Vista or Not

richlevy · 04-17-2007, 07:41 PM

When I bought my used laptop and told the salesguy that I was going to put Linux on it, he told me he's been hearing more and more of the same lately.

It is probably possible to upgrade a slightly older desktop to Vista for $100. The only question is why? The Vista with all of the features is the most expensive version and the one requiring the most hardware upgrades. The lower end version is at best an incremental upgrade from XP and with the built-in DRM, you have to wonder who it is designed to satisfy, the end user or the RIAA, et al.

Since Microsoft will probably shut down support for XP within a few years, including necessary security updates, it's a good time to decide where to go. If one looks at the main purpose of most PC's, which besides games is usually Internet, Word Processing, and spreadsheet/accounting/taxes, then the question is what platform will safely run on older PC's without leaving them open to viruses.

Once Microsoft withdraws support for XP the answer is probably Linux. If consumers begin to realize that they can keep their 3-year-old machines without having to shell out another $500 simply by installing and learning how to use a desktop that really doesn't look that different than Windows, than you will see a small but significant shift to Linux.

04-17-2007, 07:41 PM	#24
richlevy King Of Wishful Thinking Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Philadelphia Suburbs Posts: 6,669	When I bought my used laptop and told the salesguy that I was going to put Linux on it, he told me he's been hearing more and more of the same lately. It is probably possible to upgrade a slightly older desktop to Vista for $100. The only question is why? The Vista with all of the features is the most expensive version and the one requiring the most hardware upgrades. The lower end version is at best an incremental upgrade from XP and with the built-in DRM, you have to wonder who it is designed to satisfy, the end user or the RIAA, et al. Since Microsoft will probably shut down support for XP within a few years, including necessary security updates, it's a good time to decide where to go. If one looks at the main purpose of most PC's, which besides games is usually Internet, Word Processing, and spreadsheet/accounting/taxes, then the question is what platform will safely run on older PC's without leaving them open to viruses. Once Microsoft withdraws support for XP the answer is probably Linux. If consumers begin to realize that they can keep their 3-year-old machines without having to shell out another $500 simply by installing and learning how to use a desktop that really doesn't look that different than Windows, than you will see a small but significant shift to Linux. __________________ Exercise your rights and remember your obligations - VOTE! I have always believed that hope is that stubborn thing inside us that insists, despite all the evidence to the contrary, that something better awaits us so long as we have the courage to keep reaching, to keep working, to keep fighting. -- Barack Hussein Obama

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