Ubuntu
Slackware
Damn Small Linux
Feather
Mepis
Damn Small Linux
Feather
95
98SE
2000 Pro
type: Laptop
Make: Digital
Model: HiNote VP 700 series
Processor: Pentium MMX
Processor Speed: 167MHz
RAM: 92MB
Hard Disk space: 5700 Mb (5.7 Gb)
CDROM: yes
Floppy: yes
External Storage: 160 Gb via USB
Windows is the most successful operating system in history because it allows the average human to install and use it without needing to know hardly anything about their computer except where to put the CDROM in. The average user can just watch the operating system push its way through installation, though it takes a LONG time compared to other operating systems. Plus, Microsoft Windows has secured its place in the computer retail market such that it is installed already on most new computers.
Linux users call this "the Microsoft Tax". If you were to get a computer without an operating system, it would be a LOT cheaper. Possibly $500 or more cheaper. And a lot of users won't use the Microsoft product for a great number of reasons. You can look these up elsewhere as I am not going to get into that here.
I have successfully installed Damn Small Linux, a great little operating system based on Debian Linux, on the laptop. It runs really fast! Only uses 12 out of the 92 Megabytes of RAM that this laptop has. No windows operating system can come even close to that save 95.
It has a lot of software included, though not nearly as much as beefier distros. You can browse the web with two different browsers. You can do some word processing, spreadsheets, and presentations. You can even play some games. So for a free operating system, I think it is a pretty good deal.
Thank GOD for Windows computers, though. Without it I would have never figured out how to install Linux properly! Ironic, don't you think?
Ubuntu was kind enough to mail me a free DVD of their operating system. Sorry guys. I asked for a CD. I do not have a DVD drive on this computer. Looks like my computer was WAY too slow to run it anyhow.
Mepis did not install. It was a cd that came with a Linux magazine. I figured the magazine had a step-by-step install guide and the desktop for Mepis looked somewhat like 2000, so it would be a good fit. Nope. No desktop. Nothing.
See, you are supposed to be able to load linux onto a computer LIVE, running it right from the CD without needing to isntall it. You can try it out and decide if you want to ATTEMPT to install it. Heck, some people use Linux exclusively in live mode, never putting it to hard disk. You can do pretty much everything in live mode anyhow, even browse the web.
But most linux distrubutions will not run on old computers. I understand it used to not be that way. But that is how it is now. Even linux has become inflated and hardware dependent, requiring new processors and more ram than originally needed.
DSL looks great. The newest release is very clean, and has a nice information widget thing that shows pertinent info in the upper right of the screen. A nice thing about Linux is that you can CHOOSE your window manager. Bored with the WAY the computer displays stuff? Windows would let you change colors. Linux lets you change how it all comes up to begin with. Some look a lot like windows. Some look totally alien. That is the fun of Linux - customization ability unseen in Microsoft situations.
Vista might look great, but damn is it a memory hog. I don't have a single computer that I would bother putting Vista on. But linux can be made to look just as striking using a lot less of the computer's power. That means a better looking desktop environment with more speed.
If you have noticed, computers have to get a LOT faster to keep up with Window's increasing demands of the hardware. With Linux, there is literally an operating system for any device. From ipods to xbox. From ancient laptops like mine to advanced modern servers. And they are all free!
