Need a Lighter (free) Word Processor

[Little Ming]

I've been using Open Office for sometime and love it. But now I need to install a word processor on an older computer (Windows XP, 512 ram) and since OO tends to use a lot of memory (~100mb) its not really a viable option.

So what are some good OO alternatives? Must be ram efficient, must be compatible with Windows XP, must be free, and must be idiot proof. :tongue Does not have to be full office suite, just word processor.

All my files as .rtf, so there shouldn't be a compatibility issue (unless its some really strange program :Wha: ).

I already have the latest version of abiword, and while I like it on the surface, it seems to have some hiccups / not run as smooth when I'm working on larger files (50 pages or more). Does this happen for anyone else? Or did I screw it up somewhere?

If worse comes to worse I guess there's also always WordPad. :tongue

[alleycat]

I don't use most of these, so I can't say how well they work, but you might consider Google Docs (which is an online word processor), AbiWord, yWriter (I have it, but I don't really use it), or the trial version of Page Four (I have the full version, which I use as an organizational tool).

[dpaterso]

I've gone back to using Rough Draft (http://www.salsbury.f2s.com/rd.htm), an RTF editor, because OO felt so chunky, and I couldn't install MS Word on my new-ish notebook (no CD-ROM drive).

-Derek

[alleycat]

I've gone back to using Rough Draft (http://www.salsbury.f2s.com/rd.htm), an RTF editor, because OO felt so chunky, and I couldn't install MS Word on my new-ish notebook (no CD-ROM drive).

-Derek
If you have another computer handy, and a USB memory stick, you could easily load Word on the other computer and then transfer it with the memory stick. If you needed to buy a memory stick, I think you can get one large enough to do this for less than $10 USD.

[Cyia]

I use OO on a computer with XP and it runs fine. If you're wanting to write and submit to agents, then be aware that .rtf won't cut it. You need to be able to export files as .doc to make them compatible with the e-readers many agents use to read submissions on now.

[Emrys]

I love yWriter. It combines easy word processing with the ability to drag scenes around (which I tend to do). Much more as well.

You can turn off the Oo part that runs in the background too, so it's not using so much resource.

[maestrowork]

Google Docs if you're online.

[Jamesaritchie]

I used OpenOffice on a computer with 256 ram, and it worked well, but doesn't the computer have Works on it? Works is perfectly capable of handling most writing needs.

But I go along with Google Docs, as well. Google Docs also as a good Excel type submission tracker template that you can modify to suits your needs, and download, if you also want it on your computer.

I don't actually write very often using Google Docs, but I do when away from home, and I store my stories there. Some editors read and even edit my stories there, which saves time and effort in the submission process.

[blacbird]

Works is imperfectly capable of handling most writing needs..

Edited for factual correctitude.

[benbradley]

WordPad is "lightweight" and comes with Windows XP.

ETA: Now I see you mentioned it. I use it a lot in plain text mode, even for novel-sized files. It runs fast like a word processor on a gigahertz+ machine OUGHT to run.

[Synovia]

Have you actually tried OO on the machine? It should run fine.


Any well written program is going to use a lot of memory. Or, its going to use a good chunk of whats available to it. Moving things out of memory onto disk when you don't need to is just bad coding, and leads to poor performance. The disk is the slowest part of your system, by several orders of magnitude.


I'm a big fan of TextPad, but its more of a technical tool than a writing tool. Any of Wordpad, Emacs, RoughDraft, etc would work.

[Jamesaritchie]

Edited for factual correctitude.


Well, it's not the best, but it's better than most of the free word processors out there. I wrote and sold a novel using Works 4.5, and 9.0 is a heck of a lot better than that version was.

[ejket]

Just a couple of observations:

OpenOffice is dead. Move to LibreOffice. As others have noted, you should be able to run this on the machine specified.

I have what I guess to be a similarly dated machine (P4, 1.8 GHz, over ten years old), and I upgraded the 512M RAM to 1G for $15 just the other month. I use Linux on it now, and it runs fine, but I did have XP on it previously.

I say don't buy into corporate self-interested built-in obsolescence. Repurpose your old hardware if it still works, and drive it till it drops :D

[kuwisdelu]

Any well written program is going to use a lot of memory. Or, its going to use a good chunk of whats available to it. Moving things out of memory onto disk when you don't need to is just bad coding, and leads to poor performance. The disk is the slowest part of your system, by several orders of magnitude.

Umm. You realize paging out to disk is solely a function of RAM and when your OS decides you need more, right? When you're coding for a program, you have no control over when the OS is going to decide to page you out to virtual memory.

A well written program will use only as much memory as necessary and no more.

[skylark]

What kuwisdelu said. The days of programmers deciding when to use scratch files and when to use memory are gone - they pretty much went out when 32 bit became the standard. The issue wasn't the physical memory, it was the address space.

A well written program uses as little memory as possible without slowing the program down.

[PEBKAC]

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/web-apps
I haven't used Google Docs, so can't compare. But the Web Apps are decent.

