On 12/15/2009 8:48 PM, A. Kane wrote:
I am a novice not at all a computer geek. I just want simple clean
internet and email with a good program like windows media center
handling everything else along with some axillary stuff. I am not a fan
of Windows or the Organization or of their products other than they have
a monopoly when you buy new. I have recently purchased a laptop Toshiba
Satellite 300 with windows vista. I want to change my system and yet I
am frightened because I don't know enough. I am an artist and therefore
very visual. If I can see it I know if I want it. What can you suggest;
is there a simple solution. I currently use Firefox and Thunderbird and
Open Office with Trend Micro as the firewall.
Thank you
Anthony Kane
Vista *is* a bit unfortunate. XP or Win7 might have been slightly better.
A computer with a pre-installed environment might have been useful.
Debian is very nice, but not necessarily novice-friendly.
Try a live* CD or DVD if you like the idea of Linux. Knoppix or Ubuntu,
to name two.
Mark Allums
* "Live" means: bootable, but doesn't (necessaily) touch the existing
system/hard drive. Knoppix can even be installed to a $40 16GB USB
flash drive. Then, you can have your whole system available to you on
nearly any computer you have "boot privileges" for, including your own
laptop.
Live distributions are quite handy for trying out an OS. If you can
burn a CD/DVD, and have access to good internet, you can download a
fairly complete OS with desktop, preinstalled for your convenience, burn
the image to disc, and try it out right there, on the spot. No waiting.
This assumes only that:
1. You have fast internet
2. You can burn discs, and know how
3. You can boot your PC off of CD/DVD and/or USB flash drive
4. Your PC has fairly common hardware (not too exotic) (I think Toshiba
Satellite might be common enough)
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