Is the PC "Dying"?

Quote: Nareed

There are other things, including non-casual games. Besides, you never know when you'll need to run something in Office because the open sores(*) software doesn't quite support the latest file versions

What games do you want? The major game makers are starting to port to Linux.

I've never had trouble opening Office files in Libre/OpenOffice. Sometimes, there are minor formatting discrepancies, but that is usually because some newb has done something stupid and unwieldy (like inserting into a document a full HD movie along with an entire Flash web site).

By the way, you do realize that Microsoft constantly changes file formats to break compatibility with Office alternatives, don't you? It's not as if there is something wrong or lacking with the alternatives. OpenOffice and LibreOffice are fully capable of creating any document you want.

If you are afraid, you can dual boot Windows and a Linux distro.

Quote: tupp

What games do you want? The major game makers are starting to port to Linux.

Old, old games I've had for years: The Sims, X-Wing vs Tie Fighter, the first Myst, Clarke's Rama-based game, an old Star Fleet Academy, things like that. Some do run on Vista, others I haven't tried.

The sad fact is that I'm 90% certain I'm going to swallow my disgust and wind up with a tweaked to hell version of Win8, and that only after months of trying to get Linux to behave. And that will only work if Microsoft doesn't do something with its "fixes" to wreck the mod programs out there.

BTW yesterday evening the internet went out at home. The light marked "internet" on the modem went dark. it was back up this morning. But if I'd wanted to do something urgent then and were trapped by "the cloud," I'd been up the probervial water-way without a paddle.

This is a rather rare occurence, and I had nothing more urgent to do than go to bed (which remarkably can be done without an internet connection <w>). But that's exactly the time to realize how precarious dependence on external third parties can be.

Quote: Nareed

... after months of trying to get Linux to behave.

Not sure what troubles you were having, but Linux is infinitely configurable, so it is relatively easy to get it to "behave" compared to most other OSs.

What distro(s) did you try, and what are the problems you experienced?

Quote: tupp

Not sure what troubles you were having,

Thus far, the boot disk doens't boot.

Quote:

but Linux is infinitely configurable, so it is relatively easy to get it to "behave" compared to most other OSs.

I mean making it look, feel and act the way I want, or, failing that, some way I can live with. Having deon this with several OSs and programs, it's far more pleasant to get a dog to behave ;) Oh, both will misbehave from time to time, but the dog is far more satisfying (perhaps I also need to adopt a puppy...)

Quote: Nareed

There are other things, including non-casual games. Besides, you never know when you'll need to run something in Office because the open sores(*) software doesn't quite support the latest file versions

(*) this is not a typo.

That's just a plain rude and borderline insulting 'typo' to make about open source software.

Quote: TheCesspit

That's just a plain rude and borderline insulting 'typo' to make about open source software.

I'm sorry, that wasn't my intent. I thought at worst I was making a tasteless joke along the lines of Windoze.

Quote: Nareed

Thus far, the boot disk doens't boot.

I see. So, you haven't even gotten started.

Well, it's actually very easy to boot a Linux live CD, assuming that it wasn't corrupted during download. The two most common problems that are encountered when trying to boot a live CD are:
1. failing to properly burn the OS image onto the CD;
2. having the computer set to boot from the hard drive first (before it tries to boot from the CD).

I will explain further. The following will seem like a wall of text, but what I am describing is really easy and simple -- I am just going into a little more detail to make sure that the reader understands the concepts behind what is essentially a two step process.

When one downloads a live CD it usually is in the form of a single, huge ".iso" file. Archived inside that single .iso file are multiple files and directories for the live CD. In a sense, the .iso file contains an "image" of the OS with all of its files and directories, and one must burn that image onto a CD (or DVD). To do so in Windows 7, right-click on the icon of an ISO image and choose “Burn disc image.”

When the CD is finished burning, it should contain multiple files and folders. If the CD only contains the original .iso file, then the .iso file was merely copied to the CD -- the image (with multiple files and folders) was not burned. You now have a drink coaster. Try to burn the image again with a blank CD, and make sure to choose “Burn disc image.”

Once you have the CD properly burned, ensure that it is properly inserted into the CD drive, and reboot your computer. If you see a nice new screen that includes an unfamiliar menu/choices, then your live CD has properly started and you are done! Answer any questions asked (to the best of your ability), and explore the OS when it comes up.

On the other hand, if your computer boots normally into your OS (Windows), then you must make sure that your computer is set to boot first from the CD drive. This setting is found in the computer's "BIOS." The BIOS is essentially the basic hardware settings for your computer (that are independent of your OS).

The BIOS Settings are accessed early in the boot process, before the OS starts. Usually, one presses a certain key to pause the boot process and open the BIOS settings section. You only get a one or two second interval in which to press the appropriate access key, so it might take a reboot or two to get the correct timing. The name of the proper key to press is usually flashed on the screen during this interval.

When the BIOS section is open on the screen, the setting to look for will probably called "boot order" or "boot priority," etc. When you find the setting, make sure that the CD drive is set to boot first. Once you have saved the setting in the BIOS, exit the BIOS and reboot (rebooting is usually automatic when exiting the BIOS).

If everything went well, the live CD should boot.

There is one more possible problem that can occur, if you have a recent computer that features "Secure Boot." Secure Boot is a hardware "feature" demanded by Microsoft of computer manufacturers that only allows Windows to boot on a computer. Usually, this "feature" can be disabled in the BIOS. By the way, the BIOS has a new name in the more recent computers having Secure Boot -- the BIOS is now called "EFI" or "UEFI."

Quote: Nareed

I mean making it look, feel and act the way I want, or, failing that, some way I can live with. Having deon this with several OSs and programs, it's far more pleasant to get a dog to behave ;)

If you can point and click a mouse, you should have no trouble using any Linux distro that employs one of the major open source desktop environments.

I think you can get a Ubuntu boot disk sent for about $20. I suspect there may be better local sources that would drive that price down, but may be harder to find.

Quote: TheCesspit

I think you can get a Ubuntu boot disk sent for about $20. I suspect there may be better local sources that would drive that price down, but may be harder to find.

I bet you didn't think those might be in Spanish, too :)

I've suffered a lot with Spanish versions of Windows, Office and more. Thank Hercules (Heracles??) I can download Firefox in proper English