On 05/26/2017 10:49 AM, catalpa wrote:
wrote in message
...
I can no longer activate Windows XP on my desktop computer, even using the
various go-arounds offered on the net. I can afford Windows 10 and so on,
but I have given too many hours over the years to its Regedit, restore yada
features. I do not need bells and whistles. I need a decent word processor,
spreadsheet, pdf viewer. I have a small Chromebook as my second computer.
For anything serious, I can use my little Chromebook or go to the public
library.

I am ready to try a free alternative operating system, such as Linux's
Ubuntu.

If you use a free operating system, can you post your thumbs up or thumbs
down for it compared to Windows?


Some people prefer Linux Mint over Ubuntu.



I run Kubuntu at work and OpenSUSE at home. Unless you're a geek, the
desktop is what matters. I prefer KDE, hence Kubuntu. Ubuntu went down
the Unity rabbit hole following Microsoft. It went over so well they're
dropping it.

Mint is based on Ubuntu but uses the Cinnamon desktop by default.
Cinnamon is a child of GNOME and built with Gtk+. You can use other
desktops but in my experience with various distros, trying to graft on
another desktop can result in sort of an unstable mess.

The other thing to take into consideration is the degree of ideological
purity. not using proprietary drivers is pure and so forth but can also
result in stuff not working. I ain't pure. I don't lose sleep if NVidia
releases a driver that isn't Stallman Pure Open Source GPL as long as it
works. After a fwe go arounds with reverse engineered LexMark drivers
because LexMark doesn't do Linux and your purity slips. Along with your
desire to ever buy a LexMark printer.

As the OP probably has gathered the problem with Linux is sort of like
if someone says "I don't like GM cars. Are there any other cars out
there?" and the answer is "Ford." There are big Fords, little Fords,
trucky Fords, fast Fords....