For the sake of full disclosure, I work for MS.

[AmericaMadeMe]

I've been using Open Office for sometime and love it. But now I need to install a word processor on an older computer (Windows XP, 512 ram) and since OO tends to use a lot of memory (~100mb) its not really a viable option.

So what are some good OO alternatives? Must be ram efficient, must be compatible with Windows XP, must be free, and must be idiot proof. :tongue Does not have to be full office suite, just word processor.

All my files as .rtf, so there shouldn't be a compatibility issue (unless its some really strange program :Wha: ).

I already have the latest version of abiword, and while I like it on the surface, it seems to have some hiccups / not run as smooth when I'm working on larger files (50 pages or more). Does this happen for anyone else? Or did I screw it up somewhere?

If worse comes to worse I guess there's also always WordPad. :tongue

Forget OpenOffice. All of the key developers left when Oracle took over Sun. LibreOffice is the new project and the focus of the current development. http://www.libreoffice.org/download/ It doesn't hurt to update your office suite. Of course, with just 512MB or RAM, I'm not sure you should be running Windows on your system anymore. Abiword actually is very quick with Linux, probably even quicker than LibreOffice.

[AmericaMadeMe]

I used OpenOffice on a computer with 256 ram, and it worked well, but doesn't the computer have Works on it? Works is perfectly capable of handling most writing needs.

But I go along with Google Docs, as well. Google Docs also as a good Excel type submission tracker template that you can modify to suits your needs, and download, if you also want it on your computer.

I don't actually write very often using Google Docs, but I do when away from home, and I store my stories there. Some editors read and even edit my stories there, which saves time and effort in the submission process.

Works? Yikes? No, Works was always intentionally limited to force the user to upgrade to Microsoft Office. Not the most stable program either. Nice way to loose work.

[AmericaMadeMe]

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/web-apps
I haven't used Google Docs, so can't compare. But the Web Apps are decent.

For the sake of full disclosure, I work for MS.

My condolences in advance. Microsoft looks set to disappear as a consumer brand in the next decade. Linux has taken away the server business, Apple's OS X current has over 90% of the $1,000+ consumer market, and between iOS and Android, Microsoft is frozen out of the phone and tablet market. The Zune MP3 player line is apparently dead, if it ever was alive, and it seems hard to believe that the X-Box 360 supposedly has a 54.2% failure rate, or that Windows 7 phones and tablets selling the thousands while iPhones and iPads sell in the millions? Oh and Bing. Yes, Bing. Bing indeed.

Personally, I can't possibly imagine a worse choice than Microsoft Office for an old XP machine with only 512MB of RAM. I was similarly horrified by Office 2010 on a Windows 7 system. Granted, Windows 7 is the least problematic Windows release since Windows 98, but Microsoft applications are horrific. IE 9 is a laggy mess. Even poor old Paint has been afflicted by strange and incomprehensible ribbon menus - which apprently represent the future of Windows 8. No thanks.

The sad part of it all is that I'm not an Apple fan and I'm not all that impressed by Android or Chrome/Chromium. Heck, I even have to admit that Windows 7 works well enough if you stick with third party applications and that Vista wasn't bad, just unpolished.

[jimbro]

...
Personally, I can't possibly imagine a worse choice than Microsoft Office for an old XP machine with only 512MB of RAM...

I agree.

I have an old (4 years) ASUS netbook pc that is running Windows XP with limited (1.5 GB) RAM. (I have it set to dual boot, so I can choose if I want Windows or Ubuntu at boot time, but I usually just let it boot into Windows.) It is my secondary machine for writing, due to its extreme portability. I have four pieces of software installed on it that I use for writing.

1. Wordpad: FREE: Came with the OS. I use this a lot because RTF files are almost universally portable - everyone can read them and everyone can write them. Don't ignore it just because it's free. As benbradley notes, it is lightweight and fast.

2. yWriter: FREE (Donation-ware): This also uses the RTF format. I didn't like it at first because it does have a learning curve, but I'm using it more and more often. Try it out.

3. UltraEdit: ($59.) A fancy version of Notepad- only does flat TXT files. This was my main word processor for writing for years and I still use it a lot. Does have a spellcheck. The virtue of a Notepad-type editor is that it has no fancy features, you just bang away. Not good for later edits and polishing (no italics or bold,etc) but perfect for first drafts (for me). You already have Notepad if you don't want to spend the bucks.

4. LibreOffice: FREE: Works fine on my limited-resource notebook. Reads and writes MS Word files with no problems that I've seen so far. Full-featured with thesaurus and spellcheck. Great for final drafts and polishing. A little slow to load on my netbook, but still loads faster than MS Word.

[Jamesaritchie]

Works? Yikes? No, Works was always intentionally limited to force the user to upgrade to Microsoft Office. Not the most stable program either. Nice way to loose work.


I suspect you haven't used Works in a long time. Yes, it is limited, but not nearly as limited as AbiWord and other free word processors. I've never lost anything using Works. Never had any problem at all with it.

