I think that for some, the fiddling may be OK. I have spent an unbelievable amount of time over the years on fiddling with C-64's, Apple //e, 286's up to Pentium IV's,with both software and hardware, as I am sure many others here have as well.
One of the most difficult things I had to do a year or so ago was try and reload Windows 98 into an older machine (after using it for Vector Linux for a while with pretty good success), and give it to my mother who is in her 90's and had a 166 MHz box that was just not running well anymore so my 450 MHz box helped some. I was tempted to leave Linux on her system as all she really needed was to run a web browser but I didn't:( I was surprised how hard it is to obtain drivers for things such as newer monitors but I finally did get it loaded and she has been using it successfully for some time with Win 98. Thank goodness for the free AVG virus protection software system! I really think that there is going to be a sea change in the world. There are too many things happening, although very slowly yet, especially in third world countries where Linux is going to be the default OS whether people like it or not. And unless they are content to run older MS software (illegal, of course), they will likely find it far better to move to Linux as more technical expertise occurs and it becomes the defacto standard. There are not many programs that would be unavailable on Linux anymore. I was surprised when I came across this web site that has detailed the equivalents/replacements and analogs of Windows with Linux. Very interesting. Note where this is coming from too even though it is written in English: http://www.linuxrsp.ru/win-lin-soft/table-eng.html With some ham radio software only being available now in Linux and not MS OS, the tables are somewhat turning. It will be years, of course, but there are literally billions of people who either can get an excellent product for no cost or minimal cost, or have to steal a product that not really any better and some would say worse in some cases, but has First World momentum. If UNIX had been available for $50 instead of $1000 back 20 years ago I doubt that MS would have succeeded in the marketplace. 73, Rick, KV9U Danny Douglas wrote: >That is one of the reasons I dont get into Linux. I watched others, >stressed out at school, trying to get systems operational and smoothed out. >We need things to work at college, not there to be fiddled with, because >students have only a certain amount of time to use systems, and expect them >to work - especially in an educational atmosphere. Yes - Windows has its >problems too, but once we find a solution with one, the rest pretty much >fall into place too. The other thing has been mentioned - the availability >of user programs. If it is written to do, it is written for windows, and >once in a while they follow up with a Linux program - but not too often. > > > >
