[olug] Laptop options.

[Dan Linder]

On Jan 31, 2008 5:21 PM, Dave Thacker <dthacker9 at cox.net> wrote:

> We've all been is this position, and I know you want your friends to have
> a
> trouble free experience.  I'm curious why you ruled out a pre-installed
> Linux
> laptop from Dell?


Wow, nearly 20 hours  and this is the first "Why not Linux?" post! ;-)

I have been thinking it over a bit, but for this time through I'll have to
stick with WinXP.

   - They have a very small set of programs that they run.  They
   specifically use the Windows AOL client - it isn't very nice or powerful for
   someone like us, but it suits them just fine.  I'm pretty sure this won't
   run under Linux natively.
   - I ruled out using Wine because a lot of the programs they want to
   run are just not 100% there yet (MS Word and AOL especially).
   - I'm pretty sure that I could get them up with other FOSS software
   (Thunderbird, OpenOffice, etc), but these folks are the best example of
   "stuck in a rut".
      - And it's not just Linux.  That is the same reason I'm sticking
      with XP, and going to try to resurrect their old MS-Office installation
      media.
   - They travels quite a bit (must be nice to be retired!), and a big
   concern of theirs is getting it working (or getting something new installed)
   wherever they are at.  I am sure most of the things they would add (webcam
   and other USB devices) would be fine under Linux, but if they had to send it
   in for repairs they'd get all worried about being "out of the mainstream".
   And I especially don't want the tech working on it to say, "Sorry, we don't
   support Linux..." or some other lame excuse.

Once they are moved over, I *do* plan on resurrecting their old systems by
putting Ubuntu on it and configuring it as best I can for their needs.
Maybe having a "spare" sitting around that *Just works! (tm)* will make them
a Linux convert after a while.

Dan

-- 
"Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?" (Who can watch the watchmen?) -- from the
Satires of Juvenal
"I do not fear computers, I fear the lack of them." -- Isaac Asimov (Author)
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