It certainly is not limited in order to force anyone to upgrade to Word. That's like saying AbiWord is limited in order to force people to upgrade to OpenOffice. Works is limited because it's a small, light, office suite that's usually free, or that you can buy for $29.95.

Other than OpenOffice, I don't know of any free word processor that does nearly as much as Works, and it does more than OpenOffice in some areas, such as grammar check. I think the only tool it doesn't have is track changes, but most other free or cheap word processors lack this, as well.

Writers write. Very, very few writers need all the tools that Come with Ms Office, and if you can write a novel using any of the other word processors mention, you can sure write one with Works.

[Williebee]

OpenOffice has had a Grammar Check capability since version 3.

Writers write... if you can write a novel using any of the other word processors mention, you can sure write one with Works whatever word processor is in front of you.

That would include pen/pencil/crayon in hand. The rest is about preference. If it gets the job done, it's not wrong.

[kuwisdelu]

It's been a while since I've used either of them extensively, but last time I did, I remember moving to OpenOffice was quite nice after trying to deal with Works.

[Little Ming]

Just a couple of observations:

OpenOffice is dead. Move to LibreOffice. As others have noted, you should be able to run this on the machine specified.

I have LO, just haven't installed it yet. Are there any practical difference between the two programs? Or is it just programing stuff that computer idiots like me wouldn't understand anyways?


I have what I guess to be a similarly dated machine (P4, 1.8 GHz, over ten years old), and I upgraded the 512M RAM to 1G for $15 just the other month. I use Linux on it now, and it runs fine, but I did have XP on it previously.

I say don't buy into corporate self-interested built-in obsolescence. Repurpose your old hardware if it still works, and drive it till it drops :D

I agree! But for different reasons. I'm poor and can't afford a new computer right now. :tongue Unfortunately, the hard drive is dying (my second one already!) so that will have to be replaced first. How do I know what RAM is compatible with my motherboard? I have two older computers (a little older than the one I am using) and I'm wondering if I could just use that ram. Or will it blow up my computer?

I've been thinking about Linux for a while too, but I really don't know what I'm doing when it comes to computers... Any tips about making the switch from Windows to Linux?

[Williebee]

Just a couple of observations:

OpenOffice is dead.

Define "dead" please.

[kuwisdelu]

I have LO, just haven't installed it yet. Are there any practical difference between the two programs? Or is it just programing stuff that computer idiots like me wouldn't understand anyways?

They're the same code base. LibreOffice is a "fork" of OpenOffice, and recently many of the OpenOffice programmers left in favor of LibreOffice because they didn't agree with the direction Oracle (the corp behind OpenOffice) was going with OpenOffice.

Define "dead" please.

"Oracle announced that it intends to discontinue commercial development of the OpenOffice.org (OOo) office suite." (http://arstechnica.com/open-source/news/2011/04/oracle-gives-up-on-ooo-after-community-forks-the-project.ars)

Oracle now has little choice but to abandon its commercial ambitions for OOo because the growing momentum of the more inclusive LibreOffice fork is making OOo irrelevant.

[Margarita Skies]

Guys, I was wondering if LibreOffice has a Spanish-language dictionary so I can avoid those ridiculous red squiggly lines underneath words every time I type something in Spanish, because that's the reason I had to switch from OO back to MS Word, because OO doesn't have that capability and my Microsoft Office Home and Student 2010 Trial expires on May 24. Do you guys have any idea? If LibreOffice has a Spanish dictionary I will switch to that right away!!


Best regards
Magali.

[kuwisdelu]

I think both OpenOffice and LibreOffice should have one, but you have to download language packs separately; it's just not included in the default install.

[alleycat]

If it's just the "red squiggly lines" that bother you, you can turn off AutoSpellCheck. It's a one click option on the toolbar.

[Margarita Skies]

I think both OpenOffice and LibreOffice should have one, but you have to download language packs separately; it's just not included in the default install.

If it's just the "red squiggly lines" that bother you, you can turn off AutoSpellCheck. It's a one click option on the toolbar.


Thank you so much!!

[Aylaa]

If it was me, and I needed an older version of word for an older computer I'd probably download a pirated torrent copy. I know this is bad, and wrong, and you shouldn't do this, but I wouldn't tell anyone, and I'd conceivably convince myself that it was okay since I've purchased newer versions, and have it running, and updated already.

[Margarita Skies]

If it was me, and I needed an older version of word for an older computer I'd probably download a pirated torrent copy. I know this is bad, and wrong, and you shouldn't do this, but I wouldn't tell anyone, and I'd conceivably convince myself that it was okay since I've purchased newer versions, and have it running, and updated already.


Downloading torrents or pirated versions of anything is not only illegal but can cause harm to your computer in the long run. You don't know what kind of nasty malware carries the person you're getting it from on his or her computer and it could be passed on directly to you and to every single person that downloads that file.

