verslagen1 wrote on 12/19/18 at 09:02:49:


I agree with Versy, you should expand your computer mind and save the money.

You can get a fully functional, relatively quick computer for free .......   Your Microsoft OS is sorry, not your old hardware.

Put Linux Mint Mate on it.    I bet your wife has used such at schools on occasion.

 
MM, come back to us with some indication of interest, or a lack of interest as the case may be.

I have burned you an installation DVD of Linux Mint Mate 19.1 and it is sitting next to my keyboard.   Make a positive indication and it can be there by New Years Day.    on the way now

Yes, Santa Claus is real when it comes to Linux Mint.

Full instructions about what to do with it are here .......   (stick it in your DVD drive and reboot the laptop, can't get much easier than that)

https://www.linuxmint.com/documentation.php

Once it is running off the DVD, this will help get you past your "oh my goodness" confusion stage.    There is an icon on the DVD installation version's desktop to do a full installation with any full installation details you might could want in the link above if the built-into-the-software instructions and explanations aren't good enough.

Or, since you already use Firefox just click on the Firefox icon and get started to using it.


MM, we are serious ----- install Linux Mint on one of your "dead" laptops (one with a working DVD drive and a working screen, naturally) and see if it doesn't run better than your latest Win 10 unit.

Buy your wife what she wants and still have a internet searching and Savage posting laptop of your very own kept off to the side ......  one that is as fast or faster than hers, but costs you literally nothing.

Linux Mint Mate looks and works a whole lot like XP or Win 7.   Old familiar appearance and menu system.   Old home week stuff that simply runs faster and with less hassles.

Your DVD is in the mail winging your way.

As they have said for the last longest time, What'cha got to lose by looking at it?

Stick the DVD in and reboot the machine and take a look at it.



===================================================



General recommendations for first time Linux Mint users ......  you can do a dual boot installation if you feel queasy about going whole hog.   I did so, because I had no experience with Mint but soon I stopped dual booting and went whole hog on Mint and totally got rid of Windows.

Why?   The Windows half kept screwing up the whole machine with the nightly update crap and I had to reinstall the Mint DVD like 4 times over the next couple of years because of them sorry arsed broken window panes.





Good news is you can reinstall Mint on that machine or on any other machine literally HUNDREDS of times until the DVD gets too scratched up to read correctly.    Hey, and once I got Windows completely off the machine totally it hasn't screwed up since then, ever.

And like any good FOSS software, the cost per installation remains forever $0.00 with the same price being charged for all the additional software that you could ever want -- just go to the Software Manager item under the little bottom left Mint symbol and go get yourself whatever your heart desires.  

Mint pre-loads all the best of the best for you, automatically anyway, but sometimes you need something else for whatever reason, and it takes just a click or two to go get it.

Once the software shows up on your software list, right click and drag an icon pointer back to the program over to the desktop this will drop you a movable desktop icon to make it easy to get to the program with a single double click.

Easy peasey all the way ......  that's Mint.        





Enjoy the sweet scent of the minty green goodness

MM and OF, one issue I had early in the piece with Linux were Google crashes. I install every Linux update relating to "Google Stability" and the problem has dissappeared. Following OF's advice I turned off Windows updates before I went to Linux, I'm not saying MS doesn't invade my computer at night, but then I'm too illiterate to know. MM, if you do decide to try Linux, update through "packages" and don't worry about "local mirrors" even if they are supposedly faster. With multiple computers, you have nothing to lose.

Getting? Lump O' Coal and a switch.
Giving?
I've got 21 triangles with 15 holes in them, scorched by the mapp gas torch, sprayed with polyurethane, and a buttload of golf tees to send to people.

Vocabulary : Reboot

Turn on and run the disk ?

………………………..

I'm thinking of getting all my old pictures off my old Vista 17" screen , unplugging the internet so the Vista won't freeze itself before the new program can even run.

Marcia has already got my new computer under the tree.  

So ,
how hard is it learn the new Linux system ?
what kind of internet protection works on Linux

Money is not an issue , what the thing for me is ease of use.   I have gotten used to  Window 10 - but have never Liked it.  
I guess I need to play with the new system for a while.      

Luddite dictionary
Reboot
Kicked him again.

I jacked my own thread, I often do that because I can.

Nor do I care if the thread wanders around some.

Noteable quote of the day about Linux Mint versions ----- this comes from the Mint maintainers themselves, so it is trustworthy enough I guess.

"Linux Mint is also involved in the development of MATE, a classic desktop environment which is the continuation of GNOME 2, Linux Mint’s default desktop between 2006 and 2011. Although it misses a few features and its development is slower than Cinnamon’s, MATE runs faster, uses less resources and is more stable than Cinnamon."

To this recommendation I will add "Of all the distros Mint Mate most closely resembles Windows XP and Windows 7 --- and Mint Mate has maintained the quick keystroke command combinations that were made famous by those older Windows versions.   The structure of Mint Mate continues the classical Windows traditions and of the entire lot it looks and feels most like XP and Win 7."

These are actually some pretty strong recommendations for us older computer users.