that couldn't be rolled back to Windows 7. I'm using it with all my Windows 7 machines now. The solution is a Linux operating system called Linux Mint. It's a complete, free opensource operating system that you can download and install, free of charge.

There are several versions you can choose from. I prefer the Linux Mint Debian Edition (LMDE), because it's a "rolling" distribution; you only have to install it once, then it updates itself continuously after that. Other versions use Ubuntu as a base, and major upgrades require a complete reinstall every three to five years.

It's probably the easiest Linux system for a novice to download and use, and easy to learn and use too. A perfect way to extend the life and usefulness of older computers that cannot be successfully upgraded to Windows 10. Highly recommended.
   

Fanless Mini PCs

They are becoming more popular:

5 Silent Fanless Mini PCs That Will Save You Money

Miniaturization continues to shrink the size of the average PC. What once required several rooms can now fit in your pocket. And while most people think of smartphones or tablets as examples of small, modern electronics, desktops also deserve mention.

There’s a new category, the mini-PC, that’s becoming popular. Early variants, like the Apple Mac Mini and Inspiron Zino HD, have been well received, but now the formula has been improved with the introduction of fanless systems. Tiny, silent and often inexpensive, these miniature wonders save space without eating into your bank account. [...]

Several examples are reviewed.

Here is one that seems like a great bargain, on Amazon:

CompuLab Intense PC Value 1.1 GHz Linux

Intel Celeron 847E 1.1 GHz dual-core, 4 GB RAM
5 year warranty
320 GB hard-disk pre-installed with Linux Mint
Dual Gbit Ethernet, WiFi 802.11n, HDMI + DisplayPort, 7.1 channels S/PDIF audio
Fanless aluminum case [...]

There are different configurations available. They seem ideal for people with basic computer needs. This one runs Linux Mint as the operating system. Mint is my favorite Linux.
     

The New Commodore OS is Finally Here!

Actually, it came out last November, I just missed the party. Here is the release trailer, I thought it looked spiffy:


I posted previously about the New Commodore Company, which is releasing a New Commodore 64 and other Commodore-lookalike computers, that use conventional PC hardware on the inside. But the new Commodore Operating System, they promised, would bring back the "fun" in computing that the old Commodore Computers had.

I read somewhere that the new Commodore OS is based on Linux Mint 10. That's fine with me, Linux Mint is a great distro. The eye candy they've added is nice, and it looks like they have bundled it with lots of apps and software.

Introducing Commodore OS Vision

Commodore OS Vision is our customized GNU/Linux distribution for Commodore enthusiasts that is designed to unleash your creative potential and help you enjoy your computing experience to the fullest. Commodore computers were well known for their unique operating environments, so we seek to do the same, by providing a distinctive, attractive, advanced and fun operating system experience. Various themes are included, inspired by the Commodore 64 and various versions of the Commodore Amiga Workbench user environments, but with a modern spin, which includes many slick graphical effects which showcase the capabilities of our new Commodore machines.

Commodore OS Vision is not a derivative of the original AmigaOS developed for 68K microprocessor computers in the 1980's, but an entirely modern operating system based on GNU/Linux.

[...]

Pre-installed on all Commodore USA hardware, Commodore OS Vision comes pre-loaded with dozens of the latest and greatest productivity, creativity and entertainment software the open source world has to offer. Featuring dozens of exciting 3D games, the latest web browsing technology, a Microsoft Word compatible Office Suite, advanced graphical manipulation programs, 3D raytracing software, advanced software development tools and languages, photo and movie editing and sound and music composition programs, there is no task too big or too small for a Commodore or AMIGA computer to accomplish.

[...]

The Commodore OS Vision project was created as an operating system option for Commodore enthusiasts purchasing Commodore USA computers. It is but the first step on the path to creating the ultimate Commodore experience for our customers. This retro-futuristic OS experience takes design cues in its appearance from classic Commodore and Amiga operating systems and evolves them further to create a distinctive and modern 21st century look which adds personality to our new Commodore machines. The selection of software included also has a retro slant which would be familiar to many Commodore fans, making them feel at home. It features the latest iteration of the classic Gnome 2.x user interface, which many prefer for its simplicity, stability and straight forward access to applications.

Commodore OS Vision stands on the shoulders of giants, with a lineage that traces back to fantastic linux operating system distributions such as Debian, Ubuntu and Mint, which you might also be interested in installing on our machines. Commodore OS Vision auto-installs a graphical operating system boot menu facilitating this further, making your new Commodore machine a technology tinkerers delight. [...]

