Upgrade tower windows xp to Linux?

spud17

Aesop wrote: »

I am not techy enough to understand linux etc but am techy enough to check for bloatware /malware/pup etc .................snip....................

If you can do this, then getting up and running with Linux shouldn't pose much of a problem.

esuhl

forgotmyname wrote: »

I considered converting a few people to Linux. Mint wont be much of a change over Windows for most.

Until it comes to a time to install a driver, are they happy to do that with command prompt?

XP maybe out of support, but most of the naughty people will be working on finding bugs in the latest operating systems and Linux is not as safe as you may think.

Poorly setup its like running XP with no AV and no firewall and setting every download to auto install.

The biggest problem Windows converts have with Linux is with system maintenance.

I love Arch Linux because it's so modular and part of its ethos is to remove unnecessary complexity. Instead of having lots of fancy GUI apps to automate things and hide stuff from the user, you're expected to follow the steps in the wiki and type text commands.

It's the only Linux distro that I've actually been able to use without breaking it. But it has required the kind of technical skills and interests (and patience) that would only exist in someone who was both interested in computers and a control freak. It's beautifully elegant to me, and I find it easy to maintain because I'm in control and know exactly what it's doing. It's lightning fast and stable, and much less tedious than Windows to update and maintain (now I know how it works).

But your average user just wants to get stuff done without knowing or caring how it's done. Windows is great at doing that. (I don't think I could teach my non-techie friends how to update an Arch Linux system.)

However, the recent surge in popularity for GNU/Linux is down to distros such as Ubuntu and Mint which aim to give a more Windows-like experience (simple installation, pre-configured desktop environment, graphical package manager, graphical system configuration, etc.). As I mentioned, I tend to break these systems instantly because I want to tweak them so they work as I want to. And the system is so complex because it has layers of interfaces designed to automate tasks and shield the OS operations from the user. When something goes wrong, it's much harder to identify and fix.

So... yeah... horses for courses.

henm2

"If you can do this, then getting up and running with Linux shouldn't pose much of a problem."

Totally agree. Using the likes of Linux Mint xfce or Xubuntu is easy.
Someone mentioned the use of command prompt, That is very rare, as rare as it is with windows. In fact the only time I have used command prompt is recently when I was installing Kodi on a linux based laptop.
Switching to linux will mean you have a smooth running safe system.

googler

spud17 wrote: »

TRIM?
How have you implemented this ?

I'm not aware that I have implemented it. If I haven't, it doesn't seem to have held things back.

debitcardmayhem

googler wrote: »

I'm not aware that I have implemented it. If I haven't, it doesn't seem to have held things back.

this but depends on your *ix
http://www.howtogeek.com/176978/ubuntu-doesnt-trim-ssds-by-default-why-not-and-how-to-enable-it-yourself/

googler

debitcardmayhem wrote: »

this but depends on your *ix
http://www.howtogeek.com/176978/ubuntu-doesnt-trim-ssds-by-default-why-not-and-how-to-enable-it-yourself/

I'm not using Ubuntu.

debitcardmayhem

googler wrote: »

I'm not using Ubuntu.

No I was giving an example only

ThemeOne

If you go for Linux, go for something lightweight based on, for example, Xfce or LXDE desktop environments.

I use Debian plus IceWM window manager which runs very fast, and can be styled to look how you want it.

Whether your friend will find the applications she needs in Linux is, of course, another matter.

Aesop

ThemeOne wrote: »

If you go for Linux, go for something lightweight based on, for example, Xfce or LXDE desktop environments.

I use Debian plus IceWM window manager which runs very fast, and can be styled to look how you want it.

Whether your friend will find the applications she needs in Linux is, of course, another matter.

So you don't recommend mint?

She literally uses it for accessing internet. Watching youtube and Microsoft odfice but I can give her opem office.

esuhl

Aesop wrote: »

So you don't recommend mint?

I don't use Mint, but it sounds easy to use XFCE in Mint, if that's what you want.

Linux Mint is available with a number of desktop environments to choose from, including the default Cinnamon desktop, MATE, KDE, and Xfce. Other desktop environments can be installed via APT, Synaptic, or via the custom Mint Software Manager.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux_Mint

Edit: Oh, it looks like you can get a Mint installer that uses XFCE by default:
http://blog.linuxmint.com/?p=2977