Win XP

Re: Win XP

Jack Guzman from Maine

>Todd I don't think your ISP(Net zero) has anything to do with it.It should work with any ISP.I've had XP for a few years now and I have no complaints with it.The only thing is make sure your computer has enough hard drive space and processing speed.Any place that sells XP will tell you what the requirements are.---Jack

Re: Linux!

paul womack

>...Works great for me, uses less computer power (i.e. will run on older computers) and the price is right.

Which leaves more dough for tools.

BugBear

Re: Linux!

kees

>you payed for Linux?

kees

Linux! Not for Everyone...Yet

Mike Fitterling

>There are some really nice things about Linux. I recently was doing all my business (non-book publishing) on SUSe Linux from Novell. None of our publishing software would run on Linux--Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Acrobat Pro. So I had to boot back and forth to do different kinds of work. If all I had was general office stuff, then Linux would have sufficed (but why does OpenOffice take sooo long to save a doc?).

The problem with Linux, for most people, is it is not very user friendly. It is fine if the first install finds and runs all your peripherals on the first try, but adding or changing or repairing things is a pain. I never got the sound on my system to work (although it would play in the control panel in YAST). Bunch of little things didn't work, which was inconsequential, but things which make computing a lot more enjoyable. Finally, don't let the thing format the drive in reiser format! My drive failed completley and would not boot. It took me weeks to recover the data from that drive; I don't think many other people could have ever done it, but I had help from friends on forums that pointed me, eventually, in the right direction. I coul have recovered that same data on a Win drive in a couple hours, but then, it probably would never have refused to boot at all like Linux.

I am back to Windows XP now, doing everything in it. Win XP is a vast improvement on most all of the previous Windows releases. I'll wait awhile before going the Linux route again and definitely won't put all my eggs in the Linux basket again when I do (I had to work in Linux during my previous experience--president's wishes, now he knows better). It is too bad, though, with Novell jumping on the Linux bandwagon I expected an easier and more robust Linux.

Agree

Dan Donaldson

>It is getting better, but is still in Geekland. I have two computers, one running XP pro and the other running SUSE Linux. The Linux box is just for playing around. It is definitely not as user friendly, and you need to know a lot more to make it work with peripherals (Like Mike, I still have not managed to get the sound to work). Some of the open source stuff runs better in Linux (GIMP for one), but you have to find other sources for many of the things that you take for granted in Windows or MAC. Over time, I am fairly sure things will be worked out, but for the casual user, I definitely would not recommend it.

Re: Win XP

Pam Niedermayer - Austin, TX

>Just wanted to bring this thread back up to the top.

And here I was celebrating it's move off my screen. Silly me. :)

Pam

Re: Win XP

Ted Shuck, Centennial, CO

>Just think, now you'll now have a second chance to celebrate!

Regards,

Ted

:)

Pam Niedermayer - Austin, TX

>

Re: Agree

Ernie Miller

>Have you not been reading what Todd is doing he makes a casual user look like a Genius! he do's good getting matching socks in the morning! That is why you will usualy find him wearing sandles.

HEY! My socks match!

Todd O. Cronkhite Maine Native in FL. Exile :~(

>There both White. coarse, one is a knee high athletic sock, and other is a sockette that just about makes it to my ankle bone. this is not usualy a problem as I mostly wear long pants, but I get funny looks when I wear shorts. ;~)

I'll be the first to admit that I can make the casual user look like a Genius so no harm no foul there. what I think I need is a computer dictionary. I working with a language that I don't understand.

Todd O.

Sorry--more questions

Todd O. Cronkhite Maine Native in FL. Exile :~(

>Gee guys, I'm sorry if I'm getting annoying by asking these questions, I guess I could of taken a different avenue, but I thought that others would learn things from my questions as well, so I posted them. I think it's almost over tho as things are starting to get noticable better, but I do have a few more questions. I was going to start a New Thread with them, but after reading your comments I decided not too so that this will go off the screen faster.

When booting up I get a little window that says Browser is searching for GMT.exe and sometimes it says it is also searching for aoltray, tho I haven't seen that one yet today.

I kept getting a screen that said SALM crashed, so I went into my Close Programs screen( Thanks for teaching me how to do that Joe) and closed it. Since then things to really be going much smoother and faster.

What I'd like to do is:

- close Everything that is not essential to Bootup and than install/open programs as the need for them arises.

-Understand how it is that programs get open in the first place. Do they open by themselves?

I think that I should have room for Windows XP. I have a Pentium II tower and it says it is designed for Microsoft Windows NT and Windows 98. From what I understand to intall it all I've got to do is get the program disk, put into my CD Rom and let 'er rip. Right?

Trust me Ted and Pam, I'll be celebrating right along with you once these few things are solved. Now tell me, where can I get some type of book that is sooooooooooo basic on computer info that a 5 year old could understand it. Computers For Dummies is way over my head.

Todd O.

One more thing

Todd O. Cronkhite Maine Native in FL. Exile :~(

>Since closeing SALM upon bootup I got a message saying that Browser is searching for 180 search assistant. Should I re-activate SALM?

Todd O.

Re: Sorry--more questions

William Duffield, on the Cohansey

>The five year olds don't seem to have any problems understanding these things. It's us old geezers that can't seem to be able to keep up.