Wow. Follow the link for more details.

I love the retro-feel. It's still in Beta though. No phone support for it, although there is an online forum at commodore-amiga.org. They say the best is yet to come. I sure hope so.




Also see:

A thorough 12 minute tour/review on Youtube: Spatry's Cup of Linux

Here is it's listing on Distrowatch: Commodore OS Vision
     

Ubuntu 9.10 gets mixed reviews. Alternatives?

DistroWatch Weekly, Issue 328, 9 November 2009

[...] Those who followed some of the popular Linux news sites after the release of Ubuntu 9.10 must have been horrified (or, for those belonging to the Ubuntu haters camp, delighted) by the amount of negative media coverage given to Canonical's latest release over the past week. This is how The Register summed up the event in "Early adopters bloodied by Ubuntu's Karmic Koala", a story with over 1,200 comments on Slashdot: "Ubuntu 9.10 is causing outrage and frustration, with early adopters wishing they'd stuck with previous versions of the Linux distro. Blank and flickering screens, failure to recognize hard drives, defaulting to the old 2.6.28 Linux kernel, and failure to get encryption running are taking their toll, as early adopters turn to the web for answers and log fresh bug reports in Ubuntu forums." Similar stories have been told on other web sites, including the distribution's official forums. Is the latest Ubuntu really bad, or is it just the case of a vocal minority making a mountain out of a hill? Please discuss your experiences below. [...]

Follow the link to see the embedded links, to the reviews and the comments.

I've tried Ubuntu 9.10, and found it to be mostly pretty good, although flash player for Youtube had a flickering problem. I usually go with one of the Ubuntu derivatives, Mint Linux, which has IMO a more polished user experience. I'm waiting for the next version of Mint, which should be released soon.

I'm presently using Mint 5, "Elyssa", which is based on Ubuntu's last LTS (long term support) release. I think the LTS releases, supported for four years on the desktop, and seven for the server edition, are the most stable. Ubuntu's next LTS release will be nest April, Ubuntu 10.4. I may wait for it before upgrading.

Another Linux distribution I like and use is PCLinuxOS. It's not based on Ubuntu, but Mandriva, which is a Red Hat derivative. It's been around for a long time and I find it quite reliable.

On an unrelated (but interesting) note, here is a link to some screen shots of
Linux XP, a Linux distribution that is configured to look like Windows XP.

I won't be trying it, it's in "release candidate" status, but I thought the pics were fun to look at. It just goes to show what you can do with Linux. Some people seriously argue that Linux's biggest problem is, that there are too many choices.

We should all have such problems!
     

Ubuntu: Linux for Human Beings?

That is practically Ubuntu's motto. This article makes an interesting case for Ubuntu, claiming it has the XP-Factor:

Ubuntu: Linux with the XP-Factor

Ubuntu is Linux for normal people. It's the Linux OS with the XP-Factor. Let me explain...

[...]

For most people, Windows XP is their favourite Windows. If asked to express a preference, I'll probably agree, despite the fact I'm an open-source guy. It's a solid and functional operating system.

Somehow Microsoft got everything just right with XP, but it's extremely hard to quantify exactly what. The gut reaction is to say that it's easy to use, but I don't think that's true. [...]

He goes on to describe many of XP's shortcomings. It's hardly perfect. Yet it's probably Microsoft's most popular operating system. Why? Read on:

[...] So how about this for a definition of why XP is so universally admired: It doesn't do anything stunningly well, but with a little effort it will do a wide range of things reasonably well.

Doing things reasonably well is good enough for most of us. It's all we need. We don't require anything else. [...]

Faced by customers clinging to Windows XP, Microsoft has had no choice but to avoid shooting it in the head. It has extended support until 2014 (it should have ended this April), and given manufacturers permission to offer a bizarre option on all computers they sell, whereby they install XP instead of the newer Vista. I'm told this "downgrade" is far more popular than it should be.

But pretty soon XP will be a vague memory to most users. Microsoft may have slipped up with Vista, but you're gonna get Windows 7 whether you like it or not. [...]

I have a solution for your XP woes. Unless you've been lobotomized, you might think you've guessed what it is: Linux. But you would be wrong. I don't generally recommend Linux. I recommend Ubuntu. You see, Ubuntu is a special version of Linux. Ubuntu is Linux for human beings. That's their tag line, in fact, and it needs some explanation.

[...]

