Sunday, April 16, 2006

Cheap

Out of necessity, I'm getting more into a frugal lifestyle. I'm probably 30% of the way there. I know others that do much better, but I'm not doing too bad. Thats a big part of what motivates me with the whole Linux thing. It's not realy any better than Windows or Mac. More secure than Windows, maybe, but about the same as Mac. The attraction to me is a few things;
  1. Cheap - Hard to beat free
  2. Secure - No major security issues. yet.
  3. Flexible - can work will on new and old hardware.
The last point is important.

Windows is upgrading Vista in January 07. The hardware requirements are going to be much more than XP. Most people will keep XP, but use it less because of malware. Friend will help them try Linux, through Live CD's, and they'll see the usefulness. Because Linux can work on even very old computer, many people will switch. And because Linux is more secure, a few will switch.

Sounds like I'm prophising. I am.

Maybe I'm wrong, but there's only two ways I can be wrong on this;
  1. Apple releases Mac OS to run on any hardware, Apple or PC
  2. Apple release Mac OS as open source
The second is unlikely to happen. Mac is the better OS, at least for now. Windows Vista will have to be increadibly impressive.

I was looking at lean Linux distro called, "Damn Small Linux." It even works on old hardware. You can run it off a Jumpdrive. Don't through out that old computer, just yet. Even if your harddrive fails, it's still useable. Even if it seemed too slow, it's usuable. At the very least, donate it. At the best, put DSL on it, and donate it.

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