[kuwisdelu]

Don't mischaracterize torrents, though. I just downloaded LibreOffice via the torrent I got from their website.

[Little Ming]

If it was me, and I needed an older version of word for an older computer I'd probably download a pirated torrent copy. I know this is bad, and wrong, and you shouldn't do this, but I wouldn't tell anyone, and I'd conceivably convince myself that it was okay since I've purchased newer versions, and have it running, and updated already.

What? :Wha:

Just to be clear, this is not what I was asking for.

[Little Ming]

Don't mischaracterize torrents, though. I just downloaded LibreOffice via the torrent I got from their website.

I'll just second that. Not all torrents are illegal and/or carry viruses.

[backslashbaby]

I agree! But for different reasons. I'm poor and can't afford a new computer right now. :tongue Unfortunately, the hard drive is dying (my second one already!) so that will have to be replaced first. How do I know what RAM is compatible with my motherboard? I have two older computers (a little older than the one I am using) and I'm wondering if I could just use that ram. Or will it blow up my computer?



Google your exact motherboard and get the specs on RAM. If you know your computer model (exactly), there will be documentation online about the motherboard and RAM and all of that stuff.

[PEBKAC]

My condolences in advance. Microsoft looks set to ...

You can save your condolences for those 8.8 percent of Americans that are unemployed. Every day of the work week I'm surrounded by great people that I like working with (most of them anyway -- there's always that one guy...). I'm lucky enough to be doing something that I enjoy. Although it's high stress, and long hours at times, I get to work on projects that impact millions of people. Twice a month, Microsoft drops some money into my bank account. So far, not a bad deal.

[Little Ming]

Google your exact motherboard and get the specs on RAM. If you know your computer model (exactly), there will be documentation online about the motherboard and RAM and all of that stuff.

Um, sorry, but where do I find those? :o

The computer is pretty old (and not originally mine) so all the paperwork is, well, gone.

[Little Ming]

You can save your condolences for those 8.8 percent of Americans that are unemployed. Every day of the work week I'm surrounded by great people that I like working with (most of them anyway -- there's always that one guy...). I'm lucky enough to be doing something that I enjoy. Although it's high stress, and long hours at times, I get to work on projects that impact millions of people. Twice a month, Microsoft drops some money into my bank account. So far, not a bad deal.

As part of that 8.8% I would appreciate it if we end this right here. If you guys want to continue arguing take it private. Thanks.

[Synovia]

Umm. You realize paging out to disk is solely a function of RAM and when your OS decides you need more, right? When you're coding for a program, you have no control over when the OS is going to decide to page you out to virtual memory.

A well written program will use only as much memory as necessary and no more.


It depends on what the program is written in, and how much control over memory functions the language has. In JAVA, you're absolutely correct. In C, not so much.

[Synovia]

A well written program uses as little memory as possible without slowing the program down.
I strongly disagree with this. Memory space is not a bottleneck in modern machines. Memory SPEED is.

Any time the program has to ask for data, there is a performance hit. Modern programs should be pulling pretty much everything they're going to need into memory immediately, and keeping it there, until they're absolutely sure they're not going to need it anymore.

[Synovia]

Downloading torrents or pirated versions of anything is not only illegal but can cause harm to your computer in the long run.

Its only illegal if you don't own a license.

[Margarita Skies]

Don't mischaracterize torrents, though. I just downloaded LibreOffice via the torrent I got from their website.

Since I have never downloaded LibreOffice I didn't know it was downloaded via a torrent. Sorry about that.

I'll just second that. Not all torrents are illegal and/or carry viruses.

That's true, but for someone like me who doesn't know much about this stuff, it's hard to know which torrents are illegal and which ones aren't.

Its only illegal if you don't own a license.

Ok....

[backslashbaby]

Um, sorry, but where do I find those? :o

The computer is pretty old (and not originally mine) so all the paperwork is, well, gone.

You might have luck if you find a label of any sort on the actual PC. Write down any info there and Google away :)

If that doesn't help, tell us what operating system they have, and the drivers, etc might give enough info. But that's more complicated :D

[jimbro]

Um, sorry, but where do I find those? :o

The computer is pretty old (and not originally mine) so all the paperwork is, well, gone.

This program:
http://www.cpuid.com/softwares/cpu-z.html
is free and lightweight and will tell you things about your PC including the make and model of your motherboard.

Once you have that, google "manual + <motherboardmakeandmodel>".
You'll probably get a link where you can download the original manual for your motherboard. That manual will tell you all kinds of good stuff including how much RAM you can upgrade to, the right kind of RAM you need (there are lots of different kinds) and how to do it.

Good luck and best wishes.

[kuwisdelu]

It depends on what the program is written in, and how much control over memory functions the language has. In JAVA, you're absolutely correct. In C, not so much.

Um. No. Manual memory management versus automatic garbage collection has nothing to do with how the OS handles virtual memory. You can write data to disk in both languages, but except for data that's too big to store in RAM like very large databases or large movies, that's not how programmers deal with memory anymore.


