Is WinXP Pro on some different EOSL schedule?
It's immaterial for me because I have already setup Mint 16 in a Virtual Box VM within Win XP Pro. On April 8th, I'll disable XP from accessing the internet and will allow Mint to do that job for surfing and email. All other utility uses will still be done on XP...of which I have become...comfortable.
Got any recommendations for an integrated programming environment for C++ etc ... equivalent to M$ Vi$ual $tudio?
Ping
Linux......lol
Another sad plea from Linux for more converts.
When you have to scrap the bottom of the XP barrel for users, then you might as well toss in the towel.
Why not try to mine Mac community? It would be great to see two teams of real zealots rip each other to shreds.
Thanks, Ace
Windows 8 and 8.1 stink.
I went straight from Vista to Windows 8. I’m lucky that way.
But, one might say, "my precious updates, where would they be?" The answer to that is also simple: you don't need them. You probably haven't seen many of those patches in recent years anyway. The end of support only means that you cannot call Microsoft and tell them where you'd like their products, along with BillG and SteveB, to shove themselves into.
The irrational fear of hackers breaking into your old XP should not become your top priority. Any router+firewall from any big box electronics store will protect your XP well enough. (If it won't, then the hacker works for a TLA, and then nothing that you do will make a difference.) XP on a laptop that you connect in airports to random networks is a less interesting plan, but still this was done by millions of business travelers, so you are in a good company. There are pretty serious 3rd party firewalls; many of them, actually, even if you discount the built-in one.
It also helps that XP is on its way out. There is no profit for hackers in looking for new vulnerabilities in it. Whatever XPs are remaining, they are typically a limited purpose boxes, and they contain nothing of interest to the hacker.
Often you stay with XP because you must. Your old software just doesn't work on anything else. I have several XP laptops; they run software that controls custom boards via crude bitbanging. Can't say why, but it doesn't work on Win8 - and works on XP. There are many other applications that do not work on anything but XP, and nobody is going to rewrite them - neither for free, nor for money. There is a lot of old hardware (printers are a separate class within that) that only have drivers for XP. Sometimes the ISV offers a new version of the software that works on the latest Windows... but it's not free; you have to rebuy the software, with minimal (or zero) discount. Upgrading of one XP box may cause a chain reaction, and in the end you will have to upgrade all the other hardware and software to the tune of thousands of dollars, while gaining nothing.
An XP user should be today a happy user. XP is finally his to do whatever he wants. If you have a collection of software from XP era, all that will work forever, as long as you do not need new features or support. (Support is often overrated - who ever called MS when they couldn't do something in Windows?)
Linux, Mint+KDE in particular, is good. But your investment into software and training on XP costs more. Pick the OS that runs your software that helps you pay the bills. This is the primary selection criteria. If your PC is only used to access Internet, though, then you are welcome to the world of Linux because it works just as good (if not better) as any OS from Redmond, does not bother you about licensing, and is fully supported (for free or for money,) and is receiving software updates.
Mint is a pretty good substitute for Windows XP when it comes to the unsophisticated user who has older hardware.
Somebody who only does Facebook, Twitter, solitaire, and/or e-mail and has gotten accustomed to nearly 20-year-old icon/desktop Windows interface will take to Mint easily and quickly. ESPECIALLY if they learn they can get it and use it FOR FREE, no strings attached.
I got a laptop without a hard drive and bought a 16 gig flag drive and installed Linux Slax wear. It’s an awesome and very small OS. I’m seriously considering dumping my Windows 7 OS desktop for Linux as well
I’m staying with XP, I just went back to it after dumping 7!!
btrl
The sane way to do things is to get a second computer, pre-loaded and troubleshot with Linux. Then, you gradually migrate you Windows system off the Internet, as your Linux system takes over just that. Thus you have all the goodness of Windows for non-Internet apps, with little risk.
You might even connect the two together, so that your Windows system acts like a peripheral to your Linux system, happily insulated from the Internet.
I prefer Mepis Linux. Stable, based on Debian, and works across pretty much every machine I have access to. Mepis 8.0 needs only 512 Megs to run since that version is a few years old, and Mepis 11 requires only 1 Gig on more recent machines. Debian has been around for many years and is a well-established version of Linux, however a plain vanilla Debian install is not for the casual or newbie user. Mepis has some very good auto-installers built in and does a good job on detecting hardware, including video and network chips. Too, there are both 32 and 64 bit versions available for both releases.
Good post. Linux has come a long way in the last 10 years. Really, Mint is better than the newest Windows in nearly every way. It’s UI is intuitive, it uses way less memory sitting in desktop, it’s less virus-prone, and it’s free. Like getting a Mac without paying Mac prices.
That said, I don’t use it anymore. It’s not compatible with some proprietary apps for work/school.
Loaded Linux Mint on an external drive over a year ago. It was a nice turnkey install and gives me all of the basics.
The neat thing is that my laptop internal drive still boots to Vista but I never use it. Plug the Mint drive in, power up, and off I go. My “computer” is my Linux hard drive.
I am one happy camper, and have said GOODBYE to Microsoft.
I TOTALLY agree!!!
Your ‘average’ Win XP user would be FAR more at home on Linux rather than Windows 8x. I couldn’t imagine deploying that pile of crap in a business of any kind(Windows 7 was bad enough).
My daughter bought a new machine last year with Windows 8 on it, and I found it to be barely usable(I didn’t spend much time on it). As a matter of fact, just the sight of the UI angered me for some reason. It also caused our cat to get sick, and made our garbage disposal stop working.
What sucks is how the XBoxONE has the same look to it, and it causes me to spend more time playing the PS4 instead.