I'm a fossilizing 61. I've never programmed nuttin. Nevertheless, my guru tells me I should switch from xp to linux. I've read the blurbs and Xandros looks as close to applications level (non-programmer)stuff as I've seen. Should I even consider the move, and if so, to which distro?

hi,
what ever you can do in windows, u will get a counter part of that in linux ( and believe me..linux has much more than that)
For many applications linux is much better than windows ( other than being not that much user friendly).
Its much better, much secure, rarely crashes.....very-very less vulnerable to virues etc.
So obviously it better to work on it.

and as far as distribution is concerened.......u can start with some easy linux like mandrake or fedora....

regards

Try one of the Live CD like Knoppix or Ubuntu. Just burn the iso image to a CD or DVD and boot from the cd or dvd and play around. It will help to see what there is and when you goto install one distro then you will understand more of the things the installers ask.

Brian1

Please at least make a try, I can confirm you that, you will like this world. It's not alawy recomanded to know programming (programming may be plus point).


As the starting you please try SUSE or OpenSuse , It's really userfriendly. And very much easy to configure.

Tell your guru to help you set it up. First time setups can be discouraging if it's not something you're willing to really work at. I, of course, recommend Debian Testing. You'll quickly notice that everyone recommends the distro they use. But once it's set up and working, you won't have much culture shock.

You might want to set up a dual boot system so you can go back and forth if things get sticky, but be sure to make Linux the default boot selection. It's easy to commit to Linux as the OS of choice for anything connected to the internet, browsing, email, etc. (In fact, that is only common sense.) Then OpenOffice will take care of any Word Processing, Spreadsheet type needs. What's really left?

PS: I'm a non-fossilizing 58. Been using Linux seriously for about 5 or 6 years. It keeps me young. At this age, we need something to stimulate brain activity, and Windows certainly doesn't do that.

While I think that you are right for nearly all tasks, there are of course some black holes in Linux world. I have not found for example an OCR application of similar recognition quality like Abbyy Finereader. Not to mention specialized software that is simply not available for Linux because there are so few buyers or software that has to be certified before you can use it for your job.

Besides that, I second your argument

Age is an attitude: I am 64, and I am just starting...

Guru says you should switch---did he say WHY?? If I told you the you SHOULD buy a Prius because hybrids are eco-friendly, would you just run out and buy one?

Seriously, The first thing to do is get any of the various "Live CD" distributions--eg Knoppix. The easist way to do this is to buy "Linux Format"--a UK mag--which always come bundled with CDs, DVD, etc.

When you are ready to actually install, start with a free distro---like Ubuntu.

You will never have to "program" to use Linux--promise. You will, however, WANT to use the command line. I've you've ever used DOS or Unix, you already know that it is not that difficult.

That is not 100% correct...Here are just a few reasons I keep Windows around:
Latest version of Photoshop (yes, GIMP is very good, but it is not up to all of what Photoshop does)
Fasttrack--scheduling
MSProject---Project planning and management
Occasional sneaks back to MSOffice becuase of file handoff issues with OpenOffice (Again, OOo is very good, but the Office compatibility is not 100%)

And a few other less important things....

tell mr guru to help with a dual boot. this way you can get familiar with linux and when you feel safe you can migrate.
my brother who has never used linux wiped windows and did a full install himself using mandriva. very gutsy but a 2minute phone call i got his network up. If he can do it you will be fine and with all the GUI (graphic user interface) you dont need to program and edit unless you want to. your never to old to learn, or young for that matter
welcome to linux and have fun!!

If you can get someone to install and configure GNU/Linux for you try SuSE Linux.

Either way, you can also try an Apple Mac.

Linux is fun and the best thing about Linux is that it is open source. I suggest you play with it and learn as much you can. FYI: windows gets more viruses than Linux. If anyone writes a virus for Linux. A lot of people will be looking for that person. there is a saying Don't mess with the Linux community!

good luck

You're only as old as you feel, you know. (Which can be a two-edged sword. )

I remember my great-grandmother wistfully saying, "Oh, to be 70 again ..." and she meant it.

Anyhow... if you happen to have a spare second computer, you might wish to install Linux on that machine. Have your guru help you.

Consider buying a second hard-drive (they're cheap and easy to install) so that you can do all the Linux monkeying-around on that, without altering your existing XP configuration at any time in any way. (You select the second drive as your boot-drive, and pretend that Windows doesn't exist.) Although it is quite valuable to learn Linux (at any age), it is also quite probable that there will continue to be things that you want to do on XP.

To all the gracious and kind, Thank you. My guru has set me up with a 2nd system to I can play parallels while I learn. Your support and encouragement is much appreciated. Cordially, Old Silvertip

windows is your master,but you are the master of linux.