I strongly disagree with this. Memory space is not a bottleneck in modern machines. Memory SPEED is.

Any time the program has to ask for data, there is a performance hit. Modern programs should be pulling pretty much everything they're going to need into memory immediately, and keeping it there, until they're absolutely sure they're not going to need it anymore.

They overwhelmingly do. However, our files are getting larger and larger, and programs can't always keep everything they need in physical memory. If the OS decides it needs more physical memory, it will page you out. You cannot stop it.

The two primary bottlenecks are how much RAM you have and drive speed. For most people, the latter is probably more important, but with an older machine running newer programs, RAM is definitely something you need to watch.

Since I have never downloaded LibreOffice I didn't know it was downloaded via a torrent. Sorry about that.

It's no problem, but many people believe all torrents are bad, where torrents are just a method of distributing files over the internet. You can get LibreOffice via direct download or torrent. Most free and open source software is available via direct download or torrent. I find the torrents are usually much faster.

[Margarita Skies]

Thanks, Kuwisdelu for dissipating all my doubts.

[backslashbaby]

This program:
http://www.cpuid.com/softwares/cpu-z.html
is free and lightweight and will tell you things about your PC including the make and model of your motherboard.

Once you have that, google "manual + <motherboardmakeandmodel>".
You'll probably get a link where you can download the original manual for your motherboard. That manual will tell you all kinds of good stuff including how much RAM you can upgrade to, the right kind of RAM you need (there are lots of different kinds) and how to do it.

Good luck and best wishes.

Very cool!!

[AmericaMadeMe]

This program:
http://www.cpuid.com/softwares/cpu-z.html
is free and lightweight and will tell you things about your PC including the make and model of your motherboard.

Once you have that, google &quot;manual + <motherboardmakeandmodel>&quot;.
You'll probably get a link where you can download the original manual for your motherboard. That manual will tell you all kinds of good stuff including how much RAM you can upgrade to, the right kind of RAM you need (there are lots of different kinds) and how to do it.

Good luck and best wishes.

I really don't see the point of that program? First of all, notebook computers use proprietary motherboards, and while you find standard form factor motherboards in the dying desktop category, you don't find too many people other than hardcore enthusiasts swapping out motherboards. For the most part, it just doesn't matter what model of motherboard you're using. Just as important, it's easy enough to figure out what sort of RAM you require, although it makes very little economic sense to upgrade a computer that isn't running the current DDR3 standard.

The original poster is apparently running an older machine with only 512MB or RAM. It probably isn't cost effective to upgrade the RAM.

[backslashbaby]

I really don't see the point of that program? First of all, notebook computers use proprietary motherboards, and while you find standard form factor motherboards in the dying desktop category, you don't find too many people other than hardcore enthusiasts swapping out motherboards. For the most part, it just doesn't matter what model of motherboard you're using. Just as important, it's easy enough to figure out what sort of RAM you require...



So tell her what kind of RAM should she get. Don't just tell someone something is so easy and not say how to do it, silly.

[AmericaMadeMe]

I have LO, just haven't installed it yet. Are there any practical difference between the two programs? Or is it just programing stuff that computer idiots like me wouldn't understand anyways?



I agree! But for different reasons. I'm poor and can't afford a new computer right now. :tongue Unfortunately, the hard drive is dying (my second one already!) so that will have to be replaced first. How do I know what RAM is compatible with my motherboard? I have two older computers (a little older than the one I am using) and I'm wondering if I could just use that ram. Or will it blow up my computer?

Google is your friend. Google the model name of your computer followed by "RAM." Better yet, see if you can find the service manual for your computer, which will give you all the information you need. Google is your friend. As far a hard drive replacements, or RAM upgrades, I wouldn't spend very much on an older PC.

I've been thinking about Linux for a while too, but I really don't know what I'm doing when it comes to computers... Any tips about making the switch from Windows to Linux?

It really comes down to doing a little research. I'd advise you burn a live CD or use a program to boot from a USB thumbdrive. Try it before you install it. As far as Distros, you have a tremendous choice. Ubuntu is almost the default choice these days, and it might just work with 512MB.

[AmericaMadeMe]

I suspect you haven't used Works in a long time. Yes, it is limited, but not nearly as limited as AbiWord and other free word processors. I've never lost anything using Works. Never had any problem at all with it.

It certainly is not limited in order to force anyone to upgrade to Word. That's like saying AbiWord is limited in order to force people to upgrade to OpenOffice. Works is limited because it's a small, light, office suite that's usually free, or that you can buy for $29.95.

Other than OpenOffice, I don't know of any free word processor that does nearly as much as Works, and it does more than OpenOffice in some areas, such as grammar check. I think the only tool it doesn't have is track changes, but most other free or cheap word processors lack this, as well.

Writers write. Very, very few writers need all the tools that Come with Ms Office, and if you can write a novel using any of the other word processors mention, you can sure write one with Works.

FYI, Microsoft Works is dead - killed off to make for the semi-functional, laughable Microsoft Office Starter Edition.