If you switch to Ubuntu you're still gonna have to learn stuff. That's just the way computers are. But Ubuntu also has that magical "Windows XP factor" - it's as functional as you need it to be, yet is still accessible. It 'just works' too - there's usually no need to install drivers, or add-on software. You install, and go. Everything comes together very nicely.

I'd argue that Ubuntu is unique amongst version of Linux in this regard (oh boy, am I gonna get into trouble for saying that - should you stumble upon my beaten corpse, tell Laura I loved her).

I don't even think of Ubuntu as a version of Linux. I put it in a category of its own, and I'm not alone - there's an increasingly common consensus amongst the internet digerati is that there are four operating system choices: Windows, Mac OS X, Ubuntu, and 'other Linux'.

In short, there's never been a better time to give Ubuntu a try. [...]

The whole article is worth reading if you are thinking of making the switch to Linux.

I've tried Ubuntu. I really like the way they configure the desktop. But I have found some configuration is needed for multimedia, etc. Not impossible or terribly difficult, but it could still be a struggle for some people.

My favorite Linux at moment is Linux Mint. It's based on Ubuntu, but I find that it's a bit more polished, and more ready to use right away, without as much tweaking as regular Ubuntu needs. Also, the way Mint configures it's Gnome desktop, is a little more similar to windows XP than regular Ubuntu. XP users would probably find it a little more comfortable.




A few months ago, Andy was having major problems with XP on his laptop. I put Linux Mint 5 on his computer, so he could dual-boot and use Mint, until he got his XP problems sorted out. Well, he's given up on XP on the laptop. He can do everything he needs to do on the laptop with Mint, and he says it even does some things faster. He likes Mint a lot.

Recently he's had problems with XP on his Desktop too. I put a dual-boot on that as well with Linux Mint. Now he says he's not interested in XP anymore.

The interesting thing about this is, Andy isn't a Linux geek or anything; he just wants to use the computer to get things done. He's found Linux Mint to be a pretty easy transition. Even though I offered Linux as a temporary backup, he's come to prefer it as the path of least resistance.

He does have a few windows programs that he wants to use occasionally, like video editing software and a few games, so I'm considering setting up XP to run on Linux for him, via VirtualBox software.

If you like XP, yet are finding it increasingly hard to maintain, but aren't interested in migrating to Vista or Windows 7, you should definitely check out Linux, particularly Ubuntu or one of it's popular variants like LinuxMint. I think you might be pleasantly surprised.



     

PC/OS: an easy Linux for older computers

This Linux distribution has caught my eye. It's based on Ubuntu, but it uses the lightweight Xfce desktop environment, which is simple and easier to run on older computers. PC/OS is also configured with starter applications and multimedia codecs, making it totally useable from the start, without any extra tweaking:



PC/OS: Insert CD, use desktop

PC/OS aims to be an easy-to-use Linux distribution right out of the box. Being Ubuntu-based, it has a head start on being user-friendly, but PC/OS goes above and beyond Ubuntu's measures to ensure ease of use by having common third-party non-GPL software included in the install.

[...]

PC/OS Open Desktop lives up to its claims of being user-friendly. While it isn't perfect, somebody who is unfamiliar with computer systems could install and use it without outside help. I don't believe that you can say the same thing about the latest Windows operating system. On top of that, it also fits on one CD, unlike many distributions which have switched to DVDs in their effort to include more software. PC/OS has stripped its distribution down to programs that cover users' essential needs; its simplicity is a sound principle when designing user-friendly software.

PC/OS just plain worked for me. There were no hitches, no problems, and no additional configuration or software installation required to perform what the daily tasks of Web browsing, instant messaging, word processing, and playing multimedia. While no trouble arose for me, there are forums available for you to ask any questions you might have about the distribution. [...]

This sounds like just the thing for my eight year old computer in the farm office. I'm currently running Linux Mint with a Gnome desktop. I works fine for the most part, but occasionally I strain the system resources by opening a lot of windows. A lighter desktop might be better. Mint also offers a Xfce version, so perhaps I should it out also. But I've wanted to try out PC/OS for a while now, so I'll probably download it next week and give it a whirl.



It's great to have choices.
     

How to "downgrade" Windows Vista to XP

I had posted about this earlier. This post is a follow-up with more details about how to do it.

