09-18-2019, 06:02 PM
I still have Windows 7 on my 64-bit desktop and 32-bit laptop. I'm running Debian on this one, and it's getting me there. Audio tracks are a little jerky for the first few seconds when streaming a video or playing back a local video file, but there's probably a firmware update for that.
Microsoft will stop all support for Windows 7 in January 2020. No more security updates after that. Anyone not wanting to continue down the path to the Dark Side of mobile-style computing a la Windows 10 and Mac should insist on Linux in their next PC. There are tons of videos on YouTube on making the switch. I'll post some of the better ones when I have time. There is no reason to be intimidated by Linux. It has a desktop and task bar with a Menu button where the Start button would be in Windows, and functions more or less like a classic Windows system in every way.
The best things about Linux are:
Some 65,000 programs are available absolutely free as part of most Linux distributions. You can install as many or as few as you want. Linux programs are much smaller than Windows programs, so they download and install quickly, and use very little disk space.
All of your programs automatically get security patches and bug fixes every time you update the system. You basically only need to know these three lines to update the system and (un)install software:
[code]
sudo apt update && apt upgrade
sudo apt install whatever-program
sudo apt remove some-other-program
[/code]
Always run apt update and apt upgrade before installing anything.
Then use it as if it were a Windows desktop the rest of the time.
You can continue to update a Linux system practically forever. You may need to upgrade to a newer version once in a blue moon, but it will always be the same operating system and programs. Support for Linux will never end.
Microsoft will stop all support for Windows 7 in January 2020. No more security updates after that. Anyone not wanting to continue down the path to the Dark Side of mobile-style computing a la Windows 10 and Mac should insist on Linux in their next PC. There are tons of videos on YouTube on making the switch. I'll post some of the better ones when I have time. There is no reason to be intimidated by Linux. It has a desktop and task bar with a Menu button where the Start button would be in Windows, and functions more or less like a classic Windows system in every way.
The best things about Linux are:
Some 65,000 programs are available absolutely free as part of most Linux distributions. You can install as many or as few as you want. Linux programs are much smaller than Windows programs, so they download and install quickly, and use very little disk space.
All of your programs automatically get security patches and bug fixes every time you update the system. You basically only need to know these three lines to update the system and (un)install software:
[code]
sudo apt update && apt upgrade
sudo apt install whatever-program
sudo apt remove some-other-program
[/code]
Always run apt update and apt upgrade before installing anything.
Then use it as if it were a Windows desktop the rest of the time.
You can continue to update a Linux system practically forever. You may need to upgrade to a newer version once in a blue moon, but it will always be the same operating system and programs. Support for Linux will never end.