For the record, MS Works was always intentionally crippled to encourage Windows users to upgrade to Office. Back in the bad old days, you had to buy Office just to open a .doc file with Word. Works was burdened with crappy proprietary file types.

Looking back, Works mostly seems to have been proloaded bloatware. Yes, you could buy it retail, but why would you? On the plus side, it was easy enough to uninstall, unlike some MS programs.

Looking back to the lowest ebb of Windows, I can remember losing plenty of work to various applications of the Office suite. Did I loose work because of Works crashing? I can't really remember. I really don't think I used it very much because of the limited functionality.

[Clair Dickson]

Well, I have an old Toshiba Satellite lappy with 512MB of RAM. It is currently running Windows XP (SP3) and Office 2007. It's certainly not as spry as my Win7 machine, but it's not dog-slow either. I'd say it works just fine for an old machine-- and an old lappy at that.

[AmericaMadeMe]

Well, I have an old Toshiba Satellite lappy with 512MB of RAM. It is currently running Windows XP (SP3) and Office 2007. It's certainly not as spry as my Win7 machine, but it's not dog-slow either. I'd say it works just fine for an old machine-- and an old lappy at that.

Microsoft will end all XP support on April 8, 2014.

[kuwisdelu]

Microsoft will end all XP support on April 8, 2014.

13 years of XP....

I just wish they'd already do away with the "activation" crap in 7 so I can actually use it.

Maybe in 8. Wait, no, this is MS we're talking about... -_-

[cbenoi1]

13 years of XP....
You write this as if you're missing Vista already.

I've hit FocusWriter while looking on the web. Looks like a simple-enough application. It can even be put on a USB memory stick (www.portableapps.com (http://www.portableapps.com)).

-cb

[kuwisdelu]

You write this as if you're missing Vista already.

I've never actually used Vista. I don't regularly use 7 due to the activation problems. I use XP once in a while in a virtual machine for SAS, but that's it.

Anyway, it's a long time to use one OS version, for those that did.

[bonitakale]

Ignorant Slut here: I'm using XP, and I have two versions of Word and one of WordPerfect in use, plus an older OpenOffice that I haven't used in a good while. They seem to be running well.

[Margarita Skies]

Nice thread. I am keeping an eye on it everyday.

[AmericaMadeMe]

I've never actually used Vista.





Think of Vista as a really rough Beta release of Windows 7. Vista isn't nearly as bad as its reputation. Vista wasn't bad at all. It actually was superior to XP, except in a few details. The real issue for Microsoft was that consumers and businesses we still traumatized by their early experiences with XP. The first couple of years with XP were pure hell. By XP SP2, Microsoft has dealt with the worst issues, but users were conditioned to fear new Windows releases.

I don't regularly use 7 due to the activation problems. I use XP once in a while in a virtual machine for SAS, but that's it.

There are no activation problems with Windows 7. If you have genuine and applicable license, you can install or reinstall Windows 7. However, if you buy an upgrade version, you've bought an upgrade, meaning you must have the requisite previous or lesser version. If you want a full version, buy a full version, don't mistakenly buy an upgrade.

Anyway, it's a long time to use one OS version, for those that did.

Yes, XP was around for far too long. Anyone who's still running XP really needs to consider why they're so adverse to change? Nobody should still be running IE 6.0, nobody should have automatic updates turned off, but a surprising high percentage of XP users are still guilty of both practices. This is precisely why there is an epidemic of malware and botnets. Uninformed XP users are the problem. XP has become the problem. It's no wonder that consumers and business are shifting to OS X and Linux. Someone with a 10 year old, malware XP desktop comes into the Apple store and is blown away by the latest iMac. Duh.

[kuwisdelu]

There are no activation problems with Windows 7. If you have genuine and applicable license, you can install or reinstall Windows 7.

From what I read, unlike XP, you can only activate 7 once. Since any hardware changes trigger a need to re-activate, you're beholden to calling up MS and begging for a new activation code if you make any hardware changes. And if you want to dual boot and use the Windows partition as virtualization, too, the difference between the virtual hardware and the physical hardware will trigger a re-activation each time you switch between the two. Kind of a pain.

[cbenoi1]

> Think of Vista as a really rough Beta release of Windows 7.

I think of Vista as Microsoft's version of 'New Coke'.

> Vista isn't nearly as bad as its reputation.

It was worse.

http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/1021650/intel-won-touch-vista


> It actually was superior to XP, except in a few details.

Details like stability and working driver availability.

-cb

[Synovia]

From what I read, unlike XP, you can only activate 7 once. Since any hardware changes trigger a need to re-activate, you're beholden to calling up MS and begging for a new activation code if you make any hardware changes. And if you want to dual boot and use the Windows partition as virtualization, too, the difference between the virtual hardware and the physical hardware will trigger a re-activation each time you switch between the two. Kind of a pain.