Hmmmmmmmmmmm *LINK*

Dan Donaldson

>I did a search for salm, and it looks like it is not something that you want on your machine. It apparently is a program that monitors your surfing habits and reports back home. It looks like a security risk. I am attaching a link with some info. You can get more by doing a google search for salm.

As a side note, with a Pentium II machine, you will be pushing the envelope with WINXP. For what you would pay for the software alone, you can come very close to buying a new computer with a lot more performance and OS included, especially if you take advantage of some that come with no monitor. XP works pretty well (better than the other Windows versions), but it is a resource hog and really needs a fast machine to get the advantages. Memory is very important. You want 512 meg or so for best performance, 256 meg absolute minimum.

For any programs that you are not sure of, do a google search on the name and you will usually get more info as to what it is and does. salm looks like spyware to me, as does the 180 stuff.


salm

A bit more looking (it is spyware)

Dan Donaldson

>I did a bit more looking and salm is spyware as far as I can tell. I would say that you need to get rid of it and all of the support software. A searce for salm.exe will get you a bunch of sites with info.

Speak for yourself!

Derek

>Some of us old geezers (don't tell my kids I admitted to that!) work with it just fine! In fact, my Father-in-law is > 80 and he does just fine with it!!!

Now think of it as a suite of chisels and hand planes (also a couple of routers). You gotta learn to sharpen and take care of them as well as use them for the right purposes! Don't you DARE use my fine chisels to open that paint can!

Thanks Dan

Todd O. Cronkhite Maine Native in FL. Exile :~(

>For ALL the info, very helpful. How did salm get on my computer in the first place? How do I delete all is support software? Right now I just have it un-checked in my Programs screen.

Ernie, taught me a new trick today in about 1 minute via off-line e-mail. I now know how to have multiple windows open at once, and how to put muliple links into one e-mail message. See Ernie, I am trainable, just need info to be put into a language that I can understand.

Todd O.

Re: Thanks Dan

Dan Donaldson

>Do a Google search on the name salm.exe and you should be able to find a site that will explain how to remove it. Look for one that is not trying to sell you something. If you have problems finding a site, or figuring out what they are saying, either post back or shoot me an e-mail and I wil try to help.

BTW

Dan Donaldson

>If you don't already have them, get spybot search and destroy, spywareblaster, and adaware se, install, and run them. What anti-virus software are you running? Is it up to date? Also, what firewall do you use?

Good advice Todd...This will help too!

Joe Rogers, Northern Virginia

>

Disagree...

Christopher Fitch @ Memphis

>...politely.

Having used Linux since the 1997, I have certainly seen the in and outs and all the pain that linux usage can provide.

However, having installed and used numerous versions of windows and linux, I know which one I prefer now. The only reason I have Windows 2K here at home is so I can play games that are unavailable for Linux. At work, I have it only for testing (I run Linux on two desktops).

I don't agree that it's "not ready for the desktop" since a friend of mine uses it at home exclusively. His very non-computer literate wife and 5 year old son use it and they have no problems. To top it off, he's an english major who taught himself how to use linux.

While I have a strong dislike for Microsoft and their products for a number of reasons, I really have no problems if someone else chooses to use their products. It's all about what works best for you and if that's what some people use, then good for them. Linux can be hard to use...but no harder than MS and there are other good reasons for using Linux (far too off-topic).

enough babbling...

:)

Re: Disagree...

Dan Donaldson

>I actually like Linux. I have a Linux box in the other room that is connected to my network and to the internet. It is fast, stable, and generally works well. My issue for a novice user is that if you can get a distro that installs on your machine and recognizes all if your hardware and configures it, and do not use any exotic stuff and have no need for any MS applications like Word or Excel (I do know about openoffice), don't play any games, never plan on adding hardware like a scanner or dvd burner, don't need a camera, and don't need to interface with a network that may have Windows machines on it then it will work fine. For most of the above, the user that knows only how to turn on the computer and click on an icon to launch a program is going to have a rough learning curve and not be able to find many that can help them.

Linux has improved (in the hmi and configuration areas) a lot in the last few years and it is getting much closer, but I still don't think that it is quite ready for a user that wants to know nothing about the machine and just wants to use it.

Re: Disagree...

Christopher Fitch @ Memphis

>I hate to have discussions like this but it seems you might not be aware of all the options.

Here's one distribution that provides all of the things you just metnioned as missing or being problems: Welcome to Xandros. If you consult their FAQ, they cover a number of features in detail. Further, there are a number of computer sellers that provides both laptop and desktop computers with Xandros pre-installed and ready to go; no installation needed. Here's one example of one such company:

Microtel Desktop with Xandros @ Walmart. I have purchased two of these, one for my wife and son. They are surprisingly good. I added a DVD-burner to my wife's machine and it seems to function just fine under Xandros. Now the ones I bought came with 2.0 so I can't speak on how good 3.0 is. My own machine has a scanner and I have Redhat 9 installed and it has no trouble with it. Of course there are other companies that sell similar products. At work I have no trouble interacting with all of the windows servers we have in the company.

I could discuss how MS has done a fine job of convincing the general populace that they are a standard in software computing (to the detriment of us all), but that would distract from me finishing up my hand tool cabinet.

:)

Thanks

Dan Donaldson

>Those are a couple that I was not aware of. I haven't done a lot of looking in the last while, but these look interesting. I may have to try one of them and may change my mind;-) Since you have a lot more experience that I with these, which one is the best one to try? I looked at a couple of the links you posted, but would value your experience.