The Microsoft downgrade only applies to OEM editions of Vista Business and Vista Ultimate. The essential details from ComputerWorld.com:

FAQ: Giving up on Vista? Here's how to downgrade to XP

[...] downgrade rights lets owners of some versions of Vista replace it with Windows XP without having to pay for another license. In effect, the license for Vista is transferred to XP. Think of it as a swap, Vista for XP, not as an extra license. By Microsoft's end-user licensing agreement (EULA), you can't have both the Vista and its downgraded XP installed at the same time on the same or different machines. You have to pick: It's one or the other.

To the vast bulk of users, though, "downgrade" is a synonym for reverting to an older version. In that case, it simply means dumping Vista and returning to XP.

So, what downgrades does Microsoft allow? Owners of the OEM editions of Vista Business and Vista Ultimate can downgrade to Windows XP Professional, including Tablet PC Edition and x64 Edition. Only the OEM editions qualify for a downgrade, so if you purchased a new PC with either Business or Ultimate preinstalled, you're in like Flynn.

Those who aren't: All users of Vista Home Basic and Vista Home Premium, and anyone who upgraded to Vista using a retail edition of any of the operating system's SKUs. You are, as they say, SOL.

How do I downgrade? Install a copy of Windows XP Professional with the product key that came with the copy, and then when you hit the activation screen -- which is near the end of the installation process -- select the activate by phone option rather than the online method. You'll likely end up talking with a live rep; tell him that you're downgrading from Vista to XP, and give him the Vista product key. The rep is supposed to walk you through the rest.

Where do I get the XP install disc? [...]

If you need further answers, it's definitely worth reading the whole thing. I find the process a bit tiresome, but it sounds doable if you really want it. Me, I think I'll go with Ubuntu Linux, and run XP as a virtual machine with Virtual Box software if I need it.


Related Link:

How to make Windows XP last for the next seven years
Vista, schmista. Follow our tips for keeping your XP setup humming happily for a long, long time
     

When "boring" is a good thing: Ubuntu Linux

From Robin 'Roblimo' Miller at Linux.com:

Ubuntu hits new high in Linux boredom

Last weekend a friend was moaning about endless problems with Windows XP on his desktop PC. We installed Ubuntu 7.04 on it. The problems went away. That started me thinking about my own "daily driver" computer, a Dell Latitude that also runs Ubuntu 7.04, and it made me realize that I hadn't thought about my laptop or its operating system in many months. Linux -- especially Ubuntu -- has become so reliable and simple that for most end users it's simply not worth thinking about, any more than we think about tools like wrenches and screwdrivers. Does this mean desktop GNU/Linux has become so boring that it's not worth noticing?

Right now 8.04 is the latest Ubuntu version. I've stuck to 7.04 because I feel no great need to update a reliable system that does everything I ask of it. Yes, there was one major security flaw in 7.04, but Ubuntu's auto-update feature took care of that for me long ago, and took care of it immediately during the install process on my friend's machine.

And, as I type this, I'm (automatically) downloading and installing 24 Ubuntu software updates. Since I'm using a mature, "tried and true" version of Ubuntu, and haven't moved to the latest/greatest version of any software I use regularly -- I'm still running Firefox 2.xx, for example -- I run almost no risk of these updates breaking my system. I haven't thought about Ubuntu updates in several years; they've become that reliable, another "it just works" situation that doesn't impinge on my consciousness. Indeed, I only really thought about updating Ubuntu now because I'm writing this article. [...]

That's the way a computer operating system should be. I want to spend my time using the computer to get work done, not working on the computer to get it to work.

The article goes on to describe the authors friends and neighbors, who aren't very computer savy, and don't want to upgrade to Windows Vista with all it's problems. Distros like Ubuntu have become easy enough to use for non-geek, everyday users, and is increasingly becoming a viable option for them.

The latest version of Ubuntu (8.4.1) is the best I've tried to date, it has excellent compatibility with my hardware. Ubuntu does require installation of additional codecs to bring it's multi-media capabilities up to snuff with Windows, but it's fairly easy to do. When I was using it, it offered to download and install the needed codecs whenever I tried to run something that needed it.

My current favorite desktop Linux is Linux Mint, an Ubuntu variant from Ireland. It offers a more polished experience, as it has all the multi-media codecs already installed for you, and an elegantly configured Gnome Desktop (on Mint 5 Elyssa R1) that is similar to a windows desktop.

Both regular Ubuntu and Linux Mint can run off a live CD, so you can try them before installing them. The latest Ubuntu also offers an option where you can install it on your hard drive next to windows without having to repartition your hard drive. It just gets easier and easier.