This is incorrect (atleast, IME). I've reinstalled several times with 7, and not had a problem. In fact, the copy that came with my desktop is now installed on my laptop. No problems.

[Synovia]

>Details like stability and working driver availability.

-cb
I view Vista as an early beta for 7, but the idea that vista wasn't stable is silly. Its drastically more stable than XP.

The biggest problems vista had were these:

It wanted drastically more memory than XP (and it used that memory drastically better if you actually had it).

Companies like HP, ATI, Logitech, etc, didn't bother to write drivers for Vista until well after it had come out, and only wrote them for their brand new hardware. There's not really much MS could have done about that.

[kuwisdelu]

This is incorrect (atleast, IME). I've reinstalled several times with 7, and not had a problem. In fact, the copy that came with my desktop is now installed on my laptop. No problems.

That so? I read about a lot of people having trouble with re-activations on it. I hope I get your experience, then. Maybe I'll get around to trying to install 7 sometime, then. Though I rarely need Windows more than once or twice a year... eh, eventually.

[AmericaMadeMe]

From what I read, unlike XP, you can only activate 7 once. Since any hardware changes trigger a need to re-activate, you're beholden to calling up MS and begging for a new activation code if you make any hardware changes. And if you want to dual boot and use the Windows partition as virtualization, too, the difference between the virtual hardware and the physical hardware will trigger a re-activation each time you switch between the two. Kind of a pain.

Not true at all. Where does this sort of disinformation come from? You can reinstall Windows 7 as many times as you want to, but it stands to reason that you can only activate the software on one system at a time. If you want to boot to Windows, and use the same license for a virtualization in Linux, I'd say that qualifies as two installations, at least technically.

[AmericaMadeMe]

> Think of Vista as a really rough Beta release of Windows 7.

I think of Vista as Microsoft's version of 'New Coke'.

> Vista isn't nearly as bad as its reputation.

It was worse.

http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/1021650/intel-won-touch-vista


> It actually was superior to XP, except in a few details.

Details like stability and working driver availability.

-cb

Vista actually was very stable, at least compared to XP. From my own personal experience, the infamous "Blue Screen of Death" almost became extinct with Vista. As far as drivers, the real confusion came from the premature push for 64-bit versions of Vista, but that's another issue. The bottom line is that Vista really wasn't a bad operating system and Windows 7 really isn't much more than a more polished version of Vista. Windows 7 does boot relatively quickly in comparison to Vista or XP, which is probably the biggest improvement.

[kuwisdelu]

Not true at all. Where does this sort of disinformation come from? You can reinstall Windows 7 as many times as you want to, but it stands to reason that you can only activate the software on one system at a time. If you want to boot to Windows, and use the same license for a virtualization in Linux, I'd say that qualifies as two installations, at least technically.

I have a MacBrook Pro. If I want to install Windows 7 via Bootcamp, and then run the same installation via VMWare inside OS X, Windows will recognize the virtual hardware as differing from the physical hardware, even if it's the same installation, and will trigger a need for re-activation. VMWare Tools allows a hack that overrides this particular form of software insanity, but IMO it's really ridiculous that Windows 7 even requires this kind of "activation" crap at all. With how much they charge for Windows, it's stupid to have to deal with that kind of thing. I don't have to ask Apple's or Canonical's permission before I install a legal copy of OS X or Ubuntu. Why does Microsoft force this kind of thing on their users?

ETA: But then, I should not that I think the licensing model for software is ridiculous to begin with.

[bonitakale]

Yes, XP was around for far too long. Anyone who's still running XP really needs to consider why they're so adverse to change?

I'm not averse to change if the old one isn't working. But it is.

At this point, an awful lot of computer changes only let you watch better videos or game better. Or maybe something to do with music. I'm not interested in videos, games, or music, mostly.

No problem, no need to change.

[kuwisdelu]

I'm not averse to change if the old one isn't working. But it is.

At this point, an awful lot of computer changes only let you watch better videos or game better. Or maybe something to do with music. I'm not interested in videos, games, or music, mostly.

No problem, no need to change.

They usually have security improvements, too.

They often try to have better usability than the older systems, but that can be a matter of opinion.

If you're connected to the internet, the security improvements can be pretty important, though.

[ejket]

If you're connected to the internet, the security improvements can be pretty important, though.
That's true. I still occasionally use Windows 95 for some legacy stuff, but I won't let it on the net. Actually that's worth considering: if you just want to use an old computer for writing, turn off the net services with msconfig. Then it's as safe as houses.

[Clair Dickson]

Well, when it comes to upgrading from WinXP, for some of us, there's the pesky little problem of money. My laptop's hardware cannot handle upgrading from WinXP to Vista or Win7. I don't have money for a new laptop (not since my job got cut in half the summer my son was born.) So, I use WinXP. I have all my files in Dropbox and a copy of WinXP ready to reinstall if I catch something that Avira doesn't stop.

Similarly, the car I drive is not nearly as safe as the newest model of car, but I can't afford a new one so I have to accept the risks of driving an older car without all the special safety features.

