Seeking advice for an antique computer with XP

[Judge]

Open source is free.

Yep, that's a mighty big draw for any Linux-based operating system.

Especially if you're accustomed to paying outrageous prices for comparable Adobe software with other competing operating systems.

 

[tal]

Try this it's great on old computers. Revive that old PC! < The LXLE Desktop you can install it using a USB Universal USB Installer – Easy as 1 2 3 | USB Pen Drive Linux
good review on Youtube

 

[Judge]

Might be time to ditch Microsoft and go with a vendor who is still committed to desktop OS.

Ubuntu is looking pretty good right now. Hmmmmm.....this old dog still likes his desktop computer no matter what Microsoft thinks.

New Microsoft VP consigns the PC to irrelevance - CNET

 

[Tarragon]

Might be time to ditch Microsoft and go with a vendor who is still committed to desktop OS.

Ubuntu is looking pretty good right now. Hmmmmm.....this old dog still likes his desktop computer no matter what Microsoft thinks.

New Microsoft VP consigns the PC to irrelevance - CNET

Desktops still have uses. I run some pretty powerful software for media creation and editing with mine. If I wasn't into media production, I'd be perfectly content with my phone and tablet.

Mind you, I replaced all my gigging gear (three rack boxes of gear) with my phone (virtual piano) and tablet (backing tracks, sheets music and vocal effects all at the same time), so new devices are blisteringly powerful. But, they haven't caught up with good quality desktops .... Yet(!)

 

[Judge]

Desktops still have uses. I run some pretty powerful software for media creation and editing with mine. If I wasn't into media production, I'd be perfectly content with my phone and tablet.

Mind you, I replaced all my gigging gear (three rack boxes of gear) with my phone (virtual piano) and tablet (backing tracks, sheets music and vocal effects all at the same time), so new devices are blisteringly powerful. But, they haven't caught up with good quality desktops .... Yet(!)

Agreed.

I don't care if they miniaturize it all down to a massively powerful matchbox, as long as they don't expect us to use little screens to view it all with. But until then, I'm sticking with my desktop.

 

[Judge]

Well here it is, three weeks after Microsoft formally terminated support for Windows XP and I'm downloading an XP security update for Internet Explorer.

Did Microsoft just blink? I know this latest security flaw was a huge one for Microsoft....just didn't expect them to extend this courtesy. I just happened to turn on my old machine to update other software....so this seemed like an interesting development.

 

[Kuribo]

Well here it is, three weeks after Microsoft formally terminated support for Windows XP and I'm downloading an XP security update for Internet Explorer.

Did Microsoft just blink? I know this latest security flaw was a huge one for Microsoft....just didn't expect them to extend this courtesy. I just happened to turn on my old machine to update other software....so this seemed like an interesting development.

Windows XP still has approximately 29% market share, and with governments warning against using Internet Explorer, Microsoft really couldn't afford the negative publicity leaving the browser vulnerable to such a large portion of its users would bring.

 

[Judge]

Windows XP still has approximately 29% market share, and with governments warning against using Internet Explorer, Microsoft really couldn't afford the negative publicity leaving the browser vulnerable to such a large portion of its users would bring.

It is interesting to notice even on television broadcasts where businesses are still using XP.

But I'm assuming this still only involves IE and not the OS itself. But some protection is better than none for those of you still relying on this OS. It would be horrendously bad public relations for MS if massive numbers of people get hacked over a single security concern.

 

[rollerskate]

You can install a nice linux distribution and get much quicker performance. Getting linux installed and running can still present some formidable hurdles for someone who's not used to the *nix way of doing things, tho. It would be fine for email, surfing the web, word processing, etc. You might have some save as sort of file format issues to contend with once in a while, but all the software you'd need to do the above is completely free. Video editing is another question. I don't do any of that, so I'm not sure if there's free software for that, and regardless of operating system, video editing needs lots of RAM and processor power.

I use both Inkscape and GIMP. GIMP (Photoshop replacement) is much further along than Inkscape (Illustrator replacement), but they're both quite functional if your needs fall within their capabilities. I almost never run Windows 7 anymore, though it's installed on this machine. I print, use my scanner, create and edit modest graphics, email, surf and more without upgrade or license hassles, and in a much quicker, more responsive environment than Windows can give me.

Messing with linux, tho is something that comes with a bit of a learning curve, and which you'll have to allow some time to acclimate to. The good news is there's thriving and helpful communities that will answer you linux questions and help you sort your issues. If you're going to purchase a new system, and have no need of a second machine, I wouldn't bother with linux. It can, however be a worthwhile and enjoyable project to install, configure and maintain a linux distribution. You'll learn much more about computers in general, and might just end up using it more than Windows.

The first thing I do with a new machine is wipe Windows and install Linux. If I need Windows for anything I just use a virtual machine with a Windows installation on it. There's also the option of dual booting the two together, which distributions like Ubuntu and family have made as easy as clicking "next". Then there's Wubi, which allows you to create a simulated/virtual dual boot environment by just installing a program in Windows so you don't do anything to the hard drive partitioning at all. There really is no need now days for a second machine whatsoever to use both, even for a novice.

 

[apt-get]

Video editing is another question. I don't do any of that, so I'm not sure if there's free software for that,.

There are actually a decent amount of free/open source video editing software packages out there. I occasionally use Kdenlive. Other software includes OpenShot and Cinelerra, and others that I don't know off the top of my head.

 

[apt-get]

Then there's Wubi,

Isn't Wubi unsupported?

 

[rollerskate]

Isn't Wubi unsupported?

Maybe if you purchase tech support due to Microsoft licensing issues but it's supported in the forums/ask site and it's created by the Ubuntu devs and hosted on Canonical's servers...