[Margarita Skies]

The only operating system I've ever had problems with, in the 6 computers I've owned (this being the sixth one) was Windows Millennium Edition, commonly called Windows ME. It was so horrible that I couldn't do anything on the computer without having a whole bunch of ridiculous error messages, so the technician upgraded me to Windows XP. This happened back in 2002 when XP was kinda new. My first laptop that I had before this one had Windows Vista on it, and while everyone has problems with their computer every once in a while, in my opinion, I wouldn't consider Windows Vista horrible because I never had a problem that made me want to downgrade to XP or upgrade to another OS. I couldn't have done it anyway because the hardware on that computer was only compatible with Vista, but I had an okay experience with it. I only got this computer because I needed more advanced hardware, and it would've cost a lot of money to buy that hardware and install it on to that computer, so I just got this one. As long as I have a computer, the OS doesn't really matter as long as it doesn't cause me a tremendous PITA like ME did.

[kuwisdelu]

Even Windows lovers hated Windows ME.

[TheMindKiller]

I know this thread isn't really on the original topic anymore but I'm throwing this out there anyway...

"ia Writer" is a fantastic word processor. I use it on my iPad and it has a desktop version as well I believe. It's simple, with no frills and thrills... the best thing about it is Focus mode which dims everything else on the screen except the words you're typing. Previous lines fade away to help you focus only on what you're typing. It's cheap, it's small and it's fantastic.

If you do what I do, use DropBox, you can save everything you type on it directly into DropBox, which puts it in the cloud which not only saves space but also acts as a permanent backup. Plus, you can access your DropBox account from anywhere. Great tools to use together.

[bonitakale]

Well, when it comes to upgrading from WinXP, for some of us, there's the pesky little problem of money.

Yep. Heck, only after reading this thread did I realize you have to BUY an OS. I've just used what comes with the computer.

[Margarita Skies]

I've just used what comes with the computer.

Me, too.

[AmericaMadeMe]

Yep. Heck, only after reading this thread did I realize you have to BUY an OS. I've just used what comes with the computer.

Trust me, you definitely "BUY an OS" when you purchase a Windows PC. The additional cost of the Windows OS is unofficially referred to as the "Windows Tax," and in some markets, you can actually get a refund of the additional cost of the Windows OS if you plan on using a free, open source operating system instead.

[AmericaMadeMe]

The only operating system I've ever had problems with, in the 6 computers I've owned (this being the sixth one) was Windows Millennium Edition, commonly called Windows ME. It was so horrible that I couldn't do anything on the computer without having a whole bunch of ridiculous error messages, so the technician upgraded me to Windows XP. This happened back in 2002 when XP was kinda new. My first laptop that I had before this one had Windows Vista on it, and while everyone has problems with their computer every once in a while, in my opinion, I wouldn't consider Windows Vista horrible because I never had a problem that made me want to downgrade to XP or upgrade to another OS. I couldn't have done it anyway because the hardware on that computer was only compatible with Vista, but I had an okay experience with it. I only got this computer because I needed more advanced hardware, and it would've cost a lot of money to buy that hardware and install it on to that computer, so I just got this one. As long as I have a computer, the OS doesn't really matter as long as it doesn't cause me a tremendous PITA like ME did.

Windows "Mistake Edition" was indeed disastrous from the standpoint of many users, since the OS was far less stable than 95 and 98, and even more unstable than early XP. The biggest improvement was System Restore, which proved to be a brilliant way to back up Malware infections.

I'm inclined to say that the woes of Windows ME contributed to the negative perception of the Windows brand in the XP era, which in turn undermined confidence in Vista. As I've said before, Vista wasn't bad at all, but users were conditioned to distrust new Windows releases.

[AmericaMadeMe]

Well, when it comes to upgrading from WinXP, for some of us, there's the pesky little problem of money. My laptop's hardware cannot handle upgrading from WinXP to Vista or Win7. I don't have money for a new laptop (not since my job got cut in half the summer my son was born.) So, I use WinXP. I have all my files in Dropbox and a copy of WinXP ready to reinstall if I catch something that Avira doesn't stop.

I'm not a big fan of buying a retail version of a new Windows operating system to upgrade a PC. I didn't do it back in the 90s when it was actually the popular thing to do and I still wouldn't do it today. No, there are plenty of free Linux alternatives, and even Red Hat if you need support. It just takes a little research. In the last year, Ubuntu has become nearly foolproof, not that it's my favorite distro for old hardware. Far from it.

Similarly, the car I drive is not nearly as safe as the newest model of car, but I can't afford a new one so I have to accept the risks of driving an older car without all the special safety features.

Cars don't have the same cycle of obsolescence as PCs. It might not be advise to browse the internet with an unsupported operating system, but even a well maintained 55-60 year old car is able to cruise safely on an Interstate.

[kuwisdelu]

We are, however, getting to the point where older hardware can usually run newer operating systems pretty decently, so there's less of the problem of obselescence with hardware than there used to be.